Quotes of the Day:

"Truth exists, only lies are invented." 

– Georges Braque

"There are but two powers in the world, the sword and the mind. In the long run the sword is always beaten by the mind."

– Bonaparte

"In this war, which was total in every sense of the word, we have seen many great changes in military science. It seems to me that not the least of these was the development of psychological warfare as a specific and effective weapon."

– Dwight D. Eisenhower

1. North Korean defectors: "North Korea is concerned about ideological changes among young people… Need to provide outside information"

2. Experts: “Redeployment of Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Korea ‘Premature’… Strategic Discussions Must Continue”

3. North Korea 'Shopping for Mass Destruction ', Expert Warns

4. North Korea's former No. 2 diplomat in Cuba describes his dramatic, swift defection

5. Inside Kim’s succession crisis as ‘spoiled’ daughter rivals her brutal sister

6. N.K. leader Kim slams S. Korean 'fabricated' news on flood damage in his 1st reaction to Seoul over downpours

7. Trump says he got people back from N. Korea amid attention on prisoner swap with Russia

8. North Korea refused China's rescue offer for Yalu River island residents

9. [Eric John's Window] Why I am optimistic about the future of South Korea

10. N. Korea slashes party membership slots for female soldiers

11. N. Korean youth secretly learn tech skills to access outside world

12. N. Korea reaches agreement with China on worker issues

13. North Korea demolishes Pyongyang guesthouse, expands military facilities

14. US will continue to monitor possibility of NK conducting nuclear test: Pentagon

15. Trump Critic Max Boot Wanted the Feds to Bust Foreign Agents. Then His Wife Was Accused of Being One.

1. North Korean defectors: "North Korea is concerned about ideological changes among young people… Need to provide outside information"

This is a Google translation of a Yonhap report (that did not make it into English on the Yonhap web site).

Kim Geum-hyok demonstrated organically developed collective action at the lowest level in China. He told us on a number of occasions during his time with the North Korean Young Leaders Assembly that change is coming. We all need to be ready for that change.

Excerpts:

Kim Geum-hyeok, who majored in English and international relations at Kim Il-sung University and dreamed of becoming a diplomat, said that while studying abroad in China in 2010, he first encountered outside information and realized that he had been brainwashed by the North Korean regime.

He said that the international students he was with at the time gathered every week to study freedom, human rights, democracy, and South Korean society, and emphasized that "the first step to liberating North Korean citizens from ideological indoctrination and allowing them to live with dignity is to provide them with proper information."

He said, "The more information North Korean citizens have access to, the weaker the regime's dictatorship becomes," and insisted that young people in particular should be provided with information that points out democracy, human rights, and the wrongdoings of the North Korean regime, as well as cultural information such as dramas.

He said, "The current North Korean regime is most concerned about the ideological changes of the younger generation. Kim Jong-un is afraid that young people who are sensitive to change will realize the truth through outside information and resist his dictatorship."

Seo-Hyeon Lee, a North Korean human rights activist and researcher Hyun-Seung Lee's younger sister, urged special attention to ensure that humanitarian aid to North Korea goes to the people, not the regime.

He said, "If American aid could improve the lives of North Korean citizens even a little and save them, all of my defector friends and I would most ardently support the humanitarian aid policy, but we all know that the humanitarian aid sent to North Korea does not go directly to the citizens, but to the regime."

North Korean defectors: "North Korea is concerned about ideological changes among young people… Need to provide outside information"

Submission time2024-07-27 02:31

https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20240727003200071

"Kim Jong-un punishes North Korean citizens harshly to discourage international community from leaking information"

North Korean loudspeaker

[Yonhap News Agency photo]

(Washington=Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Dong-hyun = North Korean defectors suggested that in order to improve the human rights situation of North Korean residents, information about the outside world and the reality of the North Korean regime must be provided to North Korean youth.

Hyunseung Lee, a researcher at the Global Peace Foundation, said in a talk hosted by the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. on the 26th (local time) that the key means by which North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un maintains power is through strict control of external information.

He mentioned reports that around 30 middle school students in North Korea were publicly executed for watching South Korean dramas, and said, "I believe that Kim Jong-un is deliberately executing students in the most horrific way to discourage the world from sending information to North Korea."

He stressed that the international community should not stop efforts to bring information into North Korea for fear that the regime will punish its citizens who access outside information.

He said that even if you point a gun at a thirsty person in the desert and tell them not to drink water, they will eventually have no choice but to drink it, and that "information is like water to the people of North Korea. (Omitted) There is no way to stop the people of North Korea from seeking truth and information."

The researcher, who graduated from Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies and studied abroad in China, is the son of Ri Jeong-ho, a high-ranking official in the North Korean Workers' Party's "Room 39", and defected with his family in 2014 and later settled in the United States.

Young North Korean Defectors Leaders Conference

Lee Hyun-seung, advisor to HRNK and researcher at the Global Peace Foundation, speaks at the 'Young North Korean Defector Leaders' General Assembly' held at the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), a non-governmental organization in Washington, D.C., on July 10, 2023 (local time). [Yonhap News Agency photo]

Kim Geum-hyeok, who majored in English and international relations at Kim Il-sung University and dreamed of becoming a diplomat, said that while studying abroad in China in 2010, he first encountered outside information and realized that he had been brainwashed by the North Korean regime.

He said that the international students he was with at the time gathered every week to study freedom, human rights, democracy, and South Korean society, and emphasized that "the first step to liberating North Korean citizens from ideological indoctrination and allowing them to live with dignity is to provide them with proper information."

He said, "The more information North Korean citizens have access to, the weaker the regime's dictatorship becomes," and insisted that young people in particular should be provided with information that points out democracy, human rights, and the wrongdoings of the North Korean regime, as well as cultural information such as dramas.

He said, "The current North Korean regime is most concerned about the ideological changes of the younger generation. Kim Jong-un is afraid that young people who are sensitive to change will realize the truth through outside information and resist his dictatorship."

Seo-Hyeon Lee, a North Korean human rights activist and researcher Hyun-Seung Lee's younger sister, urged special attention to ensure that humanitarian aid to North Korea goes to the people, not the regime.

He said, "If American aid could improve the lives of North Korean citizens even a little and save them, all of my defector friends and I would most ardently support the humanitarian aid policy, but we all know that the humanitarian aid sent to North Korea does not go directly to the citizens, but to the regime."

Young North Korean Defectors Gather in the U.S. Capital

Lee Seo-hyun, a North Korean defector, speaks at the 'Young North Korean Defector Leaders' General Assembly' held at the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), a non-governmental organization in Washington, D.C., on July 10, 2023 (local time). [Yonhap News Agency photo]

bluekey@yna.co.kr

2. Experts: “Redeployment of Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Korea ‘Premature’… Strategic Discussions Must Continue”

This is a Google translation of a VOA report from Eunjung Cho.

Experts: “Redeployment of Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Korea ‘Premature’… Strategic Discussions Must Continue”

2024.8.3

• Jo Eun-jung

https://www.voakorea.com/a/7728091.html

Despite the advancement of North Korea's nuclear capabilities and the deepening of North Korea-Russia military cooperation, U.S. experts have diagnosed that it is premature to redeploy U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea. However, they pointed out that strategic discussions need to continue in order to send a warning message to North Korea and others. Reporter Cho Eun-jung reports.

Christopher Johnstone, Japan Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Christopher Johnston, a former director for East Asia at the White House National Security Council (NSC) in the Biden administration and Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told VOA on the 1st that “it is premature to redeploy tactical nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula.”

