Informal Institute for National Security Thinkers and Practitioners

Quotes of the Day:

"It is astonishing what force, purity and wisdom it requires for a human being to keep clear of falsehoods."

– Margaret Fuller

"It was a critical task of the Special Operations Executive (SOE), to make sure that where level-headedness and tenacity were lacking (among resistance forces), these characteristics were made available by first rate organizers, so these forces could be brought into combat."

– M.R. Foot, The SOE 1940-1946

"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule."

– H.L. Mencken

1. N. Korea revs up festive mood ahead of late founder's birthday

2. N. Korean state media not referring to late founder's birthday as Day of Sun

3. N. Korea's state media highlights ties with Russia amid deepening cooperation

4. Opinion | Thank China for our new three-way Pacific alliance

5. Older Voters Are Taking Over in the World’s Wealthy Democracies

6. Top military officer visits east coast units amid N. Korean threats

7. Yoon vows to make S. Korea top 3 nation in AI technology

8. China's top legislator Zhao Leji to visit N. Korea this week

9. US’s export control of semiconductor equipment to China has biggest impact on S. Korea

10. Election outcome to reshape Korean politics

11. ＜Investigation＞Why aren’t North Korea’s women having babies anymore? (2)　Women increasingly avoid marriage to protect themselves...Men are considered a burden to women in N. Korean society

12. Japan's outreach to N. Korea unlikely to affect trilateral cooperation against Pyongyang

13. N. Korea's shortage of scrap metal highlights its inefficient economic system

14. North Korean media takes stab at South's president on eve of elections

15. The revolutionary axis linking North Korea, Iran and Hamas

16. U.S., Japan to announce military cooperation, joint NASA lunar mission

17. S. Korean, U.S. navies hold mine warfare exercise in East Sea

18. S. Korea holds memorial for late decorated U.S. veteran of Korean War

1. N. Korea revs up festive mood ahead of late founder's birthday

I will never forget SGT Pew at Ranger School up on the PT stand exhorting us to sound off with enthusiasm. He would say, "False motivation will get you nowhere." I bet there is some false motivation in north Korea these days. (It is funny how certain memories can stick with over some 40 years)

(LEAD) N. Korea revs up festive mood ahead of late founder's birthday | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · April 9, 2024

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 8-9; CHANGES photo)

SEOUL, April 9 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has held a photo exhibition and a youth art festival to celebrate the upcoming 112th birthday of late founder Kim Il-sung, state media reported Tuesday.

Kim died of heart failure in 1994 at age 82, opening the way for his son, Kim Jong-il, to take over in communism's first hereditary succession of power.

Despite the senior Kim's death, his birthday, April 15, is revered as the Day of Sun and is celebrated as one of the communist country's most important national holidays along with his late son's birthday in February.

This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on April 9, 2024, shows the North holding a photo exhibition marking the 112th birthday of late founder Kim Il-sung. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

The North opened the photo exhibition Monday in Pyongyang with photos and videos featuring the two late leaders and their grandson and current leader Kim Jong-un, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

In a separate dispatch, the KCNA said about 1,200 participants held performances in a youth art festival that began Monday in an apparent move to drum up a festive mood for the anniversary of Kim Il-sung's birthday.

The festival comes amid lingering tensions over a series of missile launches by North Korea in recent months in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, meanwhile, sent a congratulatory message to the North's leader Kim Jong-un over his grandfather's birthday on Sunday, expressing hope for stronger ties between the two nations.

Seoul's unification ministry said what's unusual is that North Korean state media has been referring to Kim's birthday as "a holiday in April" or "a spring holiday in April" in recent weeks instead of the Day of Sun.

"I think it will be appropriate to assess (what that means) after comprehensively looking at April 15-related reports," a ministry official told reporters, when asked if North Korea is viewing Kim's birthday as less important than before.

This year, North Korea is not likely to hold a large-scale military parade to mark Kim's birthday, as the country has usually held such a military event on anniversaries whose final numbers end in a five or zero.

The South Korean military is closely monitoring Pyongyang's possible preparations for provocations on the occasion of Kim's birthday and the founding anniversary of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army on April 25.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · April 9, 2024

2. N. Korean state media not referring to late founder's birthday as Day of Sun

(2nd LD) N. Korean state media not referring to late founder's birthday as Day of Sun | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · April 9, 2024

(ATTN: RECASTS throughout to highlight N.K. media not using term Day of Sun)

SEOUL, April 9 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has been ramping up a festive mood to celebrate the upcoming 112th birthday of late founder Kim Il-sung, but its state media has been recently referring to it as "the April holiday" instead of what's commonly called the Day of Sun.

Kim died of heart failure in 1994 at age 82, opening the way for his son, Kim Jong-il, to take over in communism's first hereditary succession of power.

But the Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday carried a report that said about 1,200 participants held performances at a schoolchildren's art festival the previous day on the occasion of "the significant April holiday."

The North has also renamed the annual cooking festival that has been held every April to mark Kim's birthday, dropping the term Day of Sun from its original name.

Seoul's unification ministry said it is "unusual" that North Korean state media has been referring to Kim's birthday as "the April holiday" or the "spring holiday in April" in recent weeks.

"I think it will be appropriate to assess (what that means) after comprehensively looking at media reports coming out until April 15," a ministry official told reporters, when asked if North Korea is viewing Kim's birthday as less important than before.

North Korea has held cultural events or art festivals ahead of the anniversaries of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il's births in an effort to idolize them and justify the hereditary power succession of the "Paektu bloodline."

"If the North does not continue to use the term Day of Sun, (Kim Jong-un) may intend to minimize his grandfather's feats while maintaining the legitimacy of the Paektu bloodline," Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies, said, referring to North Korea's royal bloodline.

The North claims Mount Paektu, the highest peak on the Korean Peninsula and located on the Sino-North Korean border, is the sacred birthplace of Kim Jong-il, though historians and foreign officials have said he was born in Russia.

Kim Il-sung is known as the role model of the North's incumbent leader. But at a year-end party meeting, Kim Jong-un scrapped a decadeslong policy of seeking unification with South Korea, a legacy of his grandfather, and defined inter-Korean ties as those between "two states hostile to each other."

But it still remains to be seen whether the North would remove the term Day of Sun completely from its state media reports.

In February, the Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, carried reports referring to the Day of Sun and the Day of the Shining Star, which is Kim Jong-il's birthday on Feb. 16.

This file photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on April 16, 2023, shows the North's schoolchildren holding a nighttime cultural event to mark the 111th birthday of late founder Kim Il-sung the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

The festival comes amid lingering tensions over a series of missile launches by North Korea in recent months in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · April 9, 2024

3. N. Korea's state media highlights ties with Russia amid deepening cooperation

Prioritizing its relationship with Russia? While it may appear so, it also has not given up its relationship with China. See the article from KCNA below this one about the regime's relationship with China ("Emblem of "year of DPRK-China friendship" instituted")

Excerpt:

An official at South Korea's unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs called the move "very unusual," saying it shows how much the North is prioritizing its relationship with Russia.

N. Korea's state media highlights ties with Russia amid deepening cooperation | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · April 9, 2024

SEOUL, April 9 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's state news agency has established an archive of articles on the country's ties with Russia in the latest sign of their growing cooperation following a rare summit last year.

A banner that reads "North Korea-Russia friendly ties reach historic turning point" on the website of the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) leads to a page carrying 13 articles on summits between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the website Tuesday.

After holding their first summit in the Russian Far East city of Vladivostok in April 2019, Kim and Putin held another summit at Russia's Vostochny spaceport in September.

The two nations have since been strengthening cooperation in various fields amid suspicions that Pyongyang has provided weapons to Moscow for its use in Russia's war against Ukraine.

An official at South Korea's unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs called the move "very unusual," saying it shows how much the North is prioritizing its relationship with Russia.

Last month, the KCNA reported on a visit by Russia's foreign intelligence chief in an apparent display of deepening cooperation between the two countries, considering that such visits are usually not made public.

This April 9, 2024, screenshot of the website of the Korean Central News Agency shows an archive of news articles on summits between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

mlee@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · April 9, 2024

Emblem of "year of DPRK-China friendship" instituted

https://kcnawatch.org/newstream/1712653432-964709354/emblem-of-year-of-dprk-china-friendship-instituted/

Date: 09/04/2024 | Source: Voice of Korea (EN) | Read original version at source

Kim Jong Un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and President of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and President of the People's Republic of China, set 2024 marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries as a "year of DPRK-China friendship" and declared its operation early in January.

