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Quotes of the Day:
"What do I sacrifice?
- Calm Kindness, Kinship, Love.
- I've given up all chance of inner peace.
- I've made my mind a sunless place.
- I share my dreams with ghosts.
- I wake up every day to an equation I wrote 15 years ago from which there is only one conclusion, I'm damned for what I do.
- My anger, my ego, my unwillingness to yield, my eagerness to fight, they've set me on a path from which there is no escape.
- I yearned to be a savior against injustice without contemplating the cost and by the time I looked down there was no longer any ground beneath my feet.
- What, What is my sacrifice?
- I'm condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them.
- I burn my decency for someone else's future.
- I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I'll never see.
- And the ego that started this fight will never have a mirror or an audience or the light of gratitude.
- So what do I sacrifice? EVERYTHING!"
– Luthen Rael, Resistance Leader in the series "Andor: One Way Out"
(as an aside - understand the above to understand the resistance fighter, insurgent, or revolutionary you may be faced with - it may be low intensity conflict for you but it is existential - life or death - for him or her)
“Patience is not sitting and waiting, it is for seeing. It is looking at the thorn and seeing the rose, looking at the night and seeing the day. Lovers are patient and know that the moon needs time to become full.”
– Rumi.
“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.”
– Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms
1. How America Inadvertently Created an ‘Axis of Evasion’ Led by China
2. North Korea launches waste-filled balloons to taunt the South
3. S. Korea condemns Kim Yo-jong's statement on N. Korea's sending of balloons carrying trash
4. N. Korea fires around 10 short-range ballistic missiles into East Sea: JCS
5. N. Korea stages GPS jamming attacks after sending hundreds of balloons into S. Korea
6. N. Korea bans people from naming children with words of unification, unified Korea
7. N. Korea raps U.N. chief's condemnation of Pyongyang's botched launch of spy satellite
8. S. Korea to push for reusable space rocket development, L4 exploration: KASA
9. Why Japan and South Korea are rediscovering China
10. FM Cho: N. Korea's Nuclear, Missile Threats and Human Rights Abuses 'Two Sides of Same Coin'
11. Ex-US nuke negotiator says normalizing relations with NK should come before denuclearization talks
12. Defense chief to meet with US, Japanese counterparts in Singapore
13. UN Security Council to meet Friday on failed North Korea satellite launch
14. North Korea likely has ‘expertise’ to steal more NFTs to fund regime, US says
15. Music by South Korean singer beloved by Kim Jong Il is now banned
1. How America Inadvertently Created an ‘Axis of Evasion’ Led by China
Please go to the link to view the charts and graphics and proper formatting
How America Inadvertently Created an ‘Axis of Evasion’ Led by China
Western sanctions and export controls were meant to subdue foes of the U.S. but instead have led to a shadow economy
https://www.wsj.com/world/how-america-inadvertently-created-an-axis-of-evasion-led-by-china-0a9bc477?mod=hp_lead_pos7
By Ian TalleyFollow
and Rosie EttenheimFollow
Updated May 30, 2024 12:34 am ET
Western sanctions and export controls were meant to subdue America’s enemies, leveraging the power of the dollar to strong-arm governments into submission without the bloodshed of military force. They have inadvertently birthed a global shadow economy tying together democracy’s chief foes, with Washington’s primary adversary, China, at the center.
Unprecedented finance and trade restrictions on Russia, Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, China and other authoritarian regimes have squeezed those economies by curbing access to Western goods and markets. But Beijing has increasingly foiled those U.S.-led efforts by bolstering trade ties, according to Western officials and customs data. The bloc of sanctioned nations collectively now have the economy of scale to shield them from Washington’s financial warfare, trading everything from drones and missiles to gold and oil.
“China is the strategic competitor willing and able to reshape the current global order,” said Dana Stroul, a former senior U.S. defense official and now a senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, defended Beijing’s policies, saying that the country wasn’t providing lethal weapons to anyone involved in the Ukraine conflict.
“China carries out normal economic and trade exchanges with relevant countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit,” he said. “The relevant trades under international law are legal and legitimate, thus should be respected and protected.”
The governments of Russia, Iran, Venezuela and North Korea, contacted through their diplomatic offices in the U.S., didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Total imports and exports to China by Western-sanctioned countries in U.S. dollars, billions
RUSSIA
22.0
IRAN
3.8
19.6
3.5
U.S. President Donald Trump announces plan to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.
Led by the U.S., Western allies in early 2022 levy an unprecedented sanctions regime against Russia in response to Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
1.1
$5.5
Jan. 2015
March ’24
Jan. ‘15
March ’24
VENEZUELA
NORTH KOREA
1.4
0.6
U.S. declares Venezuela a national security threat in 2015 and launches a new sanctions program in 2017.
United Nations Security Council imposes major new sanctions on North Korea after Pyongyang continues nuclear testing.
0.4
0.6
0.2
Jan. ’15
March ’24
Jan. ’15
March ’24
Source: China’s General Administration of Customs
The bloc’s trade needs are aligned. On one side of the equation, China gets oil from three OPEC powerhouses—Russia, Iran, and Venezuela—at heavily discounted prices. That is a windfall for the world’s biggest oil importer, which bought more than 11 million barrels of oil a day last year to keep its economy running. Those countries, in turn, then have revenue they can use to buy sanctioned goods from China.
“Oil revenue from China is propping up the Iranian and Russian economies and is undermining Western sanctions,” said Kimberly Donovan of the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank. Donovan, who calls this group the “axis of evasion,” said the countries’ use of Chinese currency and payment systems for that trade restricts Western authorities’ access to financial data and weakens their ability to enforce sanctions.
China’s oil imports, by barrel
2021
July
’22
July
’23
July
’24
Average
barrels
a day
1.0 million
Iran
1.8
0.2
Venezuela
0.2
1.6
Russia
2.6
Sources: China’s General Administration of Customs; United Against Nuclear Iran and Vortexa
Chinese and Russian customs data show China has supplanted Russia’s loss of Western access to the highest priority dual-use goods, products that have both civilian and military uses.
A Chinese state-owned defense company, Poly Technologies, for example, sent nearly two dozen shipments between September and December last year to a U.S.-sanctioned, state-owned Russian firm that manufactures military and civilian helicopters—Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant, according to a Journal review of Russian customs data.
Poly Technologies, which is also sanctioned by the U.S., is also responsible for a 1,200 kilo shipment of rifles on Feb. 16 last year to Izhevsky Arsenal, which describes itself as a government contractor and one of Russia’s biggest wholesalers of weapons.
Customs records also show Chinese firms were responsible for all 60 shipments last year to a Russian company that U.S. officials say is part of the procurement channel for Iran’s production of military drones in Russia for Moscow’s forces. The companies didn’t respond to requests for comment.
China’s high-priority exports to Russia, by tier
$50 million
Tier 1
Advanced electronic integrated circuits, items the U.S. says are of the highest concern due to their critical role in the production of advanced Russian precision-guided weapons systems, Russia’s lack of domestic production and limited global manufacturers.