[Johnston Chair] “I continue to believe that it is premature to re-deploy tactical nuclear weapons to the peninsula. While North Korea's advancing weapons programs are clearly a concern, the Biden administration has been clear that any use of nuclear weapons against the United States or its allies would result in the end of the North Korean regime. “This commitment continues to deter North Korean nuclear use, and other steps that the United States, South Korea, and Japan have taken—including deepening trilateral cooperation—have more broadly reinforced deterrence against North Korean aggression.”

“North Korea’s progress in its nuclear weapons program is certainly concerning,” said Johnston, who also served as director of the Northeast Asia Bureau in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, adding that “extended deterrence against South Korea is working well.”

He said, “The main benefit of redeploying tactical nuclear weapons is that it reassures South Korea of the U.S. commitment, but it has little military value.” He added, “The Washington Declaration has served to confirm the U.S. commitment to extended deterrence, including by more regularly deploying strategic assets near and around the Korean Peninsula, so giving such reassurance to South Korea at this point, when U.S.-South Korea relations are strong, is unnecessary.”

[Johnston Chair] “The redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons would have little military value and would have the primary benefit of reassuring South Korea of the US commitment. But this reassurance is unnecessary at a time of strong US-ROK relations; the Washington Declaration has served to affirm US extended deterrence commitments, including through the more regular deployment of strategic assets near and around the Peninsula. The ultimate affirmation of US commitment is the 28,500 military personnel deployed there; “As long as this commitment is firm, deployment of tactical nuclear weapons is of marginal utility, and could actually serve to amplify concerns in Tokyo and Seoul about the credibility of US extended deterrence.”

In addition, he pointed out that “the ultimate confirmation of the US commitment is the stationing of 28,500 US troops in Korea, and as long as this commitment is firm, the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons will have limited utility and could rather serve to amplify concerns in Japan and South Korea about the reliability of the US’ extended deterrence.”

“It may be useful to signal the possibility that U.S. policy on this issue could change as the threat evolves,” Johnston said, though “it is still unnecessary.”

[Johnston Chair] “Nevertheless, though still unnecessary, it may be useful to signal the possibility that US policy on this issue could change as the threat evolves. The US could, for example, consider deploying dual-capable (unarmed) fighter aircraft to the Peninsula on a temporary or rotational basis, as it did to Japan during the Cold War. It could also invest in storage facilities to house tactical nuclear weapons on the Peninsula, to enable rapid redeployment in the future. These steps would be visible to North Korea.”

Dennis Wilder, former White House Senior Director for Asia.

Dennis Wilder, a professor at Georgetown University who served as senior director for Asian affairs on the National Security Council (NSC) under the George W. Bush administration, also expressed a negative stance on the redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea in a telephone interview with VOA on the same day, saying, “There is room to think about it in the future, but there is no need for it at this time.”

[Recording: Former senior aide to Wilder] “The United States extended deterrence of Korea has worked and worked well for generations. If we were to deploy nuclear weapons to Korea, it would be an admission that extended deterrence doesn't work. And I believe that extended deterrence works.”

“If we were to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea, that would be an admission that extended deterrence is not working,” said former senior adviser Wilder, adding that extended deterrence is working well in South Korea.

He also pointed out that the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) announced in 2022 clearly states that if North Korea uses nuclear weapons, the leadership will be annihilated, and that it does not matter whether the weapons North Korea uses are tactical or strategic nuclear weapons.

[Recording: Former senior aide to Wilder] “If you look at the Nuclear Posture Review, what we have said very clearly to the North Koreans, is if you use any kind of nuclear weapon, whether it's tactical or strategic, that we will obliterate annihilate the leadership of North Korea. That is the strongest statement we make anywhere in the world. And that is continuing to be the American position, which means it doesn't matter if he has tactical weapons. Because we would annihilate him in either case, we are not going to play the escalatory ladder game with the Chinese or the North Koreans over Korea. We do not need to match Tactical Nuke for tactical nuke, because we are saying you launch any kind of nuclear weapon, we will annihilate you.”

Gary Seymour, Professor at Brandeis University. Photo = Brandeis University.

Gary Seymour, a professor at Brandeis University and former White House Coordinator for Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Obama administration, told VOA in a telephone interview on the 1st that “now may not be the right time to redeploy tactical nuclear weapons,” but that “it is certainly an option that our allies should consider.”

However, former Coordinator Seymour noted that the U.S. military is very reluctant to deploy nuclear weapons on air bases in South Korea due to concerns that they would be vulnerable to attack by North Korea.

[Recording: Former Coordinator Seymour] “The US military is very reluctant to deploy nuclear weapons at air bases in South Korea, because they would be vulnerable to attack by North Korea. So from the standpoint of the US military, they prefer to have the nuclear umbrella for South Korea be deployed either in the sea which North Koreans can't attack, or brought in, in an emergency, like based in Guam, or even long- range bombers that come from the United States.”

He said, “The redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons is a matter for the alliance to discuss,” and “Whether the timing and situation are appropriate is a matter for the government to determine.”

David Maxwell, Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy. Photo = Center for Asia Pacific Strategy.

David Maxwell, deputy director of the Asia-Pacific Strategy Center and former operations staff officer for the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command, said in a video conference with VOA on the 1st that it cannot be said with certainty that the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons will increase deterrence.

[Recording: Deputy Representative Maxwell] “When a nuclear weapon is placed somewhere, no one knows for sure what the yield is, whether it's high yield or, you know, strategic level or tactical level, yields. and then the effects of nuclear weapons are really difficult to determine, particularly if there are multiple nuclear weapons that are deployed. Low-yield nuclear weapons, would have a military purpose for destroying targets, specific targets, with the least amount of force necessary to be successful. Whether they contribute to deterrence or not is something that we have to continually analyze.”

“Once a nuclear weapon is deployed somewhere, no one knows for sure whether it’s high-power, strategic, or tactical,” said Deputy Maxwell. “It’s really hard to determine the effectiveness of a nuclear weapon, especially when multiple weapons are deployed.”

He also pointed out that “it is unclear whether the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula will be able to deter Kim Jong-un.”

But Maxwell said that continuing the public discussion about redeploying tactical nuclear weapons was strategically important because it “signals to Kim Jong-un, Xi Jinping and Putin that we take their threats seriously and that we have the ability to deter and defend against them.”

Michael O'Hanlon, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Photo=Paul Morigi/Brookings Institution/Flickr.

Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and current member of the Defense Policy Board at the Pentagon, said in a video conference with VOA on the 1st that while the redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula is a "reasonable proposal" given that North Korea possesses dozens of nuclear warheads and continues to conduct weapons tests, he did not agree that now is the time.

O'Hanlon said the debate over redeploying tactical nuclear weapons "should be considered as an effective lever to restart negotiations with North Korea in a way that limits their nuclear arsenal."

[Recording: Researcher O'Hanlon] “Is there a possibility of using that effectively as leverage to get back to some kind of negotiation with North Korea in a way that would sort of begin to cap the North Korean nuclear arsenal, for example? And is there a way to use this possibility, to change the negotiating and diplomatic environment?... I might try to think of it as part of an overall new initiative towards North Korea, which is not all about sticks, but also about an “attempt to try to begin a dialog understanding very well, very clearly who we’re dealing with.”

Experts predicted that the issue of redeploying tactical nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula could be reignited after the presidential election in November.

O'Hanlon said it is unclear what stance the next U.S. administration will take on this issue after the November presidential election, but he predicted that if former President Donald Trump were to be re-elected, his policy toward the Korean Peninsula would extend far beyond whether to redeploy tactical nuclear weapons.