An emblem of the "year of DPRK-China friendship" was instituted, true to the noble intention of the top leaders of the two parties and two countries.

Depicted in the emblem are the national flags of the DPRK and China, the figure "75" symbolizing the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the letters reading "year of DPRK-China friendship". Also carried in it are the Arch of Triumph of the DPRK and Tiantan Qiniandian, long historical and cultural relics of China.

The DPRK and the PRC will strikingly demonstrate their close bonds, sealed and cemented in the struggle for socialism, and the invincibility of the DPRK-China friendship and further develop the bilateral relations in various fields including politics, economy and culture this significant year, thus recording another beautiful chapter in the history of the friendly relations between the two countries.

4. Opinion | Thank China for our new three-way Pacific alliance

Map/graphics at the link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/04/09/china-united-states-japan-philippines-alliance-summit/

Excerpts:

For the Biden team, this summit is the culmination of years of work building new alliance groups in Asia. They have already held meetings with the leaders of the Quad (United States, Japan, Australia and India), AUKUS (Australia, United Kingdom and United States), and Japan and South Korea last year at Camp David. This latest arrangement is sometimes internally called JAROPUS (Japan, Republic of Philippines and United States), an acronym coined by U.S. ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel that has not yet completely caught on.

“The Indo-Pacific comes down to two strategic visions,” Emanuel told me in an interview. “One is that this is China’s neighborhood and China makes the rules. The other is that the United States is a permanent Pacific power that you can bet long. The U.S. version is gaining ground.”

...

Washington has a tendency to focus on the urgent over the important. But with China’s power growing, the United States must demonstrate that despite two ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza and domestic political dysfunction, America can still play the geopolitical long game in Asia. Hopefully, this week’s trilateral summit will mark the beginning, not the end, of that effort.

Opinion | Thank China for our new three-way Pacific alliance

The Washington Post · by Josh Rogin · April 9, 2024

Israel and Ukraine might be sucking up all the foreign policy oxygen, but this week in Washington, one of the most significant international developments is something else entirely. The leaders of two important Asian allies will meet with the U.S. president, together, for the first time — highlighting a new three-way alliance. And the man who deserves the most credit for making this happen is, ironically, Chinese President Xi Jinping.

When President Biden meets with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. at the White House Wednesday, these leaders will present this new trilateral alliance as focused on common interests and principles such as freedom of navigation and rule of law, rather than as directed at any one country. But the subtext is clear: as China’s appetite for power and territory grows, Indo-Pacific allies are teaming up and asking for U.S. help.

For the Biden team, this summit is the culmination of years of work building new alliance groups in Asia. They have already held meetings with the leaders of the Quad (United States, Japan, Australia and India), AUKUS (Australia, United Kingdom and United States), and Japan and South Korea last year at Camp David. This latest arrangement is sometimes internally called JAROPUS (Japan, Republic of Philippines and United States), an acronym coined by U.S. ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel that has not yet completely caught on.

“The Indo-Pacific comes down to two strategic visions,” Emanuel told me in an interview. “One is that this is China’s neighborhood and China makes the rules. The other is that the United States is a permanent Pacific power that you can bet long. The U.S. version is gaining ground.”

In the long run, just the countries’ common urge to oppose China’s aggression won’t be sufficient to sustain the momentum. Unless the United States improves the investment and trade elements of its Indo-Pacific strategy, Asian allies will eventually turn back to China out of economic necessity. But for now, Xi’s bullying is driving his neighbors to call for more U.S. engagement and cooperation.

“My message to Xi Jinping is, ‘Don’t change,’” Emanuel said, a bit facetiously. “Keep it up at home and in the neighborhood. He deserves recognition for all his assistance.”

The meeting’s backdrop is a tense, medium-boil crisis playing out now in the South China Sea. Beijing claims ownership of about 90 percent of this crucial waterway, which one-third of global shipping traverses each year. For years, Beijing has been harassing and threatening ships near disputed islands and geographical features it claims as its own. Lately, China’s tactics are increasingly dangerous.

Chinese Coast Guard ships have taken to shooting water cannons and even ramming Philippine ships trying to bring supplies to a reef called the Second Thomas Shoal, part of the Spratly Islands. Philippine troops occupy the reef, living on a decrepit ship that the country deliberately marooned there in 1999. This issue is so prominent in the Philippines that it has pushed Marcos, who came to power in 2022 with Beijing’s support, toward the Western camp.

Japan, which has its own territorial disputes with China, is already providing the Philippines with ships, radar and other technology to help it patrol its waters. Now, in advance of the summit, the three allies plus Australia have begun joint naval patrols in the South China Sea. Tokyo and Manila are also finalizing an agreement to permit Japanese troops to temporarily be based in the Philippines, alongside U.S. troops there.

China’s state media calls these moves provocative and destabilizing. Marcos’s break with China has also earned him the ire of domestic critics — including his own sister. But he says his country can only stand up to Beijing with the help of allies such as the United States and Japan, and that the best way to convince Xi to curb his aggression is by showing strength. He is right on both counts.

“The deterrence game is escalating in the South China Sea, with the Philippines on the front lines,” Patrick Cronin, Asia-Pacific security chair at the Hudson Institute, told me. “And all of this has huge implications for a Taiwan scenario.”

In my conversations with officials from both countries, their first question is always: What will Donald Trump do if he gets reelected? Nobody really knows, but based on Trump’s actions during his last term, Asian allies have reason for concern. Trump pulled the United States out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He threatened to withdraw U.S. troops from Japan and South Korea if they didn’t pay more to host them. He “fell in love” with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

Trump had a good relationship with then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and then-Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, but both of those leaders are gone. Many officials in Trump’s administration who worked to bolster alliances in Asia won’t be back. In a second Trump term, the only sure bet is on unpredictability.

Washington has a tendency to focus on the urgent over the important. But with China’s power growing, the United States must demonstrate that despite two ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza and domestic political dysfunction, America can still play the geopolitical long game in Asia. Hopefully, this week’s trilateral summit will mark the beginning, not the end, of that effort.

The Washington Post · by Josh Rogin · April 9, 2024

5. Older Voters Are Taking Over in the World’s Wealthy Democracies

Excerpts:

Voters in many countries are aging, particularly among wealthy democracies. That will be on display in a major political year, when an estimated four billion people, or roughly half the world’s population, are participating in dozens of elections—from the U.S. to India to the U.K.

South Korea, home to the industrialized world’s lowest birthrate for the past decade, offers an early glimpse at the collision between demographics and democracy.

On Wednesday, the country votes on all 300 seats in its unicameral National Assembly. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is limited by South Korean law to a single five-year term that ends in 2027, hopes his ruling conservatives regain majority control of the legislature. Older voters in South Korea skew to the political right, though polls show a tight race.

“I never thought low birthrates was a serious issue but suddenly I fear that I’ll be living in a society where political power and welfare benefits will all be dominated by the older generation,” said 31-year-old Lee Ji-ae, who said she is concerned about projections that South Korea’s national pension fund will run out of money by the time she retires.

Older Voters Are Taking Over in the World’s Wealthy Democracies

South Korea’s legislative election this week will offer an early glimpse at the collision between demographics and democracy

https://www.wsj.com/world/asia/older-voters-are-taking-over-in-the-worlds-wealthy-democracies-3f913547?mod=Searchresults_pos1&page=1

By Timothy W. Martin

and Dasl Yoon

April 9, 2024 6:09 am ET

The graying of electorates—and the officials who represent them—is becoming increasingly common in advanced economies. PHOTO: AHN YOUNG-JOON/ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEOUL—On the surface, South Korea’s legislative election this week looks much like past votes. Candidates are holding rallies and parties are engaging in their usual mudslinging.

But there will be a new wrinkle when South Koreans head to the polls Wednesday: The number of eligible older voters, for the first time, will outnumber those under 40.

Roughly 32% of the electorate is 60 or older, vs. nearly 31% who are younger than 40, according to government data. That is a dramatic shift from 2008 when the total number of younger voters outnumbered seniors by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

The graying of electorates—and the officials who represent them—is becoming increasingly common in advanced economies, as people live longer and birthrates plunge. The world’s 10 largest countries by population now all have leaders older than 70.