25
0
'22
2021
'23
'24
Tier 2
Radar, radio navigational equipment and other electronics that Russia produces domestically, but prefers to source from Western countries.
200
150
100
50
0
'22
2021
'23
'24
Tier 3
Less advanced electronics and mechanical components used in Russian weapon systems, including bearings antennas, digital cameras and telescopic sights.
300
200
100
0
'22
2021
'23
'24
Tier 4
Precision, computer-controlled manufacturing equipment for electronics and machines used to produce weapons, including oscilloscopes, voltage meters and spectrum analyzers.
150
100
50
0
'22
2021
'23
'24
Source: China’s General Administration of Customs
Russia’s war against Ukraine has also provided Tehran with an economic and strategic opportunity. Selling Moscow fleets of military drones and establishing a production facility in Russia provides Iran with income, bolsters international perceptions of Tehran’s military power, and provides valuable wartime data, say former U.S. security officials.
Iran is also supplying Venezuela with weapons, technical assistance for its energy infrastructure, and other sanctioned goods, according to U.S. officials and customs data. In exchange, Caracas has provided Iran with gold from its vast Orinoco deposits, according to Western officials, a commodity difficult to track around the world and whose fungibility allows for sanctioned nations to sidestep the Western banking system.
China’s drone exports to Russia
2023
2024
2022
March
May
July
Sept.
Nov.
March
May
July
Sept.
Nov.
March
Drones (units)
5, 125
45
0
8,119
Parts for drones (kg)
3,676
2,272
2022
2023
2024
Source: China’s General Administration of Customs
China’s ability—and willingness—to keep Russia’s war machine running and help Moscow rebuild its military industrial capacity fostered unprecedented trade and finance, say U.S. officials.
“It revealed a degree of trust that could potentially open the door to wider integration of their defense industrial base,” said a senior intelligence official with knowledge of the two countries’ trade relationship.
Write to Rosie Ettenheim at rosie.ettenheim@wsj.com and Ian Talley at Ian.Talley@wsj.com
Copyright ©2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appeared in the May 30, 2024, print edition as 'China Bankrolls ‘Axis of Evasion’ of Sanctions'.
2. North Korea launches waste-filled balloons to taunt the South
A couple of points. This could be intended by the north for the Korean people in the South to perceive this as a threat due to escapees balloon launches to the north. The regime's fear of information from the South is so great that it wants to create dissension among the population in the South by making the people feel vulnerable due to the escapees balloon launches aso that will call on the government to force a halt to the launches.
Second, the report of "manure" being in one of the bags of trash is interesting. Due to the lack of fertilizer in north Korea manure and human waste is a valuable commodity. My friends from north Korea tell me that to this day every family in the north, including those in Pyongyang, has a daily quota for human waste to support agriculture. See the article at the link from RFA. So to send waste to the South is like throwing away a valuable resource. The north is willing to pay a "high price" to try to influence the Korean people in the South to try to prevent information from being sent to the Korean people in the north.
Yearly ‘battle’ begins in North Korea over human waste for fertilizer
Citizens once again steal human feces from each other’s toilets to meet impossibly high quotas.
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/manure-02012022130916.html
North Korea launches waste-filled balloons to taunt the South
The balloons carried trash and “filth,” according to South Korean authorities. They were a reaction to balloons previously sent by activists from the South.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/05/29/north-korea-balloons-waste-trash/
By Bart Schaneman
May 29, 2024 at 3:31 a.m. EDT
A balloon believed to have been sent by North Korea in a rice field in Cheorwon, South Korea, on Wednesday. (Yonhap News Agency/Reuters)
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SEOUL — North Korea floated about 260 balloons laden with trash and other waste over the border toward South Korea, Seoul’s military said Wednesday, as a direct reaction against anti-Pyongyang leaflets coming from the South.
The balloons began landing on Tuesday night. The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff sent out notifications to residents warning them not to make contact with the balloons and report them to the police or military.
Some of the balloons reached as far as the southeastern part of the country, according to the JCS.
“These North Korean acts are clear violations of international law and seriously threaten the safety of our citizens,” the JCS said in a statement.
The JCS reported that the balloons were carrying trash, including plastic bottles and batteries, as well as what it called “filth.” South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that a balloon that landed on a restaurant building in Dongducheon was carrying a bag of manure.
The military went on to say that the damage caused by the balloons was the sole responsibility of North Korea, and that it warned the North “to stop these inhumane, despicable actions.”
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The JCS said it was cooperating with government ministries and the police to collect and clean up the waste.
On Sunday, North Korea said it would take “tit-for-tat action” by scattering “mounds of wastepaper and filth” over the border.
“[South Korea] will directly experience how much effort is required to remove them,” North Korea said. “When our national sovereignty, security and interests are violated, we will take action immediately.”
South Korean activists, including defectors from the North, have sent balloons into the North for many years. In 2022, an activist group said it had launched a million propaganda leaflets via balloons, despite a law criminalizing such acts.
South Korea passed the law in 2020, making it a crime punishable by up to three years in prison to send promotional pamphlets and items of value to the North without the government’s permission. But in 2023, the Constitutional Court struck down the statute.
The JCS also mentioned that, in 2016, balloons sent by the North caused damage to a vehicle and the roof of a house.
The North has long been irked by the balloons, which stoke tensions between the two sides that never officially signed a peace treaty to end the Korean War in 1953.
Jintak Han contributed to this report.
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Seoul-based Multiplatform Editor Twitter
3. S. Korea condemns Kim Yo-jong's statement on N. Korea's sending of balloons carrying trash
Oh please Miss Kim, express yourself more freely. Give us more of your bull s**t. All you have ever done is to try to s**t on South Korea. Her entire statement from KCNA is apsted below this article for your reading pleasure (much pleasure can be derived from reading north Korean propaganda if you are a north Korea nerd.. er.. I mean.. watcher).
At least she is almost saying the quiet part out loud. Let me interpret her remarks. The Kim family regime is desperately afraid of information from the South. It is an existential threat.
(LEAD) S. Korea condemns Kim Yo-jong's statement on N. Korea's sending of balloons carrying trash | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Seung-yeon · May 30, 2024
(ATTN: ADDS foreign ministry's comments in paras 8-10)
SEOUL, May 30 (Yonhap) -- The unification ministry on Thursday condemned a statement issued by Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who claimed Pyongyang's sending of balloons carrying trash to South Korea came out of North Koreans' exercise of freedom of expression.
North Korea flew hundreds of large balloons carrying trash and manure to South Korea on Tuesday and Wednesday, after it warned of a "tit-for-tat" action against Seoul activists' campaign of sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border.
On Wednesday night, Kim Yo-jong issued a statement laden with mockery, saying the balloons were "sincere presents" for South Koreans who are crying for the guarantee for freedom of expression and her country will send rubbish "dozens of times" more than those being scattered in the North.