[Recording: Researcher O'Hanlon] “Trump might see South Korean nuclear weapons as an alternative to the alliance, not just an alternative to US tactical nuclear redeployment to the peninsula, but an alternative to even having US troops on the peninsula at all and even sustaining the security treatment at all. And if Trump does come back to the white House, I believe he is going to want to have some signature achievements in foreign policy that leave his legacy, his stamp on America's role in the world. So I think this debate could very well happen. but again, it would be a bigger deal than just affecting whether to put US tactical nuclear weapons back on the peninsula.”

“If former President Trump is re-elected, he may view South Korea’s own nuclear armament not simply as an alternative to the deployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons, but as an alternative to the deployment of U.S. troops in South Korea and an alternative to maintaining the security treaty,” O’Hanlon said.

On the other hand, he said it was difficult to predict what position Vice President Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, would take on the issue if elected, as “there is no indication that the Korean Peninsula issue is one of Vice President Harris’s top concerns.”

Former Coordinator Seymour also observed that “it is very difficult to predict what actions Trump or Harris would take if elected president,” and “overall, Harris is likely to continue the current administration’s policies.”

This is Eun-Jeong Jo from VOA News.

3. North Korea 'Shopping for Mass Destruction ', Expert Warns

north Korea (with the complicity of China and Russia) is masterful at sanctions evasion. Perhaps counterintuitively we have "trained" him well through our sanctions.

North Korea 'Shopping for Mass Destruction ', Expert Warns

Newsweek · by Hugh Cameron · August 2, 2024

ByLive News Reporter

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Kim Jong Un has exploited failures in the international sanctions framework to source missile components from the West, some of which have ended up on the frontlines in Ukraine.

"Wreckage from North Korean missiles fired by Russia at targets in Ukraine has shown continued dependence on imported microelectronics," one expert told Newsweek, "including goods from companies in Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the US."

Daniel Salisbury is an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and a senior research fellow at the Department of War Studies at King's College London.

On Tuesday, Salisbury published a paper entitled "Shopping for Mass Destruction," which outlined the "illicit procurement networks" on which the isolated state has relied to produce weapons for its own use and the use of its allies.

"In the past few years the DPRK has continued to rely on imports to supply its WMD programs," Salisbury told Newsweek.

In this photo distributed by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, walks around what it says is a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on the launcher at an undisclosed location... In this photo distributed by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, walks around what it says is a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on the launcher at an undisclosed location in North Korea on March 24, 2022. The country has ramped up its production and testing of ballistic missiles, which a new paper says are reliant on imports from abroad. Korean Central News Agency via AP

North Korea's missile tests and weapons of mass destruction programs have attracted substantial international condemnation, and it appears that Pyongyang has sourced many of the "dual-use" technologies needed for these initiatives, including electronic components and machine tools, from abroad.

"The DPRK clearly undertakes regular shopping operations for these and other dual-use goods from overseas markets, particularly in China and Russia," Salisbury said.

However, while these two states are well-acknowledged trading partners of North Korea, Salisbury said that Kim Jong Un was also acquiring technology from countries that publicly oppose these programs.

He cited February research from Conflict Armament Research, which revealed that 290 imported components were found in the wreckage of a ballistic missile in Ukraine, procured from 26 countries including China, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan and the U.S.

However, sourcing equipment for Moscow as well as its own weapons programs has put a strain on Pyonyang's own resources, increasing its reliance on global imports.

According to Salisbury, "North Korea's supply of munitions and particularly missiles to Moscow likely creates greater demand now for materials and components, as North Korea will likely look to carry on its own missile development and manufacturing alongside those for export to Russia."

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a hall displaying what appear to be various types of warheads designed to be mounted on missiles or rocket launchers on March 27, 2023, in an undisclosed location... North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a hall displaying what appear to be various types of warheads designed to be mounted on missiles or rocket launchers on March 27, 2023, in an undisclosed location in North Korea. Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP

Salisbury said that his research revealed the sophistication of the country's procurement networks, but also the failure of Western sanctions against Kim Jong Un.

North Korea is currently sanctioned by numerous states and supranational bodies as a result of its unlawful nuclear weapons program and record of human rights abuses.

However, through an "opaque" network of front companies, as well as potentially hundreds of globally stationed "procurement agents," Salisbury's report outlined how North Korea was able bypass these controls with relative ease.

"Sanctions cannot prevent proliferation by determined states, particularly when they have spent many years acquiring, indigenizing and developing technologies," Salisbury told Newsweek.

"The DPRK has had 40 plus years to develop procurement networks, which are constantly innovating," he added. "They are able to outwit slow government bureaucracies due to their ability to adapt quickly."

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un smile during their meeting at the Pyongyang Sunan International Airport outside Pyongyang, North Korea, on June 19, 2024. In recent years, the two countries... Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un smile during their meeting at the Pyongyang Sunan International Airport outside Pyongyang, North Korea, on June 19, 2024. In recent years, the two countries have strengthened their relationship, which experts warn may have bolstered Pyongyang's missile technology procurement networks. Gavriil Grigorov/Kremlin Pool Photo via AP,

His paper identified the country's "renewed relationship with Russia" as "perhaps the most important factor that will shape the future of North Korea's procurement networks."

North Korea and Russia have deepened their military ties in recent years, culminating in a strategic partnership signed between the pair in June, detailing commitments for broader cooperation in the military, foreign policy and trade realms.

"If Moscow were to formally offer strategic technologies to Pyongyang, or to allow North Korea's operatives to openly shop on a larger scale from Russian providers, this could be bountiful for North Korea's procurement needs," Salisbury wrote.

His paper ended with ten recommendations for Western states "seeking to counter North Korea's illicit procurement."

Among these was a "honing" of export controls, and prevent technology transfers to China and Russia, North Korea's primary vendors.

Other recommendations included replacing the UN Security Council's Panel of Experts for North Korean sanctions, dissolved in April, and to "challenge" the burgeoning relationship between Putin and Kim Jong Un.

Do you have a story we should be covering? Do you have any questions about this article? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com.

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About the writer

Hugh Cameron

Hugh Cameron is Newsweek Live News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on international politics, conflict, and crime. Hugh joined Newsweek in 2024, having worked at Alliance News Ltd where he specialised in covering global and regional business developments, economic news, and market trends. He graduated from the University of Warwick with a bachelor's degree in politics in 2022, and from the University of Cambridge with a master's degree in international relations in 2023. Languages: English.

You can get in touch with Hugh by emailing h.cameron@newsweek.com

Hugh Cameron is Newsweek Live News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on international politics, conflict, and ...

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Newsweek · by Hugh Cameron · August 2, 2024

4. North Korea's former No. 2 diplomat in Cuba describes his dramatic, swift defection

I remain suspicious of this gentleman. He is getting a lot of publicity (and seems to be seeking it).  

I am taking his statements with a grain of salt (except the ones I agree with and that support my agenda :-) )

North Korea's former No. 2 diplomat in Cuba describes his dramatic, swift defection

AP · by HYUNG-JIN KIM · August 2, 2024

North Korea’s former No. 2 diplomat in Cuba describes his dramatic, swift defection

1 of 4 |Ri Il Gyu, a former political counselor at the North Korean Embassy in Cuba who defected to South Korea last November, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the Associated Press bureau in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — When Ri Il Gyu, North Korea’s No. 2 diplomat in Cuba, finally decided to flee to South Korea in frustration over his highly repressive, corrupt homeland in November, he finished all necessary prep work alone. About a week later, he told his family to be ready to leave Cuba together in less than eight hours.