The advancing age of voters has raised concerns that governments, backed by bigger blocs of seniors, will give priority to programs geared toward the elderly at the expense of public spending aimed at younger people. Some academics have called for overhauling how democratic governments are structured to ensure better representation for young and old.

Voters in many countries are aging, particularly among wealthy democracies. That will be on display in a major political year, when an estimated four billion people, or roughly half the world’s population, are participating in dozens of elections—from the U.S. to India to the U.K.

South Korea, home to the industrialized world’s lowest birthrate for the past decade, offers an early glimpse at the collision between demographics and democracy.

On Wednesday, the country votes on all 300 seats in its unicameral National Assembly. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is limited by South Korean law to a single five-year term that ends in 2027, hopes his ruling conservatives regain majority control of the legislature. Older voters in South Korea skew to the political right, though polls show a tight race.

“I never thought low birthrates was a serious issue but suddenly I fear that I’ll be living in a society where political power and welfare benefits will all be dominated by the older generation,” said 31-year-old Lee Ji-ae, who said she is concerned about projections that South Korea’s national pension fund will run out of money by the time she retires.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, whose term ends in 2027, is hoping his ruling conservatives regain majority control of the legislature in the elections. PHOTO: KYODONEWS/ZUMA PRESS

Kim Cheol-yong, a 64-year-old retiree, said he thinks the problem is that younger people are less interested in politics and national security issues. He said many people his age were shocked to see young people supporting the former administration of left-leaning Moon Jae-in, who favored engagement with North Korea and is Yoon’s predecessor. Kim said he has always voted for conservatives, who favor tougher rhetoric with Pyongyang.

“We’re not ignoring the younger generation’s opinions,” he said.

South Korea has fewer young legislators than nearly every other country in the world, with about 4% of them 40 and under, placing it in 142nd place out of 147 nations, according to a report by the Inter-Parliamentary Union. In the U.S., which ranked slightly higher at 122, roughly 10% of legislators are under 40.

South Korea’s two major parties haven’t directed much of their campaigning toward younger citizens, despite their potential allure as swing voters. Younger voters have recently shown more allegiance to individual policies than partisanship, said Heo Jin-jae, of Gallup Korea, who researches public opinion.

Younger voters in the U.S. are also experiencing a disconnect with their representatives. The two major presidential candidates in November’s elections—81-year-old President Biden and 77-year-old Donald Trump—are decades older than them. The median age of U.S. senators is 65.

On Monday, Biden proposed slashing student debt for nearly 30 million Americans, a move that aimed in part at appealing to young voters. But the effort is likely to face challenges from Republicans.

Millennials and Gen-Z voters will represent 48.5% of the eligible electorate this fall, according to census data analyzed by researchers Mike Hais and Morley Winograd.

“If you look at what Congress has done in this world, they continue to spend, reinforce and help programs for senior citizens at the expense of doing something dramatic for younger people,” said Winograd, who, with Hais, has written three books on millennials and politics. Younger Americans show more interest in third parties or abstaining from voting, they said.

Roughly 32% of the South Korean electorate is 60 or older, while nearly 31% are younger than 40. PHOTO: YONHAP/POOL/SHUTTERSTOCK

The world has never before witnessed a moment where older people have begun outnumbering younger ones, meaning many democracies are becoming “gerontocracies,” said Yosuke Buchmeier, a research associate at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, who recently co-wrote a paper called, “The Aging Democracy.” With elected officials already much older than the population average in many countries, younger voters globally have become disenfranchised, apathetic and underrepresented in legislatures, he said.

The very notion of “one person, one vote” in democratic political systems may need to be rethought as seniors come to dominate voting bases, he added. Proposals range from offering young parents extra votes for their children to establishing a “generational election system,” in which each age bracket gets a confined number of legislators to ensure population-wide representation.

“We will see more aging democracies in the future,” Buchmeier said. “The question is who is democracy for and how can democracy really reform itself?”

Older people don’t necessarily vote along generational lines, since they often have children and grandchildren. They also don’t generally switch political ideologies as they age, said Sarah Harper, a gerontology professor at the University of Oxford. “You don’t suddenly wake up, you’re 50 and you’re right wing—that’s not how it works,” Harper said.

The number of seniors, relative to working-age individuals, will double in wealthy economies over the next several decades—and will drag on global growth from 2040 onward, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Paying for soaring public debt for pensions, healthcare and other services could spur intergenerational inequalities, too, the OECD said.

Lee Soon-ja, 62, said she doesn’t think older voters outnumbering younger ones is a good sign for South Korean society. She fears young people will feel they have less of a voice in politics.

“I hear that young people are already less interested in politics and voting than we are,” Lee said. “But if they start to feel that we make all the political decisions, I fear it will create misunderstandings with our children and grandchildren’s generations.”

Write to Timothy W. Martin at Timothy.Martin@wsj.com and Dasl Yoon at dasl.yoon@wsj.com

6. Top military officer visits east coast units amid N. Korean threats

Are there indications that something may take paace in the East Sea?

Top military officer visits east coast units amid N. Korean threats | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · April 9, 2024

SEOUL, April 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top military officer inspected units stationed at the eastern coast on Tuesday to check their readiness against North Korean military threats, his office said.

Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo visited the headquarters of the Navy's 1st Fleet in Donghae, 182 kilometers east of Seoul, amid concerns of possible North Korean provocations near the inter-Korean sea border.

"If the enemy undertakes a provocation south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), thoroughly retaliate against them by completely burying them at sea," Kim was quoted as saying, referring to the de facto inter-Korean maritime boundary.

Kim also visited a coastal Army radar base the same day and stressed the importance of cooperating with non-military agencies in coastal guard operations, according to the JCS.

Tensions have heightened over North Korea's continued weapons tests this year, including its launch of a purported solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile tipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle last Tuesday.

South Korean officials have said North Korea could undertake provocative acts in a key election year for South Korea and the United States. The South will hold parliamentary elections Wednesday, while the U.S. presidential vote will take place in November.

Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo (C) inspects an Army radar base on South Korea's east coast on April 9, 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 9, 2024

7. Yoon vows to make S. Korea top 3 nation in AI technology

And he will probably succeed.

Yoon vows to make S. Korea top 3 nation in AI technology | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · April 9, 2024

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, April 9 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Tuesday to make South Korea one of the three leading nations in the world in terms of artificial intelligence technology, saying AI chips are rapidly dominating the semiconductor market.

Yoon made the pledge during a meeting convened to discuss recent issues in the chip industry, including the partial suspension of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s operations in the wake of an earthquake in Taiwan and progress toward the construction of a chip mega cluster in Gyeonggi Province.

President Yoon Suk Yeol (R) speaks during a meeting to examine pending issues in the semiconductor industry at the presidential office in Seoul on April 9, 2024. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

"Our country already has global competitiveness not only in hardware, such as chips and digital devices, but also in the digital sector, including in AI models and their use," he said during the meeting at the presidential office, which brought together executives from Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, Naver and Sapeon Korea, as well as the ministers of finance, industry, science, environment and land.

"There aren't many countries with both the capability to manufacture hardware and develop and use software. I will push an AI chip initiative so that our country can enter the G3 in AI technology and go beyond memory chips to conquer the future AI chip market," he said, referring to the Group of 3.

The initiative will include increased investment in high bandwidth memory chips embedded with processing units and the development of next-generation AI technology, he said. To aid the effort, the government will invest 9.4 trillion won (US$6.9 billion) in AI and AI chips by 2027 and create a 1.4 trillion-won fund to help the growth of AI chip companies, he said.

Yoon noted the chip sector has shown signs of recovery, posting $11.7 billion in exports last month, the most in 21 months.

He assured the government has been closely monitoring the impact of last week's deadly earthquake in Taiwan on global chip supply chains, with the impact on South Korean businesses appearing minimal so far.

Still, he called for thorough readiness against future developments so that the government can respond immediately if necessary and prevent harm to domestic companies.

He also raised the need to keep abreast of efforts by the United States, Japan and European countries to strengthen their own chip supply chains, with the U.S. set to announce plans to support Samsung Electronics' investments in the country's chip sector.

Meanwhile, Yoon reaffirmed plans to begin construction on a chip industrial complex in Yongin, 42 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in 2026. The government will also supply power and industrial water needed for the construction of the chip mega cluster in southern Gyeonggi, he said.

hague@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Haye-ah · April 9, 2024

8. China's top legislator Zhao Leji to visit N. Korea this week

Aain, the regime is courting China dn Russia (as it has done in the past).