This photo, provided by a reader, shows two big balloons presumably sent by North Korea, found at a field in Yongin, 38 kilometers south of Seoul, on May 29, 2024. North Korea sent hundreds of balloons carrying trash and other waste this week across the border with South Korea. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
The ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said it is absurd for North Korea to talk about freedom of expression as North Koreans' right to freedom of speech is severely undermined under the regime's tight surveillance.
"Given the fact that North Korea restricts the freedom of expression by enacting three 'evil' laws, North Korea made a self-contradictory claim," the ministry said in a release.
Kim's warning of sending more balloons carrying trash indicated that the North's regime is the main agent carrying out the balloon scattering, not its people, the ministry noted.
"North Korea should realize that it is a more urgent task to allow its people to freely access outside information and enjoy the right to self-determination," the ministry said.
Seoul's foreign ministry downplayed Kim's claim as preposterous.
"The claim that the uncivilized and irrational act of spreading filth and trash is an expression of freedom is a preposterous argument unworthy of consideration," ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a press briefing.
"We warn North Korea to immediately stop the lowly actions, which not only threaten the safety of our citizens but also are an embarrassment to the North Korean residents," Lim said.
North Korea adopted three so-called "evil" laws in recent years to strengthen internal control and curb the influence of outside culture, including the act to "reject the reactionary ideology and culture" and that to protect the Pyongyang dialect and culture.
A unification ministry official told reporters that North Korea's latest cross-border sending of balloons appears aimed at driving a wedge in South Korea as part of its psychological warfare against the South.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
elly@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Seung-yeon · May 30, 2024
Press Statement of Vice Department Director of C.C., WPK Kim Yo Jong
https://kcnawatch.org/newstream/1716993107-997124152/press-statement-of-vice-department-director-of-c-c-wpk-kim-yo-jong/
Date: 29/05/2024 | Source: KCNA.kp (En) | Read original version at source
Pyongyang, May 29 (KCNA) -- Kim Yo Jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, issued the following press statement under the title "The ROK is not entitled to criticize the freedom of expression of the people of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" on Wednesday:
As already warned by the DPRK vice minister of National Defence, a large amount of waste paper and rubbish are being scattered in the border and deep areas of the ROK from the night of May 28.
According to the ROK media, waste paper and rubbish were found not only in the border area with the DPRK but also in Seoul and other parts of the ROK.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff of the ROK puppet army said that the DPRK is scattering a large number of balloons over the ROK from last night. It urged the DPRK to stop such an act at once, claiming that it is a clear violation of international law, an act of seriously threatening the security of ROK people and an unethical and lowbrow act.
We have tried something they have always been doing, but I cannot understand why they are making a fuss as if they were hit by shower of bullets.
After all, they hoisted a white flag just one day after they themselves have been exposed to the despicable article-scattering which the DPRK has called into question and demanded a stop for years.
I doubt whether those in the ROK could only see the balloons flying southwards without catching sight of the balloons flying northwards.
Scum-like clans of the ROK are now blatantly claiming that their leaflet-scattering towards the DPRK is "freedom of expression" and that the corresponding act of the DPRK is an "obvious violation of international law".
Are the "freedom of expression" and "international law" defined according to the direction in which balloons fly?
It is the height of impudence.
It is an opportunity to reconfirm how clumsy and brazen the ROK clans are.
The ROK clans must be subject to due pains as they tried to scatter leaflets, the political agitation rubbish slandering the idea and system of the DPRK regarded by all its people as sacred, and inject their mixed ideas raised at cesspools to the DPRK, and made a serious mockery of our people by scattering the cheap money and trifles which even mongrel dogs wouldn't like.
If they experience how unpleasant the feeling of picking up filth is and how tired it is, they will know that it is not easy to dare talk about freedom of expression as to the scattering near border area.
Today, I will get the following stand into shape:
"As the leaflet-scattering to the ROK belongs to our people's freedom of expression and provides the people in the ROK with the right to know, there is a limit for the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to immediately stop it. I courteously seek the ROK government's consent. …"
The ROK clans cannot deprive the DPRK people of their righteous "freedom of expression".
They should continue to pick up rubbish scattered by our people, regarding them really as "sincere presents" to the goblins of liberal democracy who are crying for the "guarantee for freedom of expression".
We make it clear that we will respond to the ROK clans on case-to-case basis by scattering rubbish dozens of times more than those being scattered to us, in the future. -0-
www.kcna.kp (Juche113.5.29.)
4. N. Korea fires around 10 short-range ballistic missiles into East Sea: JCS
I guess the regime wants to show that they are not completely out of missiles and could only now send balloons to the South.
(2nd LD) N. Korea fires around 10 short-range ballistic missiles into East Sea: JCS | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · May 30, 2024
(ATTN: ADDS details in paras 3-5; CHANGES photo)
By Lee Minji
SEOUL, May 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired around 10 short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Thursday, the South Korean military said, a day after sending hundreds of large balloons carrying trash and manure into the South.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the missiles were fired from Pyongyang's Sunan area at 6:14 a.m. and flew about 350 kilometers before hitting the East Sea. That suggests the missiles could have been fired from KN-25 super-large multiple rocket launchers.
Though the North has used missile launches as a message to the outside world, it is unusual for it to fire a barrage of some 10 missiles at one time.
The South Korean military condemned the launches, which put the Seoul metropolitan area and key air bases within range, as a "provocative act" that threatens the Korean Peninsula and vowed a stern response to the North's provocations.
This April 23, 2024, footage from North Korea's Korean Central Television shows the North firing super-large multiple rocket launchers. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
"Our military has strengthened monitoring and vigilance against additional launches, while closely sharing information related to North Korean ballistic missiles with the U.S. and Japanese authorities," the JCS said in a text message to reporters.
The missile launches came after the North sent hundreds of large balloons carrying trash and fecal matter to the South on Tuesday and Wednesday after warning of a "tit-for-tat action" against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent by activists in South Korea.
The firings also came after the North failed in an attempt to launch a second military spy satellite Monday as the space rocket carrying the satellite exploded during the first-stage flight shortly after liftoff.
The latest launches mark Pyongyang's first ballistic missile launch since May 17, when it test-fired tactical ballistic missiles equipped with what it called a new "autonomous" navigation system, considered to be short-range ballistic missiles.
mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · May 30, 2024
5. N. Korea stages GPS jamming attacks after sending hundreds of balloons into S. Korea
A deliberate action to prevent the use of precision guided munitions or other systems that might respond to the balloons?
(LEAD) N. Korea stages GPS jamming attacks after sending hundreds of balloons into S. Korea | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · May 30, 2024
(ATTN: ADDS details throughout; REWRITES headline, lead)
By Lee Minji
SEOUL, May 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korea attempted to jam GPS signals for a second straight day Thursday, the South Korean military said, a day after the North sent hundreds of balloons carrying waste and manure to the South.
The military detected the GPS jamming attacks from 7:50 a.m. near the de-facto inter-Korean sea border in the Yellow Sea, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). North Korea also attempted to jam GPS signals early Wednesday.
The jamming attacks, which have ceased, did not hinder any military operations, a JCS official said.