“My wife first told me not to make such a dreadful joke. So I showed her our plane tickets, and she was speechless,” Ri said Friday in an interview with The Associated Press. “I told my kid that there is no future or hope for North Korea.”

His family followed him to a Havana airport at dawn the next day, taking a flight to a third country and then South Korea in one of the most high-profile and dramatic defections by North Koreans in recent years.

The defection by Ri — a former political counselor at the North’s Embassy in Cuba — was only made public in July. It likely has angered North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, because it could prompt his other diplomats to follow suit in a blow to his grip on the country’s elites, observers say. Ri said the North Korean Embassy in Cuba has about 20 diplomats, making it the North’s third-biggest mission abroad after China and Russia.

Ri, 52, is the highest-ranking North Korean to defect to South Korea since Tae Yongho, a former minister of the North Korean Embassy in London, arrived in South Korea in 2016.

The news of Ri’s defection came as animosity between the rival Koreas soared to one of the highest points in years, with North Korea flying trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea and continuing its provocative weapons tests. South Korea responded by restarting front-line loudspeaker broadcasts of anti-Pyongyang messages and K-pop songs, a challenge to Kim’s efforts to limit access to foreign news for his 26 million people.

“The Kim Jong Un regime will likely be in a very bad mood if they see me speaking publicly in media interviews like this,” Ri said. “They might think it’s in their interest to eliminate a person like me. But I’m not going to worry about that so much, because the South Korean government has made a priority of keeping me safe.”

About nine months after his arrival in South Korea, Ri is under a South Korean government protection program. North Korea allegedly has a long history of assassinating or making attempts to kill high-level defectors, the estranged relatives of the Kim family living abroad, and top South Korean officials.

Kim might personally remember Ri, because Ri said he briefly met Kim many times with other officials in 2018 over preparations to receive top Cuban officials on two occasions. Sometimes Kim asked him questions.

In each meeting, Ri recalled that Kim smoked continuously and was short of breath like “an asthmatic patient” so he could hear the rasp of Kim’s breathing. South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers Monday that North Korean officials are looking for new medicines abroad to treat Kim’s suspected obesity-related health problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

“At the first meeting, I clearly shuddered though it wasn’t like I couldn’t answer. But during the second and third meetings, I didn’t shudder.”

Ri said he had long thought about fleeing North Korea, which he called “a world of darkness” and “a republic of corruption.” He said his monthly pay was about $500 so he smuggled Cuban cigars to China via diplomatic pouches to make a living. He said North Korean diplomats in other countries have been involved in the smuggling of ivories, rhino horns, whiskeys and automobiles.

But he said what decisively triggered his defection was the North Korean Foreign Ministry’s rejection in early November of his hope to visit Mexico to treat a ruptured disc in his neck. Ri suspected his boss in Pyongyang was behind that decision because Ri earlier had refused his boss’ request for bribe.

“That made me so mad,” Ri said. Without that incident, “I probably would have kept thinking about defecting, but without ever leaving.”

Ri’s defection came before Cuba established diplomatic ties with South Korea in February. As there was no South Korean Embassy in Cuba at that time, he said he couldn’t get as much support from South Korean diplomats as other North Korean defectors managed to get elsewhere.

South Korean officials were eventually involved in Ri’s defection. But the government in Seoul and Ri declined to provide details about that because that could cause potential diplomatic troubles for countries involved, and could help North Korea thwart future escape attempts by other North Koreans.

At the Havana airport, Ri said he and his family waited for the plane for an hour that felt “like hell.”

He fretted that fellow North Korean Embassy officials might find out he was leaving and chase him. He looked at his wristwatch about a hundred times before he and his family finally boarded the plane safely, he said.

If caught, Ri said he and his family would have faced a future worse than death in a prison camp where people have to eat insects to survive.

Ri is not sure yet what he will do in South Korea, but is encouraged by other North Koreans who have successfully resettled in the South. Tae, the former North Korean minister, was elected to the South Korean parliament before receiving a vice minister-level job in July. Ri said he’s read Tae’s memoir about 10 times.

Some 34,000 North Koreans have resettled in South Korea since the late 1990s to escape poverty and political oppression at home — most of them women from the North’s poorer northern provinces. In 2023, about 10 North Koreans considered to be elites arrived in South Korea, the highest such number in recent years, according to South Korea’s government.

“I can’t guarantee that my departure will lead to more defections by North Korean diplomats,” Ri said. “But I think my defection will surely give them some courage to do so.”

AP · by HYUNG-JIN KIM · August 2, 2024

5. Inside Kim’s succession crisis as ‘spoiled’ daughter rivals her brutal sister

Video and photos at the link.

https://www.the-sun.com/news/12079541/kim-jong-un-succession-daughter-sister-son-north-korea/?utm

I remain skeptical that she is really being "groomed" for future leadership. I think we may be being played by Kim.

Inside Kim’s succession crisis as ‘spoiled’ daughter rivals her brutal sister

the-sun.com · by Kevin Adjei-Darko, Features Journalist · August 1, 2024

IN North Korea's mysterious corridors of power, a succession saga has been brewing that could have immense consequences for the world.

Although Kim Jong-un has had a tight grip on power since 2011, concerns over his health have raised questions about the lack of a clear heir apparent.

14

Kim Jong-un's appearance has sparked many questions about his health and who his successor will beCredit: Reuters

14

Many believe his daughter, Kim Ju-ae, could emerge as the leader of the secretive stateCredit: Credit: Pen News

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His sister, Kim Yo-Jong, who has worked closely with him, is believed to be a possible replacement tooCredit: AFP

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Kim Jong-nam, Kim Jong-un's half-brother, was assassinated in 2017Credit: AFP or licensors

Kim, 40, is said to be suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes and weighs a whopping 22st, despite standing at 5ft 5in.

He also comes from a family that has been plagued by heart issues.

He took over from his father, Kim Jong-il, in 2011 when he died as a result of a huge heart attack.

Before that, his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, died following a sudden cardiac arrest in 1994.

With nuclear capabilities and a long history of unpredictable diplomacy, the country's future leadership has become a global concern.

This week, reports indicated that the dictator is training his daughter, Kim Ju-ae, who is said to be between the ages of 10 and 12, as his successor.

Although the secretive state has not openly admitted that she is next in line, spies in South Korea believe that Kim Ju-ae's elevated public presence is not by chance.

But there are other family members who could beat the youngster to the post - including an alleged secret son and Kim's brutal sister who has ordered executions and could spell particular trouble for the West.

And as the brutal 2017 assassination of exiled Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of Kim Jong-il, shows, family tensions are never far from the surface in the despotic dynasty.

The 'spoilt' daughter

Spies in South Korea are said to be convinced Kim Ju-ae is the most likely heir to the Kim dynasty.

According to local reports, Park Sun-won, the South's National Intelligence Service (NIS) secretary, said: "Kim Ju-ae is hinted at as a strong successor and is undergoing successor training."

Kim rolls out red carpet for Putin with limo ride & heering crowds as tyrants woo each other for ‘new world order’ talks

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South Korean spies believe that Kim's daughter, Kim Ju-ae, will be the next leader of the countryCredit: KCNA VIA KNS

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She has been seen out with her father on numerous occasions - she is photographed here with both parentsCredit: Reuters

He added: "How North Korea refers to Kim Ju-ae and what activities she appears in are very significant."