(LEAD) China's top legislator Zhao Leji to visit N. Korea this week | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · April 9, 2024

(ATTN: UPDATES with details in last four paras; ADDS photo; CHANGES headline)

SEOUL, April 9 (Yonhap) -- A Chinese delegation led by the country's top legislator, Zhao Leji, will visit Pyongyang, North Korea's state media said Tuesday, in the latest in a series of trips meant to boost ties.

The delegation "will pay an official goodwill visit" to North Korea, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said in an English-language dispatch, without providing any further details.

In Beijing, China's foreign ministry said Zhao will visit the North from Thursday to Saturday to attend the opening ceremony of the China-DPRK Friendship Year.

The visit comes as the two nations mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties. China is the North's longtime ally and largest economic benefactor.

South Korea's unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs earlier said North Korea and China are expected to have "vibrant" exchanges this year to mark the anniversary.

In January, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong visited Pyongyang and met with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui in a move widely seen as a reciprocal trip after the North's Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong-ho visited China in December.

This undated file photo shows China's top legislator Zhao Leji. (Yonhap)

mlee@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · April 9, 2024

9. US’s export control of semiconductor equipment to China has biggest impact on S. Korea

US’s export control of semiconductor equipment to China has biggest impact on S. Korea

donga.com

Posted April. 09, 2024 07:33,

Updated April. 09, 2024 07:33

US’s export control of semiconductor equipment to China has biggest impact on S. Korea. April. 09, 2024 07:33. by 박현익 기자 beepark@donga.com.

Since the U.S. imposed an export ban on cutting-edge semiconductor equipment to China in October 2022, it has significantly impacted South Korea among the major semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Even though most equipment that is manufactured by South Korean companies and exported to China is legacy equipment, which is not included under the regulation, South Korea saw an over 20 percent decrease in its exports compared to 2022. It is the result of China’s exclusion of South Korean equipment, which is technologically sub-par compared to the equipment made in countries with more advanced technologies when China preemptively bought equipment in preparation for the potential expansion of the U.S.’s regulations.

According to The Dong-A Ilbo’s Monday research into China’s semiconductor equipment import last year based on the U.N. trade statistics, the country’s import of South Korean equipment decreased by 20.3 percent compared to 2022 from 5.61 billion dollars to 4.47 billion dollars. It analyzes 19 HS codes relevant to semiconductor equipment, such as exposure, cleaning, etching, deposition, and testing.

During the same year, China’s import of U.S. equipment only decreased by 3.1 percent from 9.55 billion dollars to 9.25 billion dollars.

The country’s imports of equipment made in Japan and the Netherlands increased. The import of Japanese equipment rose 4.7 percent from 1.56 million dollars to 1.64 million dollars. The import of Dutch equipment saw a significant increase of 150.6 percent from 3.22 billion dollars to 8.07 billion dollars.

Such differences between countries stemmed from the fact that China has reduced the import of South Korean equipment, which is easily to be replaced by Chinese equipment, since the U.S.’s export ban was imposed. Some point to the fact that South Korean equipment was pushed down in priority when China was stocking up equipment because of the concerns about the expansion of the U.S.’s export ban from cutting-edge equipment to legacy equipment. Another contributing factor was the passive attitude of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix regarding the expansion and upgrade of their production lines in China.

한국어

donga.com

10. Election outcome to reshape Korean politics

Election outcome to reshape Korean politics

The Korea Times · by 2024-04-09 21:04 | Politics · April 9, 2024

An official at the National Election Commission holds a voting stamp at a polling station in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul, Tuesday, a day before the country casts ballots to elect lawmakers of the 22nd National Assembly. Yonhap

Nation to go to polls Wednesday to elect 300 lawmakers

By Nam Hyun-woo

Voters will cast ballots to elect 300 lawmakers Wednesday, to determine the fate of Korea's politics for the next four years, by either giving the ruling bloc a much-needed boost for its pledges and goals or sending a resounding message of disapproval regarding its performance and policies.

The main political theme of the general elections is whether the public will harshly judge the main parties here. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is calling on the nation to “hand down judgment on the Yoon Suk Yeol administration,” while the ruling People Power Party (PPP) is urging voters to “punish DPK Chairman Lee Jae-myung and his party, which has been controlling the National Assembly” with its majority status over the past four years.

Analysts and politicians are saying whatever the outcome may be, an upheaval will be unavoidable in the country’s political landscape, affecting Yoon’s grip on state affairs and the subsequent power struggles within both the DPK and the PPP.

From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., voters will be able to cast their ballots at 14,259 polling stations across the country to elect 254 constituency and 46 proportional representation lawmakers who will form the 22nd National Assembly for the next four years. Of the 44.28 million eligible voters, 13.85 million, or 31.28 percent, already cast their ballots during early voting — from Friday to Saturday.

Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Lee Jae-myung, center, reads a statement during his appearance at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, Seoul, to attend a hearing on his corruption allegations. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

The key point of Wednesday’s elections will be which side will secure more than half of the 300 seats.

Since the elections are widely viewed as a midterm evaluation of Yoon, who started his five-year term in May 2022, a DPK majority result would be interpreted as the public demonstrating its frustration toward the administration, resulting in Yoon losing a grip on state affairs with more than half of his term left.

For the past two years, Yoon has faced stumbling blocks in exercising his political power, as the DPK, which has held more than 150 Assembly seats, has been opposing many of the president’s policies and Cabinet appointments.

This tendency will be even more pronounced if the DPK maintains its majority. And it will likely make the PPP pay less attention to Yoon and instead, strive to reform the party, while facing serious internal power struggles over who will be its next presidential candidate.

“In case the DPK holds the majority, Yoon will likely face limits in most of his political capabilities, thereby falling into a lame duck status,” said Cho Jin-man, a politics professor at Duksung Women’s University.

“Turmoil in the PPP will be inevitable. It will have to reassess its relations with the Yoon administration and put emphasis on future power.”

Parties end official campaigning on eve of election day

During his speech on Tuesday, DPK Chairman Lee Jae-myung urged voters to cast their ballots “to prevent the political forces that betrayed the public from holding a majority in the Assembly.”

“The Yoon administration downgraded every aspect of the country’s economy, public livelihood, diplomacy, security and democracy,” Lee said. “Please prove that no administration can exist by defying the public, and no power can defeat the people.”

People Power Party interim leader Han Dong-hoon speaks while canvassing in Seongdong District, Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

If the ruling party clinches the majority, the situation will be the opposite.

Yoon will be able to gain momentum in pursuing his policies, such as his three major reform proposals: labor, pension and education, which have been on hold due to the DPK’s opposition.

Also, he will not need to rely on his veto power to resist bills unilaterally, which were often pushed by the main opposition, having done so nine times so far. The DPK’s threat to launch a special counsel probe on Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, over stock price manipulation allegations, could also lose strength.

The ongoing standoff between the government and doctors over the government’s push to expand the admissions quota of medical schools will likely go in Yoon's favor, as the election results can then be seen as a public mandate for the president to persue his aims moving forward.

If the vote is in the PPP's favor, the DPK will face the impact of defeat.

During the candidate nomination process earlier this year, the DPK suffered serious factional infighting over what critics referred to as its chairman’s “excessive control” over the party. Lee’s leadership will likely be challenged by non-mainstream factions, resulting in chaos over finding who was responsible for the defeat and who should be the next leader.

“If the ruling party wins, the DPK will face criticism for losing the election despite the administration’s poor performance,” Cho said. “In doing so, various factions, which have already experienced infighting recently, will clamor for power … Overall, whoever loses the election will face an upheaval in their political landscape.”

PPP interim leader Han Dong-hoon told voters that casting their ballots for the ruling party is like saving the country from collapse.

“Will you let people like the DPK chairman amend the Constitution and exonerate himself from allegations he faces?” he said. “If we lose this opportunity, the only thing we can do is to hit the streets to protest.”

The Korea Times · by 2024-04-09 21:04 | Politics · April 9, 2024

Part 2.

Men are a burden. to women. But isn't that true everywhere (note dark sarcasm).

＜Investigation＞Why aren’t North Korea’s women having babies anymore? (2)　Women increasingly avoid marriage to protect themselves...Men are considered a burden to women in N. Korean society

asiapress.org

2. (FILE PHOTO) A wedding ceremony in Cheongjin, North Hamgyong Province, in 2006, a scene rarely seen today. Taken from a video of a wedding obtained by ASIAPRESS.