But fishing boats and passenger ships in the area suffered glitches in their navigation systems, with 472 complaints related to GPS signals filed in the area between 5:50 a.m. Wednesday and 9 a.m. Thursday, according to the National Maritime Positioning, Navigation and Timing Office in charge of providing positioning information.
North Korea sent hundreds of balloons carrying trash and fecal matter to the South on Tuesday and Wednesday after it vowed to scatter "mounds of wastepaper and filth" over the inter-Korean border areas in retaliation against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent by activists in South Korea.
This photo, provided by a reader, shows a big balloon presumably sent by North Korea, found in Paju, 37 kilometers northwest of Seoul, on May 29, 2024. Some 90 such balloons have been discovered so far in Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces, bordering North Korea, according to military and police sources, adding that they did not carry propaganda leaflets but contained trash and other waste. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
An ongoing analysis of some 260 balloons detected by the military showed that each balloon carried bags weighing 10 kilograms on average that contained cigarette butts, pieces of fabric, batteries and manure, according to the JCS.
No propaganda leaflets or chemical, biological and radiological contaminants have so far been found during the analysis under way, it added.
The military once again condemned the launch of balloons and warned the North against carrying out additional provocations.
"All responsibility in relation to the filth balloons lies with North Korea," JCS spokesperson Col. Lee Sung-jun said in a regular press briefing. "We once again sternly warn North Korea to immediately cease its vulgar and shameful act that violates the Armistice Agreement and goes against humanity."
Instead of shooting down the balloons, the military opted to remove them once they have safely fallen to the ground to prevent possible toxic substances spreading and fired artillery rounds from going over to the North, Lee added.
For years, North Korean defectors in South Korea and conservative activists have flown the leaflets to the North via balloons to help encourage North Koreans to eventually rise up against the Pyongyang regime.
North Korea has bristled at the propaganda campaign amid concern that an influx of outside information could pose a threat to its leader Kim Jong-un.
North Korea has repeatedly called for an end to the leafleting campaign. The issue has long been a source of tension between the two Koreas, which are still technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.
A soldier carries bags that were attached to balloons North Korea sent into South Korea in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, on May 29, 2024. (Yonhap)
mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Lee Minji · May 30, 2024
6. N. Korea bans people from naming children with words of unification, unified Korea
I wonder if Koreans in the north are saying I should have named our child Unification while I had the chance?
But I bet they can use words like domination, power, superiority, supremacy (especially when related to "over the South")
(note sarcasm)
N. Korea bans people from naming children with words of unification, unified Korea | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · May 30, 2024
SEOUL, May 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has ordered people not to use the words of unification or a unified Korea for their children's names as the repressive regime has been ramping up its drive to erase unification references, Seoul's unification ministry said Thursday.
North Korea has recently banned people from naming children with the words of "Tongil," "Hana," and "Hankook," which means unification, one and the Republic of Korea, respectively, in Korean, according to the ministry.
The move is part of North Korea's efforts to remove unification references after its leader, Kim Jong-un, defined inter-Korean ties as those "between two states hostile to each other" at a year-end party meeting.
Kim said he sees no point in seeking unification with South Korea and ordered officials to disband state agencies in charge of inter-Korean affairs.
This file image (top half), captured from the website of North Korea's Foreign Trade of the DPRK on Feb. 19, 2024, shows a red-colored image of the Korean Peninsula deleted from the upper side of the website. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
North Korea erased the section of geography from the website of the foreign ministry as it stated that Korea is a maritime country whose three sides are surrounded by sea, according to the ministry.
The country also eliminated books with unification references that were placed at North Korea's overseas diplomatic missions, it added.
Meanwhile, the ministry said North Korea is expected to discuss economic achievements, ways to enhance political ideology and organizational issues during a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) slated for late June.
"There is a possibility for the North to convene a key session of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) right after the WPK plenary meeting," a ministry official said.
North Korea has yet to announce the schedule to elect new SPA deputies and when to hold a meeting of the SPA, the North's rubber-stamp parliament.
The unification ministry said in March that North Korea may scrap an inter-Korean basic agreement signed in 1991 at its next parliamentary meeting.
The North is also expected to revise the constitution to define South Korea as its "invariable principal enemy," as earlier instructed by Kim Jong-un, and could clarify its territorial boundaries, including the maritime border.
"Following the SPA meeting, the North's foreign ministry may announce a decision related to its affairs with South Korea or 'visible' measures to disconnect the Gyeongui road," the Seoul official said.
In January, North Korean troops were detected installing mines on two rare roads connecting the two Koreas, including the Gyeongui route between South Korea's western border city of Paju and the North's Kaesong.
The North has also dismantled dozens of street lamps along its side of the Gyeongui road and the Donghae road along the east coast.
North Korea's foreign ministry is presumed to be handling inter-Korean affairs, as the United Front Department, a key party organization in charge of ties with South Korea, was renamed to the WPK Central Committee Bureau 10, which apparently focuses on psychological warfare against the South.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks in a parliamentary meeting at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang on Jan. 15, 2024, in this file footage from the North's Korean Central Television aired the following day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · May 30, 2024
7. N. Korea raps U.N. chief's condemnation of Pyongyang's botched launch of spy satellite
Of course. It is only for peaceful purposes.
N. Korea raps U.N. chief's condemnation of Pyongyang's botched launch of spy satellite | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · May 30, 2024
SEOUL, May 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Thursday denounced U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' latest criticism of Pyongyang's botched launch of a spy satellite, describing him as a "servant" of the United States who has repeated the same words of condemnation as those coming from Washington.
On Tuesday, Guterres condemned the North's launch of a spy satellite that ended in failure the previous day and urged Pyongyang to return to dialogue, according to a statement issued by his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric.
Kim Son-gyong, North Korea's vice foreign minister in charge of international organization, said the U.N. chief "rudely decried" North Korea's exercise of its sovereign rights, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
"He, beyond the level of expressing concern, parroted without hesitation the senseless word of the same 'condemnation' with that which came out from the loudspeaker of the U.S. Department of State," Kim said in a statement carried by the KCNA, calling him a "servant" of the U.S.
He also warned of "catastrophic consequences" over the plan by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to convene an opening meeting Friday to discuss Pyongyang's failed satellite launch.
"I express deep concern about the fact that the UNSC is going to convene an open meeting again to call the DPRK's legitimate satellite launch into question at the brigandish demand of the U.S. and its followers and give a warning to the UNSC of the catastrophic consequences to be entailed by its reckless act," Kim said.
North Korea has claimed that the country's launch of a spy satellite is the exercise of its sovereign right to pursue a space development program. But any launch using ballistic missile technology by the North is a violation of multiple UNSC resolutions against North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
This image, captured from the website of North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Dec. 7, 2023, shows a propaganda poster featuring North Korea's successful launch of a spy satellite in November. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · May 30, 2024
8. S. Korea to push for reusable space rocket development, L4 exploration: KASA
The ROK leads the space race.