She is the supreme leader's second child with his wife, Ri Sol-ju. In 2012, the former singer disappeared from the public eye while she was pregnant with her.

Like most aspects of life in North Korea, Kim Ju-ae's identity and name were shrouded in secrecy. That was until basketball legend Dennis Rodman, who shares a close friendship with the dictator, revealed it.

As the despot's "favourite" child, Kim Ju-ae has been pictured with her father at recent events and lives a charmed life that is a far cry from what most residents of the country dare to dream of.

When she was photographed with her father last year, she was seen wearing a pair of Gucci sunglasses. In another public appearance, she was seen wearing a £1,500 jacket from Dior.

This is despite UN trade sanctions on such items being delivered into the country, and the state's own supposed distaste for 'bourgeois' status symbols popular with the West - although Kim has reportedly spent $4billion on luxury goods since coming to power.

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She already has a lavish lifestyle and has been seen in expensive Gucci sunglassesCredit: Reuters

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She was also spotted wearing a Dior jacket that cost £1,500Credit: Credit: Pen News

Dr Adam Zulawnik, senior tutor of Korean Studies at the University of Melbourne, has extensively researched the culture and politics of the country, which is officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK),

He says of Kim Ju-ae: "She is evidently the favoured child of the DPRK leader. The private life of the ruling Kim family is closely guarded, but judging by what we know about the life of the leader, we can assume that his daughter would be living a lavish lifestyle

"This is much in contrast with that of most of her fellow people. The family own at least 15 estates across North Korea with their favourite near the seaside of Wonsan on the East Coast, equipped with all the imaginable luxury amenities."

Virginie Grzelczyk, associate professor in International Relations at Aston University, adds: "The quality of clothes and accessories show design goods which would be largely inaccessible to most - if not all -of the population in the DPRK.

"Being part of the elite family in the DPRK means access to education. Kim Jong-un’s own schooling involved extensive time spent in Switzerland during his teens.

"Her presence next to her father at a number of official events is reminiscent to that of children of royalty in other countries."

According to intelligence gathered by the NIS, Kim Ju-ae is homeschooled in Pyongyang and has never stepped foot in an education facility.

She also enjoys many activities that are considered luxury in the country, such as swimming, skiing, and horseriding. Her father is said to be particularly pleased that she's so good at horseriding.

But many people in the country are said to be furious at her privileged lifestyle.

The family own at least 15 estates across North Korea with their favourite near the seaside of Wonsan on the East Coast, equipped with all the imaginable luxury amenities

Adam Zulawnik

Dr Zulawnik says: "There are currently around 34,000 North Korean escapees in South Korea.

"There have been consistent reports that most people in North Korea are indeed unhappy with the disparity between the life of the Kim family, or ruling class, and the working class."

Prof Grzelczyk believes her introduction to the world is a way for the public to get familiar with her before she takes over.

"Kim Jong-un did not start to appear in the North Korean media around his father Kim Jong Il under the late 2000s, and there was little time for him to be elevated to positions of power before Kim Jong Il passed away in 2011", she explains.

"It is known that Kim Jong-un has had some health difficulties in recent years despite his young age, and there might be an imperative from the leadership point of view to support an early socialisation to transition."

The 'ruthless' sister

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Kim Yo-Jong has been described as the most dangerous woman in the worldCredit: EPA

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She has reportedly presided over some of the most shocking atrocities in the countryCredit: AP:Associated Press

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She has worked closely with her brother and is one of the most feared officials in the nationCredit: Reuters

For many years, the leader's powerful sister, Kim Yo-Jong, has been tipped to be his successor. Noted for her steely public persona, she has worked closely with her brother and met leaders on his behalf.

While Dr Zulawnik says she is not a "direct heir," he believes that she could be appointed leader in an interim capacity.

He explains: "If Kim Ju-ae is to become the next leader, I think that a more likely scenario is that Kim Yo-Jong will come into power in the interim with support from the Workers' Party of Korea until Ju-ae reaches maturity.

While the world initially thought that Kim Yo-Jong's possible leadership would soften North Korea's international diplomacy, Dr Zulawnik believes that this could be far from reality.

He explains: "Some experts speculated that a possible female leader could bring positive changes to inter-Korean relations. But that was soon dismissed as Yo-Jong proved that she was just as ruthless as her brother and father.

"She has engaged in a series of purges, ordered the executions of several officials and imprisonment of dozens of their family members for what were sometimes reportedly trivial reasons quoted as, for example, 'getting on her nerves'.

"It is difficult to say whether she would be even more brutal, but we do know from several sources that she has played a considerable role in guiding Kim Jong-un in how he maintains his image.

"She has been credited with what could be seen as rather drastic decision-making, such as the destruction of the inter-Korean liaison office in 2020."

The Inter-Korean Liason Office functioned as a de facto embassy for the North and South to communicate in the absence of formal diplomatic relations.

She has engaged in a series of purges, ordered the executions of several officials and imprisonment of dozens of their family members for what were sometimes reportedly trivial reasons quoted as, for example, 'getting on her nerves'

Dr Adam Zulawnik

Some experts have even gone as far as to call Kim Yo-Jong the world's most dangerous woman.

In 2021, it was reported that officials had been left scared after she ordered the execution of many of their colleagues.

Earlier this year, she issued a terrifying warning to North Korea's "enemies". She said: "I make myself clear once again that the safety catch of trigger of the Korean People's Army (KPA) had already been slipped.

"As already declared, the KPA will launch an immediate military strike if the enemy makes even a slight provocation."

Married to Choe Song, the son of a government official, Kim Yo-Jong is said to have a child born in May 2015.

It has also been claimed that she was pregnant during the 2018 Winter Olympics.

The 'mystery son'

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Although reports say that Kim and his wife have an older son, very little is known about himCredit: AFP or licensors

Rumours that Kim Jong-un had a son who could succeed him have persisted for years. It has been said that he was born in 2010.

Apart from that, almost nothing at all is known about him and his alleged second sibling. Dr Zulawnik believes that the mystery surrounding his reported eldest child might be due to several factors.

He says: "Whether or not Kim has an eldest son has, in itself, been debated, with some theories indicating that he could be rearing him behind the scenes as a successor.

"This is based on the assumption that North Korea would follow a Confucian patriarchal model of male succession. Another possibility, however, is that Kim's eldest son is somehow unsuitable for succession.

"This could be due to any number of reasons, ranging from the individual not being interested or even health issues.

"Mental health and developmental issues, in particular, are still highly stigmatised in many parts of the world, and so any learning disability would likely be enough to rule out succession."

But Dr Zulawnik is sceptical about why the eldest son would be groomed away from the public glare.

"One cannot help but ask why this is happening in secret", he says. "My theory is that it could be someone who is not actually his son for reasons already stated."

Dr Zulawnik believes that if Kim Ju-ae becomes leader, the only plausible explanation would be that the son does not actually exist or is not suitable.

Global implication

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Dr Zulawnik believes a second Donald Trump term will bring North Korea 'to the discussion table'Credit: Alamy Live News

While Dr Zulawnik says it is difficult to determine what each leadership scenario might mean for the West, he believes much of what happens with North Korea is determined by the outside world - particularly Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, who have a trilateral partnership dubbed AUKUS.

He explains: "I would think that the stance of AUKUS, for example, along with its allies South Korea and Japan, as well as their relationship with China and Russia, would have a much greater impact than any change in leadership in North Korea.

"As it stands, South Korea, currently led by Yoon Suk Yeol, has taken a strong stance against North Korea, pivoting towards making amends with Fumio Kishida-led Japan.