＜Investigation＞Why aren’t North Korea’s women having babies anymore? (1) The fertility rate is already severely low…It’s rare to see anyone carrying babies around

North Korean women are delaying marriage and avoiding childbirth. The bottom line is that the disadvantages of marriage and childbirth for women have only gotten worse with recent developments in North Korea. ASIAPRESS spoke to three of its reporting partners in the northern part of the country to find out more. (JEON Sung-jun / KANG Jiwon)

◆ Women avoid marriage to protect their livelihoods and to protect themselves

Why do North Korean women choose not to marry? The main reason is that marriage is a huge burden on women.

The near-collapse of the food rationing system in the 1990s led to an abnormal economic structure in which women have become expected to support their families through commercial activities. While this has improved women's economic status, it has also increased the burdens placed on them. In addition to household chores and childcare, they have to earn money to feed their families.

Moreover, North Korean women don't want to have to live with men who just sit at home, unable to do anything about their situation because they are tied to jobs provided by the government.

"(The reason for not marrying) is mostly because they are worried about their livelihoods, and usually the men are not capable (of earning money), so (the women) have to provide for them. Pretty girls will marry men who have everything, but they will not marry men who have nothing." (Reporting Partner "A")

North Korea's legal system, which makes it difficult to get a divorce once married, also contributes to women's reluctance to marry, the reporting partners said. Weddings are perceived as something only those with money can afford, and many ordinary workers who can't afford a wedding are choosing to simply register their marriage without a ceremony.

"We did have a wedding, but it was just a gathering of acquaintances and relatives. We did it so quietly that we almost got sent to a forced labor camp... We got married in December last year (2023) and are living together, but we were the focus of attention during an inspection (the authorities suspected we were living together when we were not a couple)."

※ Forced labor camps are where people accused of light crimes or disturbing social order are detained for up to a year. The camps are managed by North Korea’s national police agency.

1. (FILE PHOTO) A woman sells goods in an alley with a baby in her arms. Her face, which is covered in make-up, shows the hardships of life. Taken in July 2007, Sariwon, ASIAPRESS

◆ Childbirth creates intolerable burdens for women

Even if a woman is married, the decision to have a child is not an easy one.

"The man is not able to provide for the family, so the woman has to earn (money)," said Reporting Partner “A.” In this situation, having a child is a serious blow to the family's finances."

In other words, for North Korean women, childbirth is a matter of survival for their families; the cost of childbirth is too high.

The rising cost of childcare also contributes to women's avoidance of childbirth. The reporting partner said that even if they want to send their children to school, the burden of paying for everything from gloves to underwear to woolen shawls for the Korean People's Army and various construction projects is so severe that parents refuse to send them.

"Nowadays, it's hard to send them (to school) if you don't have money. Even in January, the school collected 30,000 won per student for firewood. They're asking people to bring firewood - not money, but it's like money. Schools usually demand around 20,000 to 50,000 won per month." (Reporting Partner “B”)

※ As of late March 2024, one kilogram of white rice was 6,500 North Korean won. 1,000 North Korean won equals around 153 South Korean won.

◆ Some men still want children, but women use contraception in secret

North Korean men have yet to catch on to these changes. They have no awareness of contraception or abortion, and patriarchal attitudes such as shouting at their wives remain widespread, according to the reporting partners.

The reporting partner in Ryanggang Province responded to a question about the responsibility men feel when it comes to contraception, abortion, and childcare by saying:

"Men here still don't know about that... Most men don't care if a woman has an abortion or faces other issues... There's no such thing as taking care of a woman... Men in households where they [can’t] earn money and put food on the table are scarier than tigers." (Reporting Partner “B”)

The reporting partner said that men still have no sense of responsibility for contraception or abortion and tend to think of it as a woman's responsibility.

"There are still men who don't have sense or thinking and (continue to get their wives pregnant) to get a son, but women put (contraceptive) rings on without their husbands' knowledge to avoid pregnancy." (Reporting Partner “A”)

※ Contraceptive rings/birth control vaginal rings: a form of contraception commonly used by North Korean women.

The patriarchal reality of North Korea - where the state, society, and men fail to empathize with women's burdens of childbearing and parenting - is a critical factor in understanding the country's declining birthrate.

So, how are the authorities responding to this serious decline in the birthrate? Find out in the next installment.

(To be continued in the next installment)

＜Investigation＞Why aren’t North Korea’s women having babies anymore? (1) The fertility rate is already severely low…It’s rare to see anyone carrying babies around

asiapress.org

12. Japan's outreach to N. Korea unlikely to affect trilateral cooperation against Pyongyang

That could/should mean we are executing a superior trilateral political arare strategy against the regime.

Japan's outreach to N. Korea unlikely to affect trilateral cooperation against Pyongyang

The Korea Times · April 9, 2024

President Yoon Suk Yeol poses with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japan's Prime Minister Kishida Fumio ahead of their meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, Nov. 16, 2023. AP-Yonhap

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Japan's attempts to reach out to North Korea to hold a summit are unlikely to affect the trilateral partnership's overall objectives against Pyongyang, experts said.

Ahead of his summit with U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told CNN, Sunday, that his government was making “high-level approaches” to secure a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to resolve outstanding issues and promote stable relations between the two countries.

This comes two weeks after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, ruled out holding a summit with Japan, saying Pyongyang will refuse “any contact and negotiations” with Tokyo. She accused Japan of remaining “stuck in the past” by continuing to raise the issue of Japanese abductees and North Korea's banned nuclear weapons programs.

Yang Moo-jin, the president of the University of North Korean Studies, said Japan’s active efforts to reach out to North Korea will not affect the trilateral ties between the United States, South Korea and Japan.

“I believe Japan’s signal to North Korea won’t affect trilateral security cooperation against Pyongyang. South Korea and the U.S. have no reason to oppose Japan’s decision if it seeks to resolve North Korea’s nuclear and missile issues,” Yang said.

“Even if a Kishida-Kim summit takes place, which seems highly unlikely, Japan will coordinate with its allies and offer a full explanation about the diplomatic talks. Kishida is pushing for a diplomatic breakthrough with the North Korean leader to save his faltering leadership.”

Cheong Seong-chang, director of the Center for Korean Peninsula Strategy at the Sejong Institute, said Japan-North Korea relations won’t affect the trilateral partnership's cooperation unless Japan signs an agreement unilaterally with North Korea.

“South Korea, the U.S. and Japan are sharing information on North Korean missiles in real time and conducting combined naval exercises (in a show of strength against North Korea). It’s hard to imagine that Japan will defy the U.S. to cooperate with North Korea. It seems very unlikely that they will reach an agreement with North Korea that undermines trilateral relations,” he said.

Cheong also questioned Kishida’s governing style.

“Kishida has a weak presence in Japan. His cabinet’s approval rating has been stuck near record lows. He hasn’t made extraordinary progress since he took office. I doubt that he would be able to demonstrate determination in Tokyo-Pyongyang relations,” he said.

Nikkei Asia reported on Tuesday that Biden would conditionally support the Kishida-Kim summit, adding that any such meeting would be dependent on close coordination among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan.

The Korea Times · April 9, 2024

13. N. Korea's shortage of scrap metal highlights its inefficient economic system

The people suffer because of the regime's deliberate policy decision to prioritize nuclear weapons and missiles over their welfare.

Excerpts:

The so-called “national defense economy,” which aims to sell weapons to Russia in order to buy rice and flour, is not helping the situation. According to the “2023 North Korea-China Trade Evaluation Report” published by the Korea Institute for Foreign Economic Policy at the end of February, North Korea has drastically increased its coke imports to 24,855 tons, triple the level of the previous year.

In other words, although North Korea has a sufficient base for effective steel production, the raw materials appear to have been sent to weapons factories to produce weapons for Russia rather than to improve the economy.

North Korean policymakers must answer the question of whether they will choose trade and cooperation through mutual trust, or persist with closed self-reliance. The authorities have a duty to struggle relentlessly to find ways to improve the economy, raise incomes and ensure a “happy life for the people.”