Someday I am going to do a side by side (or top to bottom) comparison of north and South Korea in all areas.
(LEAD) S. Korea to push for reusable space rocket development, L4 exploration: KASA | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Na-young · May 30, 2024
(ATTN: ADDS more info in paras 13, 16)
By Kim Na-young
SEOUL, May 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's national space agency said Thursday it will work to develop small reusable space rockets in collaboration with the private sector and explore one of the stable Lagrange points in a bid to become a top-five global space power.
In a press briefing, Rho Kyung-won, deputy chief of the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA), said KASA plans to assign the reusable rocket development project to the private sector.
These reusable rockets will be capable of launching a 500-kilogram payload into an orbit with an altitude of 500 kilometers, aligning with the latest space trend.
Until now, the South Korean government has led all space projects, focusing on developing single-use space rockets, including the 200-ton rocket Nuri and the next-generation rocket, named KSLV-Ⅲ.
This new plan reflects KASA's commitment to transforming the country's space sector from a government-led industry to a private-led one.
South Korea's homegrown space rocket Nuri, carrying eight satellites, lifts off from Naro Space Center in Goheung, 328 kilometers south of Seoul, on May 25, 2023, in this photo provided by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
KASA also intends to create a launch complex for private space vehicles within the Naro Space Center in the southern coastal village of Goheung, as well as establish a separate space center at a yet-to-be-determined location.
Additionally, KASA plans to unveil a road map to explore the deep space beyond the moon and Mars through international cooperation in a bid to expand South Korea's space economy territory.
Two years ago, the country announced its plan to land a homegrown spacecraft on the moon in 2032 and Mars in 2045.
It now plans to also send a spaceship to L4, one of the five Lagrange points about 380,000 kilometers from Earth, to observe the sun.
Lagrange points are positions in space where the gravitational forces of a two-body system like the sun and Earth create areas of stability, allowing spacecraft to conduct exploration missions with minimal fuel consumption.
Among the five Lagrange points, L4 and L5 are considered stable as they form the apex of two equilateral triangles that have the large masses, the sun and Earth, at their vertices.
No country has sent a spacecraft to L4 yet.
KASA also unveiled a plan to train a second Korean astronaut in connection to its push to build a lunar base in the 2040s.
An image provided by the Korea Astronomy & Space Science Institute that explains the Lagrange points. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
KASA also plans to develop a strategy to explore the asteroid 99942 Apophis, which is expected to closely approach Earth in 2029.
KASA's long-term plans include developing high-resolution and next-generation communications satellites, along with securing deep space optical communications and space internet technologies.
KASA named the envisioned programs the Space Gwanggaeto Project after King Gwanggaeto the Great from the ancient Goguryeo dynasty (37 B.C.-A.D. 668), who is known as the greatest conqueror in Korean history.
The agency said it also aims to create a private-led space ecosystem to foster growth and facilitate international cooperation, including taking part in NASA's "Moon to Mars" program, which incorporates the Artemis project.
The headquarters of the Korea AeroSpace Administration in Sacheon, about 300 kilometers south of Seoul (Yonhap)
nyway@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Na-young · May 30, 2024
9. Why Japan and South Korea are rediscovering China
Yes, China is a much different problem than the USSR and it is the economic instrument of power that makes it so.
Excerpts:
Ultimately, both Biden and Trump’s China containment won’t work. Since the late 1990s, Washington has read more from the playbook of diplomat George Kennan than free-market economist Adam Smith. Decades ago, Kennan advocated slowing Soviet expansion through containment. Today, the focus is on reining in China Inc.
It’s grand that Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul are talking again considering their three economies generate about 25% of global GDP.
No doubt, disputes from the past and present will remain stumbling blocks to any meaningful agreement on trade. Not least of which include the ways in which the strategic competition between the US and China is transforming the working of the global economy.
But the timing of Kishida and Yoon making nice with Li shouldn’t be lost on Biden. Going the Trump route on trade just might ultimately drive Japan and Korea into China’s free trade-promoting orbit.
Why Japan and South Korea are rediscovering China - Asia Times
Trilateral summit sings the praises of free trade while the US building protectionist barriers against all three Asian powers
asiatimes.com · by William Pesek · May 29, 2024
TOKYO – The most important thing about this week’s trilateral summit between China, Japan and South Korea is that it happened at all.
It hardly matters that Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol sidestepped a dearth of contentious topics keeping their governments apart since 2019. They include North Korea, Taiwan and export controls.
Nor does it matter that the leaders opted to focus instead on vague chatter about free trade deals, protecting supply chains, adjusting to aging populations and cooperating on infectious diseases. The important thing is that Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul are talking.
It will take much more than talk, of course.
“Common economic interests remain the ballast that holds trilateral cooperation together, but growing misalignment over regional security related to North Korea, Taiwan, and the South China Sea – as well as rising US-China competition – will prevent closer economic cooperation among the three countries,” says Jeremy Chan, East Asia analyst at Eurasia Group.
Yet the timing of the summit may be the most tantalizing consideration of all.
There’s been much speculation about the Joe Biden of it all. The meeting, many believe, was precipitated by Biden’s own summits with Kishida and Yoon. A tacit recognition, it follows, that Chinese leader Xi Jinping is playing catch-up.
What if, however, we’re really seeing Japan and Korea responding to Biden’s trade tariffs? And to the growing fear that Asia’s No 2 and No 4 economies will be collateral damage as Biden slaps draconian curbs on the region’s top economic engine?
At the Seoul summit on Monday, Li urged Kishida and Yoon to reject “protectionism” and work toward free trade. Li stressed that officials should resist turning economic and trade issues into “political games or security matters.”
In a joint statement, the three leaders agreed to “institutionalize” cooperation by routinely engaging in trilateral summit and ministerial meetings. They signed on to future exchanges for “speeding up negotiations” for a free trade pact that champions “fair, comprehensive, high-quality and mutually beneficial” trade.
Though this week’s talks can’t be called a “concrete initiative,” notes professor Stephen Nagy at International Christian University in Tokyo, it could succeed in stabilizing fraught relations.
Liu Qing, vice president of the China Institute of International Studies, says the summit struck a “hopeful tone for the future” to ensure Asia is a “cornerstone of peace and development.”
Yet Kishida expressed “serious concerns” to Chinese officials about rising tensions in the South China Sea. Yoon said, “I hope that our three countries, who are working together as members of the UN Security Council this year, will join forces to contribute to peace and prosperity in the international community by gathering wisdom and strength in the face of a global complex crisis and geopolitical conflicts.”
The longer “escalated” trade tensions flare up, says economist Aidan Yao at AXA Investment Managers, the more the “race is going to be to the downside.”
Even so, the US has done serious relationship-building to do in Asia. The initial “Quad” arrangement on which Washington placed so many chips has faded as Narendra Modi’s India stopped reading from the US playbook. The Donald Trump years from 2017 to 2021 also did incalculable damage to Washington’s reputation in Asia.