"The upcoming US presidential race will undoubtedly have a huge impact on global dynamics, including how North Korea's Asian neighbours and the West interact with the Kim family.

"South Korea and Japan would be unlikely to function in the same way as they do now if Donald Trump were to become president.

"He is likely to take a more America-centric approach and bring North Korea to the discussion table, as he did during his first term."

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the-sun.com · by Kevin Adjei-Darko, Features Journalist · August 1, 2024

6. N.K. leader Kim slams S. Korean 'fabricated' news on flood damage in his 1st reaction to Seoul over downpours

No matter how much the Korean people in the north suffer and need help Kim will not accept aid if it will undermine his perceived legitimacy.

The Korean people in the north are already asking the question of why can't they live as well as the Korean people in the South? Given the influx of information it is unlikely that Kim would be able to hide the fact that humanitarian aid came from the South if he decided to accept it.

The effects of flooding is made worse because of Kim's policy which has led to the deforestation of large parts of the north as people use all available wood for fuel and even vegetation for food. The agriculture policies of the regime make agricultural lands vulnerable to the effects of flooding.

(LEAD) N.K. leader Kim slams S. Korean 'fabricated' news on flood damage in his 1st reaction to Seoul over downpours | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · August 3, 2024

(ATTN: RECASTS headline; UPDATES with more details throughout)

SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has condemned South Korean media outlets for "fabricating" the scale of damage from recent floods in his country, state media reported Saturday, in his first public reaction to the South over the downpours.

In a sharp-tongued message, Kim called South Korea an "unchangeable enemy" but made no response to Seoul's latest offer of humanitarian aid over the flood damage.

The North's border city of Sinuiju and Uiju County in North Phyongan Province were recently pummeled by heavy rains. South Korean media outlets have reported that the number of those who died or went missing could exceed about 1,000.

This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 3, 2024, shows the North's leader Kim Jong-un speaking during a visit to a helicopter unit dispatched to rescue isolated residents in flood-hit areas bordering China. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

Kim accused South Korea of having a "wicked" purpose to tarnish North Korea's image and staging a slanderous propaganda campaign against his country, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"The enemy's garbage media speculated that casualties in the affected areas would exceed 1,000 or 1,500 and has been spreading fabricated news reports that several helicopters on a rescue mission appear to have fallen," Kim was quoted as saying by the report. "The enemy is an unchangeable enemy."

His message came as Kim visited a helicopter unit engaged in a rescue operation on Friday to encourage troops for their contribution.

Kim's hostile stance against Seoul raised the possibility that Pyongyang is unlikely to accept South Korea's proposal for aid. On Thursday, the government proposed humanitarian aid to North Korea over the flood damage, saying that it expects North Korea's swift reaction.

North Korea has not responded through an inter-Korean liaison communication channel since then.

Kim guided an operation Sunday to rescue around 5,000 isolated residents in the flood-hit areas of Sinuiju and Uiju County. North Korea has said the downpours left more than 4,100 houses and nearly 3,000 hectares of farmlands submerged. But it did not disclose details about casualties.

North Korea convened an emergency politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea earlier this week to discuss ways to cope with the flood damage.

At a year-end party meeting last year, Kim defined inter-Korean ties as those "between two states hostile to each other" and said there is no point in seeking reconciliation and unification with South Korea.

This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on July 31, 2024, shows the North's leader Kim Jong-un (L) aboard a boat to inspect flood-hit areas in North Korea's border city of Sinuiju. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

sooyeon@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Kim Soo-yeon · August 3, 2024

7.  Trump says he got people back from N. Korea amid attention on prisoner swap with Russia

Otto Warmbier was returned because the regime had tortured him to the point that he was in a vegetative state and the regime could not no longer exploit him for propaganda purposes and did not want him to die in north Korea. It was not due to any masterful diplomatic action. (With all due respect to Ambassador Joseph Yun who worked out his return).

Trump says he got people back from N. Korea amid attention on prisoner swap with Russia | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · August 3, 2024

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 (Yonhap) -- Former U.S. President Donald Trump has highlighted that he brought back home some people held in North Korea during his presidency, as public attention shifted to a landmark prisoner swap deal that saw the release of 16 people from Russian captivity this week.

In an interview with Fox Business on Thursday, Trump called the deal a "win" for Russian President Vladimir Putin, while President Joe Biden and his staff were credited with facilitating what was hailed as the largest prisoner exchange deal in the post-Soviet era.

Under the deal, 16 political prisoners, journalists and others, including five Germans, were set free in exchange for eight Russians jailed in the U.S., Germany and other countries. Among them was Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich who arrived back in the U.S. on Thursday.

"I got people back from North Korea. That's tougher than any other place to get people back," Trump said. "I had a good relationship with Kim Jong-un. We got people back."

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the New Holland Arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on July 31, 2024 in this photo released by AFP. (Yonhap)

In 2018, Pyongyang released three U.S. citizens from prison in what was viewed as a good-will gesture ahead of the first bilateral summit with North Korean leader Kim and Trump in Singapore in June of the same year.

Trump said that during his time in office, he enabled the release of 59 people without paying a dime.

"We never gave 10 cents. They gave them back," he said. "I called the head of the country, whatever the country was."

He called the historic swap deal "very complex."

"The deal is very complex because it just came out so nobody understands the deal yet," he said. "We should have had him back a long time ago. It should have never happened ... He should have been taken in the first place."

sshluck@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by Song Sang-ho · August 3, 2024

8. North Korea refused China's rescue offer for Yalu River island residents

Kim would rather risk the safety of Koreans in the north than accept help from any country.

North Korea refused China's rescue offer for Yalu River island residents

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/north-korea-floods-china-rescue-yalu-river-islands-08022024183037.html

Officials said Pyongyang was afraid residents would use the effort to try to escape to China permanently.

By Moon Sung Hui for RFA Korean

2024.08.02

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, right, rides in a dinghy through flood waters as he inspects the area for damage after record-breaking heavy rains July 31, 2024, Sinuiju in North Pyongan Province.

 KCNA VIA KNS/AFP

North Korea declined China’s offer to rescue residents on islands in the Yalu River–some of whom later died in flooding–because Pyongyang was afraid that those rescued would try to escape to China permanently, officials in the country told Radio Free Asia.

As heavy rains caused rising waters in the Yalu River, which divides the two countries, it became apparent that opening floodgates at hydropower dams would be necessary. But doing so would submerge inhabited islands near the northwestern city of Sinuiju, which lies across the river from China’s Dandong.

“The heavy flood damage in Sinuiju, which occurred between the noon of the 27th and the early morning of the 28th, occurred when the floodgates of the Taepyongman Hydropower Station were opened,” an official from Sinuiju’s surrounding province of North Pyongan told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity to speak freely. “An evacuation order was issued to Sinuiju residents before opening the floodgates around 2 a.m. on the 28th.”

By then, the waters were so high that people didn’t dare try to escape on their own, he said, adding that many people on one of the islands died when the floodgates were opened.

A South Korean government official told reporters that up to 1,500 residents have died or are missing as a result of the floods. That number hasn’t been verified by North Korea.

North Korean state media, meanwhile, reported that 4,100 homes and 7,000 acres of land have been submerged. State media has also used the disaster to boost the profile of the country’s leader Kim Jong Un by featuring him in photos that apparently show him personally leading rescue operations.

The deaths could have been prevented, as China had offered to save the residents before the waters got too high, another North Pyongan official told RFA on condition of anonymity for security reasons. 