N. Korea's shortage of scrap metal highlights its inefficient economic system - Daily NK English

The North Korean government has made the terrible mistake of creating a system of steel production that uses scrap metal

By Jo Hyon, PhD, Kyungnam University - April 9, 2024

dailynk.com · by Jo Hyon, PhD, Kyungnam University · April 9, 2024

On Jan. 6, 2024, Rodong Sinmun reported that central government agencies transported scrap metal to the Cheollima Steeworks the previous day (Jan. 5). (Rodong Sinmun-News1)

Kim Jong Un’s ambitious 20×10 regional development plan is already running into problems. In addition to the shortage of common materials such as cement and wood, there is also a serious shortage of steel reinforcing bars.

On Apr. 4, a source inside the country said that rebar production at the Kaechon Steel Works in South Pyongan Province and the Nampo Steel Works has been declining due to the depletion of scrap metal compared with the rising demand for steel products.

Considering that North Koreans of all ages, sexes and occupations – from seven-year-old children to the elderly – are required to fill scrap metal quotas, a shortage of scrap metal in North Korea seems unlikely to this writer. In short, it indicates that the mobilization of the entire population has created a strange situation where not enough scrap metal has been collected.

Here, government policy is the biggest roadblock to collecting enough scrap metal. In the past, when there was a shortage of scrap metal, old facilities could be demolished, but now all old facilities are being used under the pretext of practicing “self-sufficiency,” making it extremely difficult for people to obtain scrap metal.

More broadly, North Korean government has made the terrible mistake of creating a system of steel production that relies on scrap metal. The authorities have been promoting a method of steel production that uses less coke, a raw component of steel, in the so-called “Juche steel” production process.

The country’s poor levels of steel production are closely related to North Korea’s emphasis on promoting the country’s nuclear weapons production. The authorities have diverted the funds needed to purchase coke to the construction of nuclear weapons. They also chose to emphasize the importance of Juche steel, which is cheaper and requires only labor and scrap metal to produce.

If the Workers’ Party of Korea had chosen to promote market capitalism and used the funds invested in nuclear weapons and missiles to import coke and produce high-quality steel instead, the North Korean economy could have overcome its current difficulties and even achieved growth.

For its part, “Juche steel” is very brittle because of its high carbon content. The authorities have tried to solve this problem by melting scrap metal and adding oxygen, but the scrap metal needed for this process has run out, leading to a decline in steel production.

The so-called “national defense economy,” which aims to sell weapons to Russia in order to buy rice and flour, is not helping the situation. According to the “2023 North Korea-China Trade Evaluation Report” published by the Korea Institute for Foreign Economic Policy at the end of February, North Korea has drastically increased its coke imports to 24,855 tons, triple the level of the previous year.

In other words, although North Korea has a sufficient base for effective steel production, the raw materials appear to have been sent to weapons factories to produce weapons for Russia rather than to improve the economy.

North Korean policymakers must answer the question of whether they will choose trade and cooperation through mutual trust, or persist with closed self-reliance. The authorities have a duty to struggle relentlessly to find ways to improve the economy, raise incomes and ensure a “happy life for the people.”

Translated by Annie Eun Jung Kim. 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.

Read in Korean

dailynk.com · by Jo Hyon, PhD, Kyungnam University · April 9, 2024

14. North Korean media takes stab at South's president on eve of elections

democracy and free and fair elections in the South are a threat to the Kim family regime

North Korean media takes stab at South's president on eve of elections

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/north-korean-media-takes-stab-souths-president-eve-elections-2024-04-09/

By Josh Smith

April 9, 20244:07 AM EDTUpdated 5 hours ago

Item 1 of 3 South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol casts his early vote for 22nd parliamentary election, in Busan, South Korea, April 5, 2024. Yonhap via REUTERS/ File Photo

[1/3]South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol casts his early vote for 22nd parliamentary election, in Busan, South Korea, April 5, 2024. Yonhap via REUTERS/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

SEOUL, April 9 (Reuters) - North Korea's state-controlled media has called President Yoon Suk Yeol of its neighbour South Korea a "fascist dictator" and a "warmonger" a day before elections that will determine the makeup of parliament, currently dominated by Yoon's opponents.

Reports carried by North Korea's official KCNA news agency described the South as being "engulfed" in protests, adding that "popular resistance to impeach puppet Yoon Suk Yeol is growing by the day."

"In puppet Korea, the enthusiasm of all walks of life for the destruction of Yoon Suk Yeol's puppet party is intensifying," KCNA said on Tuesday.

Analysts say the results of the election, which will not affect Yoon's five-year term in office, are unlikely to result in major changes to South Korea's foreign policy.

Some labour groups have held protests against Yoon, but they are nothing like the widespread demonstrations that led to the downfall of the last conservative president, Park Geun-hye, in 2017 over corruption charges.Yoon's hardline policies toward Pyongyang have riled the North, which is ruled by leader Kim Jong Un.

Earlier this year, North Korea changed its policies to effectively treat the South as a separate, enemy state, with Kim saying that peaceful reunification was impossible. He also ordered his military to be prepared to pacify and occupy the South in the event of a crisis.

Since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a stalemate, both nations have had policies that treat each other differently than other countries. That has included relying on special agencies and ministries for inter-Korean relations and embracing policies for a future peaceful reunification.

The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.

Reporting by Josh Smith; editing by Miral Fahmy

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

15. The revolutionary axis linking North Korea, Iran and Hamas

north Korea is a rogue and revolutionary power.

The revolutionary axis linking North Korea, Iran and Hamas

DPRK weapons and unique expertise are a welcome asset for Iran and its proxies in a global assault on US leadership

https://www.nknews.org/2024/04/the-revolutionary-axis-linking-north-korea-iran-and-hamas/

Benjamin R. Young April 9, 2024

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at military drills in March (left) and Ali Khamenei, supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran (right) | Image: KCNA (March 16, 2024), The Office of the Supreme Leader (April 2016), edited by NK News

The brutal terrorist attack that killed more than a thousand in Israel last year and set off the ongoing conflict in Gaza has renewed scrutiny of Iran’s support for Hamas and Islamic extremism. A network of proxies and armed groups in the Middle East forms what Tehran calls the “axis of resistance” and provides Iran with strategic depth and cover

Composed mainly of Shiite militants, the axis of resistance is often thought of as a contained regional project mostly relevant to the Shia community. But the discovery of North Korean rocket-propelled grenade launchers among a cache of captured Hamas weapons reveals the axis’ global reach — at least all the way to Pyongyang.

Iran’s axis of resistance is motivated by shared opposition to U.S. hegemony and a commitment to the destruction of the Israeli state. Tehran embraced the label of this informal coalition in direct response to U.S. President George W. Bush’s infamous 2002 “Axis of Evil” speech, in which he labeled Iran, North Korea and Iraq as state sponsors of terror that pursued weapons of mass destruction.

THE AXIS IS BORN

The origins of the axis of resistance are much older than 2004, going all the way back to the anti-imperialist ethos of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. The project has encouraged the export of revolution around the world and should be understood as a global resistance project against American global leadership.

As Ayatollah Khomeini remarked in 1980, “We should try hard to export our revolution to the world, and should set aside the thought that we do not export our revolution, because Islam does not regard various Islamic countries differently and is the supporter of all the oppressed people of the world.”

The Islamic Republic of Iran has long prided itself on being the symbolic center of the global anti-U.S. and anti-Israel movement and thus has cultivated relations with like-minded governments such as North Korea. The DPRK government has also historically espoused anti-Israel sentiments and has even disseminated anti-Semitic tropes.

Iran’s axis of resistance extends into Northeast Asia as the ayatollahs in Tehran have strategically and ideologically formed a close relationship with the North Korean government.

Based on shared hostility for “U.S imperialism” and Western culture, the two regimes have closely worked together on a number of military and political issues. In 1980, Hassan Rouhani, who at the time worked for the regime’s propaganda apparatus and later became president of Iran, traveled to Pyongyang to learn from the regime’s broadcasting agency and also secure arms from the North Koreans.

In 1989, then-Iranian President Ali Khamenei paid a visit to Pyongyang, which contributed to solidifying his position as the supreme leader of Iran, according to Khamenei’s official biography. In 2012, at the Non-Aligned Movement Conference in Tehran, Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi told North Korean statesman Kim Yong-nam that Iran and the DPRK “are the axis of resistance against imperialism.”