The specter of a Trump 2.0 White House appears to have Kishida and Yoon hedging their bets. Already, Trump is threatening 60% tariffs on all Chinese goods, a step that would upend supply chains everywhere. He also says he plans to revoke China’s “most favored nation” status.
Biden, for his part, just quadrupled taxes on China-made electric vehicles to 100%. He also ratcheted up tariffs on advanced batteries, solar cells, medical equipment, construction cranes, aluminum and steel.
China’s auto exports are surging in the post-Covid era. Image: Twitter / Car and Driver / Screengrab
It’s reminding Asia that even if Trump is deprived of a second term, Biden 2.0 wouldn’t necessarily be a picnic. All of which may have Kishida and Yoon bracing for the protectionist US economy they will encounter after the November 5 election.
For Biden, though, the key is taking care to limit the fallout from Washington’s China policies on its most important allies in the region.
Take Korea, where semiconductors represent the biggest source of income. Given that China is both the world’s largest semiconductor market and Korea’s biggest trade partner, US trade policies are putting Yoon’s economy in harm’s way. (South Korea’s exports to the US slightly exceeded those to China in March this year.)
As sales shortfalls at chip giants Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and others can attest, being a top US ally is proving very expensive.
Korea Inc is still reeling over a law Biden signed to limit US$7,500 tax credits for EVs to those assembled in North America. That made life harder for Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp, which make their EVs in Korea and then export them.
Ditto for Biden’s overriding plan to restore America’s role as a top global manufacturing power. The plan, he says, is to “build more, and build it here.” It has Biden doubling down on a “buy America” industrial policy that is putting trade-geared allies in Seoul and Tokyo in an increasingly tight spot.
Yet something is written between the lines of the bold font: Washington’s expectation that top democracies in Asia will follow its lead. This, however, presents Yoon with a big question: will the US take offense if Korea increases investments in advanced technologies in China?
A top Biden priority, after all, is growing America’s semiconductor manufacturing presence to create jobs and increase competitiveness. Yet can Kishida’s team in Tokyo walk a tightrope between Washington and Beijing — Tokyo’s “strategic equilibrium” — without alienating one or both? Is that even possible as China becomes America’s top hot-button election issue.
Odds are, Biden will be lobbying Samsung and SK Hynix to invest more in the US. In May 2022, Hyundai Motor upped the ante on Korea Inc peers by pledging to invest $10 billion in the US by 2025. Team Biden knows there’s more where that came from.
Amid all this trade chaos, rumors of US-China decoupling are proving greatly exaggerated. By most measures, two-way trade between the two biggest economies has spiked since 2022 despite increasing tensions.
US policies, though, risk repelling officials in Seoul and Tokyo. Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Act put many of Asia’s top tech names into compliance purgatory. As it is, CEOs and regulators alike are struggling to keep plans for building advanced semiconductor factories from run afoul of Washington’s new red lines.
Samsung officials, for example, are left to wonder if they must cut production in Xi’an or SK Hynix in Wuxi? Chieftains live in constant paranoia of what might come if Korean technology finds its way, perhaps unwittingly, into Chinese lasers, weapons, air-defense systems and surveillance tools.
Rather than blunt-force tariffs, Biden’s White House could focus more on building innovative muscle and increasing productivity at home and less on deflating China’s tires. To be sure, Biden’s CHIPS Act, which threw nearly $300 billion at boosting domestic research and development, was a good start.
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Joe Biden wants more chip production done in the United States. Image: Twitter (X) Screengrab
Importantly, it marked a radical pivot from the Trump years. Trump threw a giant grenade into global trade and signed a $1.7 trillion tax cut that accelerated the path to a $35 trillion national debt.
All the while, Trump did little, if anything, to increase domestic capacity. If Trump had increased innovation and productivity, US inflation might not have surged to 40-year highs post-Covid-19.
In the meantime, Xi’s Communist Party is investing trillions of dollars in leading the future of semiconductors, EVs, advanced batteries, renewable energy technologies, artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology, aviation, green infrastructure and high-speed rail.
Through bigger investments in innovation and productivity, the US would create new wealth and expand the economic pie. It could vastly increase America’s economic footprint in Asia, boosting demand for electronics, vehicles and entertainment exports.
Ultimately, both Biden and Trump’s China containment won’t work. Since the late 1990s, Washington has read more from the playbook of diplomat George Kennan than free-market economist Adam Smith. Decades ago, Kennan advocated slowing Soviet expansion through containment. Today, the focus is on reining in China Inc.
It’s grand that Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul are talking again considering their three economies generate about 25% of global GDP.
No doubt, disputes from the past and present will remain stumbling blocks to any meaningful agreement on trade. Not least of which include the ways in which the strategic competition between the US and China is transforming the working of the global economy.
But the timing of Kishida and Yoon making nice with Li shouldn’t be lost on Biden. Going the Trump route on trade just might ultimately drive Japan and Korea into China’s free trade-promoting orbit.
Follow William Pesek on X at @WilliamPesek
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asiatimes.com · by William Pesek · May 29, 2024
10. FM Cho: N. Korea's Nuclear, Missile Threats and Human Rights Abuses 'Two Sides of Same Coin'
And it is information that is necessary to address both.
FM Cho: N. Korea's Nuclear, Missile Threats and Human Rights Abuses 'Two Sides of Same Coin'
world.kbs.co.kr
Politics
Written: 2024-05-30 13:59:10 / Updated: 2024-05-30 14:36:27
Photo : YONHAP News
Foreign minister Cho Tae-yul said on Thursday that North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, and its systematic violation of human rights, are two sides of the same coin.
At a forum hosted by the foreign ministry marking the tenth anniversary of the release of the UN Report of the Commission of Inquiry(COI) on Human Rights in North Korea, Cho said any attempt to secure permanent peace would be unstable unless the regime's human rights situation improves.
He said the diversion of scarce resources under a failed economy toward the development of weapons of mass destruction(WMD) would ultimately come at the expense of the North Korean people, adding that sustainable peace cannot be achieved solely by resolving the North's security threats.
The minister then urged Pyongyang to repatriate all abductees, detainees and prisoners of war home to their families, also stressing that North Korean defectors should be able to safely and promptly reach the destination of their choice.
The COI released the report in February 2014, containing findings from its investigation into the North's systematic, widespread and grave violations of human rights, as well as recommendations to the Human Rights Council.
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11. Ex-US nuke negotiator says normalizing relations with NK should come before denuclearization talks
Only if we have a real political warfare strategy.
Of course it is useful to advocate this because we will see Kim's true colors when he shows us he is unwilling to do this despite decades of the regime supposedly wanting this.
But if we do not have a political warfare strategy and we offer this then Kim Jong Un will assess that his political warfare strategy is working and that he has us back in the concessions box.
[INTERVIEW] Ex-US nuke negotiator says normalizing relations with NK should come before denuclearization talks
The Korea Times · May 30, 2024
Robert Gallucci, a distinguished professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service and chief U.S. negotiator during the 1994 North Korean nuclear crisis, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at Yonsei University in Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Shin Yong-ju
No permanent reason for hostility between Pyongyang and Washington: Gallucci
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Robert Gallucci, the chief negotiator during the 1994 North Korean nuclear crisis, said normalizing relations with North Korea should come before discussing denuclearization.