“The police in Dandong conveyed their intent to rescue the island residents to the North Pyongan Province’s Social Security Bureau,” he said. “However, Kim Jong Un refused China’s offer and so many residents who were stranded on the island became victims.”

On July 27, when heavy rains showed no signs of stopping soon, representatives from both cities discussed opening the floodgates, the official said.

“They only open if China agrees,” he said. “It was obvious that if the water gates of the power plant were opened while the Yalu River was very swollen, the islands in the estuary would be submerged.”

It was then that the Dandong police said that they could safely move the island residents to China, but were rejected by Kim, the official said.

“Kim Jong Un did not allow the islanders to evacuate to China under the pretext that they could flee to South Korea. Meanwhile, it got dark and a helicopter deployment became impossible,” he said, adding that North Korean rescue teams couldn’t start evacuations until the next day and they were staying at a nearby hotel.

After the rescue was completed, Kim Jong Un arrived on the scene to lead and direct the rescue.

“Kim Jong Un arrived in Sinuiju around 8 a.m. on the 28th. The rain had already stopped and the water in the Yalu River was decreasing.”

South Korean outlet Yonhap News reported that Kim Jong Un told North Korean media that there were no casualties and accused South Korean media of "fabricating" the scale of flood damages.

 Translated by Claire S. Lee. Edited by Eugene Whong.

9. [Eric John's Window] Why I am optimistic about the future of South Korea

Conclusion:

Going forward, however, a challenge for Korea appears to be not only democracy, but how to deal with the legacies of its complicated past. Leaving aside the issue of Japan, even on the domestic front Korean society has a tough time reconciling with political leadership. Every president from Chun through Park Geun Hae has been either convicted or left office with clouds over their characters or actions while in office. Perhaps this is not unique to Korean democracy, since in the US we are becoming more riven as a society in our ability to trust politics, and politicians, as a valid means to guide the nation. Looking over the arc of history in the ROK, however, I remain confident that the spirit for fairness and transparency that I have witnessed first-hand here will triumph as Korea continues to perfect democracy.

[Eric John's Window] Why I am optimistic about the future of South Korea

https://www.chosun.com/english/opinion-en/2024/08/03/W4N7CYBICZGSJN57GR7D2HTCXI/

By Former Boeing Korea President Eric John

Published 2024.08.03. 00:11

Citizens walk with parasols at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of June 6, 2024./News1

Because Korea is such a close ally, and the United States government was deeply interested in democratic development here, we followed elections closely when I was at the Consulate and the Embassy. Accordingly, on February 12, 1985 I was sent to observe the voting for the National Assembly in some sort of public hall. It was late in the evening, as the polls were closing, and the room was dimly lit and crowded with election officials from the government of observers trying to monitor the disposition of the ballots. There was a lot of jostling in the crowd as the officials tried to remove the green metal boxes to another site for counting. What I remember of the evening is that I had no idea what to do. The US was just trying to send as many observers as possible to polling sites around the country, and I was just this tall, gangly 24-year-old American diplomat there to watch. My Korean was still poor, I had no authority, and I did not even know what, in particular, I was supposed to observe. What was supposed to be done with those green metal boxes? All I knew was I seemed to be the only one in the crowd without an opinion on where the boxes should go next. The group with the boxes wanted to go in one direction, and the other groups were pushing them in another. The tussle went on for some time before the officials, backed by police, moved the ballots out of the facility. I honestly cannot recall if they had been counted by that point, but I did viscerally understand for the first time how important it was for citizens to have the right to vote, something I had taken for granted growing up.

My next opportunity to intersect with elections in Korea was much more fun. It was the 1992 presidential campaign, and I was a student in the Embassy’s advanced Korean language program. I took a two-day trip outside of Seoul to watch Kim Young Sam and Kim Dae Jung – two of the legendary “Three Kims” – campaign in local communities. It was fantastic fun and a great learning experience. As tense and fraught as the 1985 observation evening was, these events were thrilling and communal. Supporters were enthusiastic in each town as their candidate spoke, and I was inevitably invited to a meal afterwards with local politicians who noticed me in the crowd. Yes, I learned a lot about YS and DJ, but I learned much more about communities, enthusiasm for politicians, and how campaigns can help bring people together, rather than just divide them.

The candlelight vigils of 2016-17 seemed to be both the nadir and apotheosis of the development of democracy that I had the opportunity to watch first hand here. On the one hand, it was disappointing to see that hundreds of thousands of Koreans felt compelled to gather publicly to force out of office a president who had been legally elected in a clean race. On the other hand, in the face of Blue House intransigence and the lack of movement in the Assembly and courts, the public seemed to feel there was no other way. And compared to the anger and rage I had seen in both elections and protests here in the 1980s and 90s, this seemed to be an improvement in an attempt to arrive at a peaceful consensus to a vexing political and legal issue.

Going forward, however, a challenge for Korea appears to be not only democracy, but how to deal with the legacies of its complicated past. Leaving aside the issue of Japan, even on the domestic front Korean society has a tough time reconciling with political leadership. Every president from Chun through Park Geun Hae has been either convicted or left office with clouds over their characters or actions while in office. Perhaps this is not unique to Korean democracy, since in the US we are becoming more riven as a society in our ability to trust politics, and politicians, as a valid means to guide the nation. Looking over the arc of history in the ROK, however, I remain confident that the spirit for fairness and transparency that I have witnessed first-hand here will triumph as Korea continues to perfect democracy.

10. N. Korea slashes party membership slots for female soldiers

One of the young women we met last month said one of her main reasons for escaping was to avoid forcible conscription into the Army.

N. Korea slashes party membership slots for female soldiers - Daily NK English

Some say that if the leadership slashes its party admission ratio for women soldiers, more women will avoid enlisting

By Seon Hwa - August 2, 2024

dailynk.com · by Seon Hwa · August 2, 2024

A photo of a women's unit in the Korean People's army taken in 2010. (Wikimedia Commons)

North Korean authorities have slashed the number of allotted party membership slots for women soldiers soon to be discharged, deepening anxiety among those who will leave the army without party membership.

According to multiple Daily NK sources in North Korea on Tuesday, only two in 10 women soldiers to be discharged this year received party membership. This was just a quarter of the past ratio when 80% of discharged women soldiers entered the party.

In one company of women soldiers with the Eighth Corps in Yomju County, North Pyongan Province, only three of 13 soldiers discharged in the first half of the year received party membership.

In another company attached to the Fourth Corps based along the coast in South Hwanghae Province, only 20% of personnel to be discharged this year were granted admission to the party.

Sources say tougher membership standards are responsible for the drastic reduction. Reports that more discharged soldiers turned in their party membership cards during the COVID-19 pandemic led to the party ordering the allotment of party slots for discharged soldiers slashed and screenings tightened.

One of the sources told Daily NK that “the party believes that members must be able to give their lives for what the leader wants and treasure their party membership as a one-of-a-kind life, but during COVID-19, many people returned their party cards because they couldn’t participate in party activities due to hardship. I understand this was reported all the way to the supreme commander (Kim Jong Un).”

Frustration grows among female soldiers, and their parents

Women soldiers who spent five or six years serving in the military to enter the party are increasingly worried. In North Korea, women feel scorned if they leave the military without party membership.

One North Pyongan Province resident with a daughter in the army said his child “contributed supplies and money last year such as paint to fix up the company classroom and rebar and welding rods to fix up the base’s anti-aircraft gun installation” because she heard that “good conduct alone wasn’t enough to get her into the party.” Despite this, she could not gain party membership, “leaving her distraught,” he said.