Kim Jong Un at an ASCM missile test in Feb. 2024 | Image: KCNA (Feb. 15, 2024)

MILITARY TIES

In the 1980s, North Korea sold Iran Scud missiles for their war with neighboring Iraq. This eventually transitioned into the DPRK assisting Iran in the development of ballistic missile technology in the 1990s and 2000s.

Iranian engineers and technical experts likely helped North Korea’s rocket development. Technical experts, affiliated with Iran’s Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, journeyed to North Korea to assist in the development of an 80-ton rocket booster. Technicians from Iran were in attendance during North Korea’s Unha rocket launches in 2009 and 2012.

More recently, a 2021 U.N. report revealed that North Korea helped Iran’s Shahid Haj Ali Movahed Research Center with the development of a dual-use space launch vehicle.

It is clear that Iran views North Korea as a trustworthy ally and an important source of specialized military expertise. After Oct. 7, and amid Iran’s growing interest in nuclear weapons development, these technology transfers between Tehran and Pyongyang are worrisome and likely to continue.

North Korea has also formed close ties with Iranian proxies throughout the Middle East. Pyongyang sold missile parts to Hezbollah in the early 2000s and, more importantly, taught the Lebanese terrorist organization how to build underground tunnels. According to Israeli sources, North Korean military advisors were apparently on the ground in Lebanon assisting their Hezbollah comrades during their 2006 war with Israel.

The Alma Research Center of Israel released a report in 2021 detailing the extensive network of tunnels Hezbollah has built, with the guidance of North Korean specialists, since the 2006 war. There are also credible reports that North Korean tunnel-building experts helped Hamas build its own underground tunnel network. Hezbollah and Iranian intermediaries likely facilitated this North Korea-Hamas partnership.

In 2016, North Korea attempted to sell weapons to Yemen’s Houthis, a close ally of Iran. According to a 2018 U.N. report, the Yemeni rebel group in 2016 was interested in acquiring conventional arms and ballistic missiles from Pyongyang’s Ministry of Military Equipment and Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation.

It seems that these missiles did indeed end up in Houthi arms since South Korean intelligence leaked to the media that Houthi missiles fired into Saudi Arabia in June 2016 closely resembled the DPRK’s Hwasong-6 missiles.

Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) paratroopers operating in Gaza to find and disable Hamas’ tunnels in 2014. | Image: Israel Defense Forces via Flickr (July 20, 2014)

ENTER NORTH KOREA

As the world’s attention focuses on the brutal conflict in Gaza, it’s important not to forget that the long arm of Iranian security and intelligence services extends far beyond the Middle East. The Islamic Republic has forged an extensive global network of friendly governments, proxy forces and mercenaries.

North Korea, with its unique tunnel-building expertise and arms depots, is a potent and important partner for Iran and its proxies.

This decentralized network does not necessarily take direct orders from Tehran but largely supports the collective interests of the axis, specifically weakening U.S. influence abroad, fostering violent hostility toward Israel and eroding the U.S.-led international order.

North Korea can likely find many potential customers for its arms within this movement and earn much-needed hard currency. The DPRK also strategically benefits from observing battlefield usage of its military technology as well as strategically weakening U.S. military interests abroad.

As of today, there is no credible evidence that North Korea has assisted or supplied Iranian proxy forces in Iraq, such as Kataib Hezbollah or other pro-Iranian militias there, but that may change given the central role these pro-Iranian Iraqi groups are now playing in the Middle East.

The U.S. should not overlook the fact that, despite the lack of formal treaties and military agreements, this axis of resistance often operates as a cohesive global front against U.S. national interests and that North Korea plays a key role in it as a supplier of tunnel-building know-how and weapons.

Edited by Arius Derr

16. U.S., Japan to announce military cooperation, joint NASA lunar mission

A lot of questions to be answered on the efficacy of a Japan-US combined command.

But this really calls into question Japan's confidence in INDOPACOM. Should there be a new command structure for the entire Asia Pacific region? Perhaps a maritime Geographic Command to defend the maritime spaces (which is the comparative advantage of INDOPACOM as a traditional naval dominant command). Then we might want to establish a Northeast Asia Command closer to the Asia land mass. (My recommendations are here: Revitalizing America's North Korea Policy

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/korea-watch/revitalizing-americas-north-korea-policy-207642

Excerpts from my paper with my recommendations for a Northeast Asia Command:

Restructure the U.S. National Security Apparatus in Northeast Asia

It is time to rethink how the United States employs its instruments of national power in Asia and, specifically, in Northeast Asia. For more than a decade, the United States has paid lip service to an “Asian pivot,” only to find that the Middle East has a stranglehold on its strategic attention. A major restructuring should be considered.

Establishing a Northeast Asia Combatant Command is not a new idea It has been studied for more than three decades. However, it is likely that INDOPACOM is too large and faced with multiple, complex challenges that are largely maritime. Of course, wherever military boundaries are established, there will always be resource gaps and competition for military resources. However, given the importance of Northeast Asia, a Combatant Command in Korea is necessary to ensure sufficient priority and resources are provided to protect U.S. interests. But a new military command alone is insufficient.

The State Department should set up a new office in Japan—a regional or “super” ambassador whose mission would be to synchronize regional diplomacy efforts, engage with multilateral diplomatic groups, and coordinate regional information activities. This ambassador would be very useful in sustaining and growing trilateral cooperation between Seoul, Tokyo, and Washington. This would help to reduce the adverse effects of stovepipe or bilateral diplomacy at the expense of regional efforts. Yes, this would supplant some of the activities and authorities of the regional desks in the State Department. Still, it would allow for more rapid responses and engagement in the region.

An Economic Engagement Center should be established in Taiwan to support the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) . Again, this would supplant some of the activities of State, Treasury, and Commerce Departments in Washington, but it would improve responsiveness to economic activities in the region.

Although this may seem like a relatively logical change in military and diplomatic posture, it is a radical change for the diplomatic, information, and economic instruments of national power. However, the radical nature of these combined actions would demonstrate a substantive U.S. commitment to the region and improve the application of all the tools available in a more synchronized, well-orchestrated, and effective manner.

Excerpts from the article below:

Though Biden will express intent to enhance the U.S. joint military command structure in Japan, he will not unveil a specific plan, said a senior administration official. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has yet to approve a plan, in consultation with the president and the incoming commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Adm. Samuel Paparo, the official said.

Meanwhile, Tokyo has announced plans to establish a Joint Operations Command by 2025 to direct all Japanese military operations, a move the United States has long sought. In return, Tokyo would like Washington to set up an operational command in Japan. Joint operations of U.S. personnel in Japan are currently directed by Indo-Pacom, which is headquartered in Hawaii.

“Today, if China attacked Taiwan, the United States and Japan would struggle to forge a combined response,” said Christopher Johnstone, a former senior Biden White House aide on East Asia who is now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “With truly operational commands in Japan, we would have a much better ability to coordinate military operations in real time.”

U.S., Japan to announce military cooperation, joint NASA lunar mission

President Biden is hosting Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a state visit this week, deepening ties between close allies

By Ellen Nakashima and Jeanne Whalen

April 8, 2024 at 9:02 p.m. EDT

The Washington Post · by Ellen Nakashima · April 9, 2024

The leaders of the United States and Japan this week will commit to modernizing their military alliance, with the aim of eventually creating a truly operational hub for the most consequential defense partnership in the Pacific.

They will also outline a vision for an integrated air defense network that links Japanese, Australian and U.S. sensors, so each country can have a full picture of airborne threats in the region.

And they will announce that a Japanese astronaut will become the first non-American on a NASA mission to the moon.

These are among the raft of announcements expected this week when President Biden welcomes Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a state visit on Wednesday, to be followed a day later by a first-ever summit among the leaders of Japan, the United States and the Philippines.

The summits are the latest display of the Biden administration’s efforts to deepen what it calls a “latticework” of alliances and partnerships in the region — a clear signal to China. Underscoring the point, Japan and the United States on Sunday joined Australia and the Philippines in military drills in the South China Sea, an area that China claims as part of its maritime dominion.

The relationship with Japan in particular has significantly deepened, with Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell recently calling it “the cornerstone of our engagement in the Indo-Pacific.”

The gains, however, have not been without some economic strains. Most recently, Japanese officials were frustrated by Biden’s public opposition to Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion bid to acquire U.S. Steel, with the president saying it was “vital” that the faded industrial giant remained in American hands.