As denuclearization is increasingly seen as an unlikely outcome amid stalled diplomacy and North Korea’s continued provocative threats, the United States should push toward forging normal ties as an effort to engage Pyongyang, according to Gallucci.
“The only way we're going to get at the nuclear issue, in my view, is to change the nature of the political and diplomatic relationship between the U.S. and the DPRK and that is going to require improvement of relations, diminishing the threat at all times,” Gallucci said during an interview with The Korea Times at Yonsei University, Tuesday. The DPRK stands for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Gallucci, a distinguished professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, explained that the threat from North Korea has evolved to the point that the U.S. ballistic missile defense may not be particularly effective against the North’s sophisticated attack. In January, he wrote in National Interest that “we should at least entertain the thought that nuclear war could break out in Northeast Asia in 2024.”
“Now we are starting to get into a much more dangerous situation in terms of nuclear weapons. An increased level of threat from North Korea is largely due to two things — their capability to do damage and their declaratory posture,” he said.
“We are now dealing with a nuclear weapons state that has somewhere between 50 and 100 nuclear weapons. They’ve gotten better in accuracy, reliability and perhaps even in sophistication.”
Asked if North Korea’s failed satellite launch has any implications, he said, “I would say that's not significant. If you look at the American or the Russian development of ballistic missiles — particularly the very long range ones like ICBMs — there are lots of failures in developing.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in Tongchang-ri, North Korea, in this undated photo provided by the North Korean government, March 11. AP-Yonhap
Gallucci asserted there is no geostrategic or permanent reason for hostility between Pyongyang and Washington, adding that the U.S. should be looking for areas in which it can have a useful conversation with the reclusive regime.
“The Biden administration doesn’t want to be responsible for having no progress in reducing tensions with the DPRK. It also has a prejudice that if we invest in negotiations with the North, there’s a high chance it will fail,” he said.
The former nuclear envoy stressed that the U.S. can have relations with countries whose values don't match perfectly with its own and who don't live in a Jeffersonian democracy.
“I wouldn’t remove sanctions now without cause, but I would look for sanctions relief to be part of a negotiation. We might be able to scale back ROK-U.S. military exercises to dial them (the DPRK) back a little. Maybe we can get the Chinese to help,” he said. ROK refers to the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official name.
Stressing that denuclearization is a realistic, but long-term goal, Gallucci said the trilateral summit involving South Korea, Japan and China can serve as an opening for negotiations with North Korea.
“I hope the Japanese and the South Koreans emphasized to the Chinese to assist in restraining North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in his enthusiasm for highlighting the threat he presents to everybody in Northeast Asia except China,” he said.
“There's a new relationship between Pyeongyang and Moscow, which may worry Beijing, but the relationship between China and North Korea has been a durable one. So we would like the Chinese to use their influence to help loosen the North Korean position.”
Robert Gallucci, then U.S. ambassador-at-large and special envoy for the U.S. Department of State focused on the non-proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction, shakes hands with then-President Kim Young-sam at Cheong Wa Dae in this Sept. 11, 1993 photo. Korea Times file
Gallucci downplayed concerns regarding Russia’s potential transfer of sensitive military technology to North Korea.
“I don't know whether to believe it or not, but Russians have at least given some of our colleagues assurances that they would not do bad things or stupid things like getting involved with the transfer of sensitive technology to North Korea,” he said.
Asked about his thoughts on a growing call in South Korea to develop its own nuclear weapons as a means of deterring a nuclear strike from the North, he said it is a matter of a sovereign decision for South Korea to make.
However, he remained skeptical about whether Seoul could enhance its own security by developing its own nuclear weapons.
“If deterrence is going to work against North Korea, the U.S. extended deterrence will be much stronger than your own deterrence. For traditional U.S. administrations, we would be very negative about that idea because we think the spread of nuclear weapons without respect to whom diminishes our security,” he said.
The Korea Times · May 30, 2024
12. Defense chief to meet with US, Japanese counterparts in Singapore
Continuing to work on trilateral ROK-Japan-US cooperation.
Defense chief to meet with US, Japanese counterparts in Singapore
koreaherald.com · by Kim Arin · May 30, 2024
By Kim Arin
Published : May 30, 2024 - 15:04
South Korea’s Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik (center) is seen in Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport on Thursday, on his way to attend the Asia Security Summit in Singapore. (Yonhap)
Shin Won-sik, South Korea’s Minister of National Defense, will attend this year’s Asia Security Summit in Singapore — also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue — where he is scheduled to meet with his counterparts from the US, Japan and other key partner countries.
The annual summit hosted by the UK think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies gathers leaders and experts in defense and diplomacy. Held since 2002, this year’s summit marks the 21st anniversary.
According to the Defense Ministry in Seoul on Thursday, Shin is due to meet with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during the summit for a bilateral discussion and also possibly with Japan’s Minister of Defense Minoru Kihara.
A three-way meeting of defense chiefs of South Korea, the US and Japan is also set to take place.
Some of the core items of discussions in the trilateral meeting include North Korea’s latest acts of provocation, such as spy satellite and missile launches, and steps for strengthening cooperation in response to these threats, the Defense Ministry said.
The defense chiefs of the three countries will also review the joint system for sharing warning data on North Korean missiles in real-time launched last December.
Shin and Austin will likely talk about fortifying US extended deterrence against growing nuclear threats from North Korea and ways for possibly letting South Korea join the AUKUS — a trilateral partnership between Australia, the UK and the US for security in the Indo-Pacific and China containment.
Indonesian Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto will attend the summit, raising the possibility of his meeting with Shin to talk about the issue of cost-sharing in the joint project for developing the KF-21 fighter jets.
Shin will also hold bilateral meetings with the defense chiefs of Canada, France, and the Philippines to discuss defense and defense cooperation.
There is a chance Shin may meet with his Chinese counterpart as President Yoon Suk Yeol and China Premier Li Qiang agreed to increase cooperation at the summit in Seoul on Sunday.
koreaherald.com · by Kim Arin · May 30, 2024
13. UN Security Council to meet Friday on failed North Korea satellite launch
Of course CHina and Russia will "protect" north Korea at the UNSC. However, this is an opportunity to also highlight their complicity in all north Korean malign activities by doing so.
UN Security Council to meet Friday on failed North Korea satellite launch
By Michelle Nichols
May 29, 20245:58 PM EDTUpdated 15 hours ago
UNITED NATIONS, May 29 (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council will meet publicly on Friday over North Korea's failed attempt to launch a new military reconnaissance satellite, which the United States described as "reckless and destabilizing behavior."
North Korea said the launch ended in failure on Monday when a newly developed rocket engine exploded in flight. North Korea then fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile, the Japanese government said on Thursday.