But Tokyo, officials there say, understands the election-year necessity of Biden’s opposition to the takeover and has remained outwardly placid. The two governments, stressing that the matter is for the companies to work out, are determined that it not mar this week’s visit.

China’s growing aggressiveness in the region has brought Japan and the Philippines closer to the United States as their security interests converge. In the past year and a half, Japan has made significant reforms to its national security and defense strategies and has committed to buying U.S. Tomahawk missiles and building its own counterstrike capability. The Philippines has granted the U.S. military access to more bases on its islands.

Biden administration officials say the U.S.-Japan relationship is in the strongest shape it has ever been. “There should be a permanent level of mutual trust,” said one Japanese official, who like other senior officials in both capitals spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss planning for the summit.

Kishida, who will deliver a speech Thursday to a joint meeting of Congress, will also highlight Japan’s aspirations to be a global leader. At last year’s Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Kishida rallied support for Ukraine, expanded Global South participation in the meeting of advanced democracies, and he called for collective action against economic coercion — a veiled swipe at China.

Japan, said one senior Biden administration official, is aligning with the United States “in many ways like a NATO ally.”

Though Biden will express intent to enhance the U.S. joint military command structure in Japan, he will not unveil a specific plan, said a senior administration official. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has yet to approve a plan, in consultation with the president and the incoming commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Adm. Samuel Paparo, the official said.

Meanwhile, Tokyo has announced plans to establish a Joint Operations Command by 2025 to direct all Japanese military operations, a move the United States has long sought. In return, Tokyo would like Washington to set up an operational command in Japan. Joint operations of U.S. personnel in Japan are currently directed by Indo-Pacom, which is headquartered in Hawaii.

“Today, if China attacked Taiwan, the United States and Japan would struggle to forge a combined response,” said Christopher Johnstone, a former senior Biden White House aide on East Asia who is now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “With truly operational commands in Japan, we would have a much better ability to coordinate military operations in real time.”

Kishida and Biden will also discuss expanding co-production of defense equipment. The Japanese already produce Patriot missiles under license from Raytheon and have committed to exporting several dozen to the United States to refill depleted stocks sent to Ukraine and other allies. Though Biden and Kishida will not name specific weapon systems in their joint statement, an expansion of Patriot production could be discussed privately, along with the possibility of establishing other new manufacturing lines in coming years, U.S. officials said.

The two countries will also highlight economic investments, notably in electric-vehicle battery manufacturing, where Washington needs Tokyo’s assistance to jump-start production and fend off Beijing’s dominance.

“The preference is to rely on countries or governments that have values that are more in line with ours,” said Willy Shih, a Harvard Business School professor.

Japanese battery companies have announced more than $20 billion of investments in the United States in recent years. Toyota has said it will spend nearly $14 billion on a giant battery plant in Liberty, N.C., which Kishida will visit this week. Panasonic, which already operates a battery factory with Tesla in Nevada, is investing up to $4 billion in another plant in Kansas. Honda and joint-venture partner LG Energy Solution of South Korea are spending more than $4 billion on a battery factory in Ohio.

There remain tensions over what are seen as the Biden administration’s protectionist tax breaks on U.S.-made electric vehicles, but that “seems less significant,” said the Japanese official, than the “the issue of over-dependency on China” for key goods such as solar panels and critical minerals.

But, the official added, there is a deeper geostrategic issue that remains, in Tokyo’s view, unresolved: Washington’s resistance to joining a trans-Pacific trade pact whose 11 members include Canada, Australia Japan, Mexico and Chile. Though the Obama administration supported the trade agreement and led the negotiations, negative voter sentiment in the lead-up to the 2016 election made it clear that congressional approval would be extremely difficult.

Given protectionist impulses in both parties, the Biden administration has not seriously considered seeking to join. China and Taiwan, meanwhile, have asked to do so.

“The presence of the United States in the most advanced free trade agreement in the world would be significant,” the official said, referring to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, better known as the CP-TPP.

“We will continue to raise the strategic importance,” the official said.

The United States has its frustrations with Japan, too, particularly in the area of cybersecurity. Japan’s national security systems have been breached by Chinese government hackers, and Washington has told Tokyo that it needs to continue to strengthen its network security, including in the intelligence realm.

U.S. officials have encouraged Tokyo to “hold government officials accountable for the secrets they’re trusted with,” Campbell said last week at the Center for a New American Security. “It’s fair to say that Japan has taken some of those steps, but not all of them.”

Though the administration’s foreign policy focus has been on wars in Europe and the Middle East, it has lavished diplomatic attention on Asian and Pacific allies and partners. With the Kishida visit on Wednesday, four of Biden’s five state dinners will have been held for leaders of Indo-Pacific countries, including India, South Korea and Australia. French President Emmanuel Macron also was accorded the honor.

Christian Davenport contributed to this report.

The Washington Post · by Ellen Nakashima · April 9, 2024

17. S. Korean, U.S. navies hold mine warfare exercise in East Sea

S. Korean, U.S. navies hold mine warfare exercise in East Sea | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · April 9, 2024

SEOUL, April 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States have staged a combined marine warfare exercise in the East Sea to hone their skills in deterring maritime security threats and ensuring safe navigation in the sea, the South's Navy said Tuesday.

The annual drill kicked off on April 1 for a nine-day run in waters off Pohang, 262 kilometers southeast of Seoul, involving nine naval ships and four helicopters from the two nations.

The U.S. dispatched an expeditionary sea base, USS Miguel Keith (ESB 5), for the first time, which was joined by two other naval ships and MH-53 helicopters.

The 240-meter vessel Miguel Keith is designed to provide a floating helicopter landing base, and provide other support to military operations as an expeditionary sea base.

Sailors attend a combined naval mine warfare exercise between South Korea and the United States held in the East Sea in this photo provided by the South Korean Navy on April 9, 2024. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

South Korea mobilized six ships, including a Nampo MLS-II minelayer, as well as a P-3 maritime patrol helicopter and a UH-60 chopper.

"The drill was designed to train the South Korean and American navies to practice procedures and tactics for clearing paths for safe navigation and strengthen their joint response capabilities against complicated mine warfare scenarios," the South Korean Navy said in a release.

The combined drill staged various exercises to hone skills in laying, detecting and removing mines, providing logistics support and helicopter's landing on a vessel to practice sailors' capabilities to protect key ports and maritime traffic routes in similar situations, it noted.

ejkim@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Eun-jung · April 9, 2024

18. S. Korea holds memorial for late decorated U.S. veteran of Korean War

There is no country like the ROK that honors foreign veterans so well.

S. Korea holds memorial for late decorated U.S. veteran of Korean War | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · April 9, 2024

SEOUL, April 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea held a memorial ceremony on Tuesday for late U.S. Army Col. William E. Weber, a decorated veteran of the 1950-53 Korean War known for his efforts to help the American people remember the conflict.

The ceremony took place at a memorial dedicated to the veteran in the border city of Paju, 39 kilometers north of Seoul, on the second anniversary of his death.

Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho attended the event and described Weber's iconic left-hand salute when he was alive as a symbol of the South Korea-U.S. alliance.

Weber lost his right arm and right leg in a battle in Wonju, 132 km east of Seoul, during the three-year war, when he served as a member of the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team.

After retirement, Weber devoted his life to ensuring the Korean War was not forgotten, making efforts to establish memorials on the conflict in the United States. He died at his residence in Maryland in 2022 at the age of 97.

He was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. The memorial in Paju was established last year by the Korea-U.S. Alliance Foundation and the Korea Defense Veterans Association, with support from the National Assembly and SK Group.

A man lays a flower at a memorial for late U.S. Army Col. William E. Weber in Paju, 39 kilometers north of Seoul, on April 9, 2024. (Yonhap)

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Chae Yun-hwan · April 9, 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

De Oppresso Liber,

David Maxwell

Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy

Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation

Editor, Small Wars Journal

Twitter: @davidmaxwell161

email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com

If you do not read anything else in the 2017 National Security Strategy read this on page 14:

"A democracy is only as resilient as its people. An informed and engaged citizenry is the fundamental requirement for a free and resilient nation. For generations, our society has protected free press, free speech, and free thought. Today, actors such as Russia are using information tools in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of democracies. Adversaries target media, political processes, financial networks, and personal data. The American public and private sectors must recognize this and work together to defend our way of life. No external threat can be allowed to shake our shared commitment to our values, undermine our system of government, or divide our Nation."

Access NSS HERE

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