"The Security Council has a responsibility to protect global peace and security," said Nate Evans, spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the U.N. "The United States urges all Security Council members to take this responsibility seriously and unite in condemning the DPRK's dangerous and unlawful behavior."
"Relevant Security Council resolutions must be fully implemented, and the DPRK must be held accountable for violating them," he said.
Formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions for its ballistic missile and nuclear programs since 2006, and those measures have been strengthened over the years.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said space reconnaissance capabilities are crucial for national self defense against enemy threats and the country will never give up the fight to own that ability, state media said on Wednesday.
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For the past several years the U.N. Security Council has been divided over how to deal with Pyongyang. Russia and China - veto powers along with the U.S., Britain and France - have said more sanctions will not help and want such measures to be eased.
China and Russia say joint military drills by the United States and South Korea provoke Pyongyang, while Washington accuses Beijing and Moscow of emboldening North Korea by shielding it from more sanctions.
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Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Richard Chang
14. North Korea likely has ‘expertise’ to steal more NFTs to fund regime, US says
North Korea likely has ‘expertise’ to steal more NFTs to fund regime, US says
New Treasury report on nonfungible tokens highlights illicit finance risks of DPRK cybercrime groups
https://www.nknews.org/2024/05/north-korea-likely-has-expertise-to-steal-more-nfts-to-fund-regime-us-says/
Nils Weisensee May 30, 2024
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Image: NK News
North Korean cybercriminals may have developed the expertise to increasingly exploit nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to generate revenue for the regime, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has warned in a new report.
The first Illicit Finance Risk Assessment of NFTs published Wednesday states that the DPRK has dispatched thousands of highly skilled IT workers around the world who often are employed to work on projects involving digital assets, even though most money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing currently occurs in fiat currency.
“In addition to stealing funds from virtual asset firms and projects, DPRK-linked actors have engaged in separate activities within the digital asset ecosystem that indicate that the group may have the expertise and access to increasingly abuse NFTs to generate revenue,” the Treasury stated.
According to the report, proceeds from an NFT scheme attributed to the DPRK by the U.S. blockchain security firm SlowMist in 2022 likely accounted for a very small portion of overall DPRK cyber-enabled digital asset theft.
The firm found that DPRK cyber actors had used almost 500 decoy websites designed to look like NFT products, with the goal of tricking victims into exposing their private keys so the attackers could steal their NFTs. One of these decoys reportedly stole more than 1,000 NFTs and converted them into ether cryptocurrency worth over $350,000.
Vitaly Kamluk, director of global research and analysis at the cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, told NK Pro that the limited liquidity of the NFT market and the cryptographic uniqueness of nonfungible tokens make cryptocurrencies like bitcoin a much more attractive target for cyber criminals.
“DPRK-linked threat actors, such as Lazarus, have been focusing on hacking centralized cryptocurrency exchanges holding large amounts of cryptocurrencies,” the expert explained. “They are good at this but there haven’t been notable NFT marketplace hacks yet.”
According to Kamluk, a second factor is that once the theft of particular NFTs becomes public, selling unique tokens for cryptocurrency or cashing out becomes very difficult as potential buyers stay away.
“This uniqueness can make it harder for them to resell or liquidate compared to fungible cryptocurrencies,” he explained.
The U.N. Panel of Experts had previously warned that North Korea is using NFTs to generate revenue for its illicit weapons programs. In 2022, North Korean hackers stole $620 million from a Pokemon-like blockchain game called Axie Infinity.
Edited by Bryan Betts
15. Music by South Korean singer beloved by Kim Jong Il is now banned
KJU is in charge. He has surpassed his father in power (from the regime's perspective) so that he can now go against him. But it is anything from the South that is the real threat now more than it has ever been. Kim Jong Un is truly (deathly) afraid of information.
Music by South Korean singer beloved by Kim Jong Il is now banned
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/kim-yeon-ja-songs-banned-in-north-korea-05282024160444.html?utm
The ban on Kim Yeon-ja’s music will be nearly impossible to enforce because she’s so popular, residents say.
By Kim Jieun for RFA Korean
2024.05.28
Kim Yeon-ja (left) appears with then North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea in April 2001. It was her first time performing in the North.
Yonhap News
The music of a South Korean singer who once performed at the request of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il – a big fan of hers – has been suddenly banned in the reclusive country, residents told Radio Free Asia.
The reasons behind the ban on Kim Yeon-ja’s music aren’t entirely clear, but the order came directly from supreme leader Kim Jong Un, a resident of the northeastern province of North Hamgyong told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
“This is the first time that a singer’s name has been specified in a ban,” he said. “A few days ago, I heard from a friend who works at the provincial social security bureau that the general secretary’s order has been issued to block (her) songs.”
The decision is “shocking” because Kim Jong Il – Kim Jong Un’s father – was known to have been a huge fan, the resident said, and her music is popular among the public, making a ban nearly impossible to enforce.
“Her songs are famous for being loved not only by the general secretary’s father, but also by most residents,” he said. “Kim Yeon-ja’s music is deeply entrenched in the hearts of the people here as her lyrics and singing style fit well with the sentiments of North Koreans.”
Kim Yeon-ja. (duckleavepics via Wikimedia Commons)
Kim Yeon-ja, now 65, has been a stalwart of South Korea's “trot” genre of music, characterized by repetitive rhythm and vocal inflection. It saw its heyday in the 1970s and 80s and is favored by older Koreans. She has also been successful in Japan as an enka singer.
Debuting in South Korea in 1974 at age 15, she became wildly popular in the North in 2001 and 2002 when she traveled to North Korea for two concerts, the latter of which was at the personal request of then-leader Kim Jong Il.
At that time, photos of her alongside the late “Dear Leader” circulated widely in state media, which lauded her performances.
Exception to the rule
Until now, Kim Yeon-ja’s music was believed by residents to have been a defacto exception to a blanket ban on South Korean music, movies, and TV shows, which are condemned in the North as “capitalist” trash.
North Koreans secretly consume South Korean songs and shows, which are smuggled in from China on SD cards and USB thumb drives, but listening to K-pop or watching dramas from the South can lead to stiff punishments.
But most people assumed the ban did not really apply to Kim Yeon-ja’s music because Kim Jong Il liked her, a resident of the northwestern province of North Pyongan.
But the ban was not just on her music. There are specific songs that make reference to South Korea included in Kim Jong Un’s orders, the sources told RFA.
“‘Morning Dew,’ and ‘Our Wish is Unification,’ were also designated as banned songs,” the second resident said.
The ban on the latter song is striking. “Our Wish is Unification,” has been an unofficial inter-Korean anthem since Korea was divided at the end of World War II, and has been sung by both North and South Koreans during cultural exchange events and even in lieu of anthems when teams from both Koreas face each other in international sports competitions.
But Kim Yeon-ja’s songs will continue to be played and sung in North Korea, the second resident predicted.
“Even the police officers who crack down on the songs are passing around the recovered SD cards to friends and family members to listen to or sing along to,” he said.
Translated by Claire S. Lee and Leejin J. Chung. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.
16.
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
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