A South Hwanghae Province resident with a daughter soon to be discharged said it was maddening to think of the money he spent “just for her to get a useless party membership card.” He worried that “if she came home without party membership, people would think she had a poor record in the army.”

Some say that if the party slashes its admission ratio for women soldiers, more women will avoid enlisting.

The North Pyongan Province source said women who enter the army “do so because they come from poor backgrounds or families and want to enter the party.” However, if such women cannot become party members even after their military service, “the number of women entering the army will naturally decrease.”

Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons.

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

Read in Korean

dailynk.com · by Seon Hwa · August 2, 2024

11. N. Korean youth secretly learn tech skills to access outside world

This is the type of practical knwoledge/information we should be sending into the north. My recommendations:

• Design an overt ‘public diplomacy”/information campaign targeting the north Korean people based on Information, Knowledge, Facts/Truth, Understanding, and Voices from north Korea:

o  Information involves massive quantities of information from entertainment to news.

o  Knowledge means practical information on how to effect change, best practices for agriculture and market activity, communication techniques to counter regime surveillance operations, and educational lessons without Juche influence. 

o  Facts/Truth reflects the reality about the regime and the situation in north Korea as well as the outside world and especially in South Korea

o  Understanding helps the Korean people in the north familiarize themselves with the inalienable and universal rights that belong to all human beings which includes the right to self-determination of government (per Article 21 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights).

o  Voices from north Korea demonstrating the success of escapees in the South and around the world.

N. Korean youth secretly learn tech skills to access outside world - Daily NK English

Even teenagers are actively pursuing computer programming and network technology, discreetly sharing their knowledge with peers

By Lee Chae Eun - August 2, 2024

dailynk.com · by Lee Chae Eun · August 2, 2024

FILE PHOTO: North Koreans using computers at Pyongyang's Grand People's Study House. (©Daily NK)

Despite strict controls, young North Koreans are increasingly seeking computer and information technology skills, driven by curiosity about the outside world.

A source in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on July 29 that “there’s a noticeable rise in young people trying to learn computer and IT skills in major cities like Chongjin.” The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, attributed this trend to the government’s tight control over access to external information.

In Chongjin, some youths are secretly paying experts to learn how to bypass government controls and access illegal videos. Others form small, clandestine study groups to acquire computer and IT skills.

Even teenagers are actively pursuing computer programming and network technology, discreetly sharing their knowledge with peers.

Since late 2020, North Korea has harshly punished the spread of foreign content, including South Korean dramas, movies and music, under the “Law on Rejecting Reactionary Ideology and Culture.” This has significantly intimidated people, especially curious members of the young generation, with frequent reports of teens and young adults receiving heavy sentences for watching South Korean films.

Government threats fail to deter young people

Despite these strict measures, the desire among youth to access foreign content and new cultural information remains high, according to the source.

“Young people have likely witnessed the consequences of getting caught watching South Korean movies at least twice,” the source said. “Yet they still seek ways to watch them while evading state control.”

This has led to a surge in young people learning computer and IT skills to safely access external information recently. The source noted this phenomenon arose from rumors that some computer experts were enjoying South Korean videos while evading detection.

“Learning these skills goes beyond simple education,” the source explained. “It’s about fulfilling cultural desires. With technical expertise, they can download unapproved programs and enjoy foreign culture without leaving traces, avoiding detection.”

Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons.

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

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dailynk.com · by Lee Chae Eun · August 2, 2024

12. N. Korea reaches agreement with China on worker issues

​Openly flaunting UN sanctions, to include those on the employment of overseas Korean workers. Noether nation is a responsible member of the international community.

N. Korea reaches agreement with China on worker issues - Daily NK English

500 workers, mostly women, await dispatch to China for fishery and sewing jobs

By Lee Ho Jin - August 2, 2024

dailynk.com · by Lee Ho Jin · August 2, 2024

FILE PHOTO: North Korean workers at a clothing factory in China's Jilin Province. (© Daily NK)

North Korea recently reached an agreement with China on the repatriation and replacement of North Korean workers through its embassy and other diplomatic channels, Daily NK has learned.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a high-ranking source in North Korea told Daily NK on Tuesday that “several working-level issues” regarding the dispatch of North Korean workers “had been resolved through close negotiations with China through embassies and diplomatic channels.” He said the dispatch of workers to China “would continue because the two sides are closely cooperating.”

After a South Korean media outlet sparked rumors of an impending total repatriation of North Korean workers from China earlier this month, North Korean authorities explained problems regarding the repatriation and replacement of workers to the Chinese government. The two sides ultimately agreed to handle the matter promptly.

North Korean authorities also reportedly communicated closely with Chinese companies in need of labor, given that North Korean workers in China are a major source of foreign currency for the regime. The authorities reportedly stressed that China is short of labor, and nobody works as well or as cheaply as North Koreans.

North Korea reportedly wants to continue sending workers to China with little in the way of policy changes.

Preparations to send new workers to China appear to be going relatively smoothly. The source said that “about 500 workers — mostly women — are waiting to be sent to China,” with “about 70% going to fishery businesses and the remaining 30% to sewing factories.”

He said the workers “are mostly residents of the Hamgyong and Pyongan provinces and Pyongyang” and that “the workers’ three-month screening recently ended.” This means North Korea has already completed its internal preparations to send new workers to China.

China is still an important destination for North Korean labor

With North Korea and Russia recently growing closer economically and even militarily, some say that China has dropped in North Korea’s diplomatic priority list because North Korea “is likely to get more cash from Russia.”

Seemingly aware of this, North Korean authorities have put the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of External Economic Relations on guard, ordering them to “minimize diplomatic friction with China,” the source said.

“North Korea is considering sending more workers to Russia, but this doesn’t mean it won’t send any to China, with the authorities planning to send small groups of workers there frequently,” he said. “North Korea must continue to send workers to any country it can to earn foreign currency.”

“The national principle is that securing party funds and foreign currency quotas, bolstering bilateral cooperation with Russia and China and a national interest perspective should come first,” the source said. “The authorities plan to exercise flexibility in their worker dispatch policy in a way that also accords with the interests of Russia and China while continuing to cooperate with those countries.”

Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons.

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

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dailynk.com · by Lee Ho Jin · August 2, 2024

13. North Korea demolishes Pyongyang guesthouse, expands military facilities

Images at the link: https://www.dailynk.com/english/north-korea-demolishes-pyongyang-guesthouse-expands-military-facilities/

North Korea demolishes Pyongyang guesthouse, expands military facilities - Daily NK English

While the exact reasons for this overhaul remain unclear, the guesthouse's demolition likely stems from its declining relevance in recent years

By Bruce Songhak Chung - August 2, 2024

dailynk.com · by Bruce Songhak Chung · August 2, 2024

North Korea’s landscape is dotted with special facilities known as “guesthouses,” owned by the Workers’ Party of Korea and affiliated organizations. Recently, the Ryokpo Guesthouse in Pyongyang’s Ryokpo District has undergone significant changes. Satellite imagery reveals that the guesthouse has been torn down and a portion of its pond filled in. The same images show extensive construction and land clearing in the surrounding area, suggesting the development of new military facilities.

Just across the nearby mountain, a vast artillery firing range spans Daewon Village. The guesthouse’s proximity to this range had long posed safety concerns. Coupled with its declining use in recent years, these factors likely influenced the decision to demolish the guesthouse. The subsequent expansion of the military training ground points to a broader strategy of bolstering national defense capabilities.

Pyongyang’s Ryokpo Guesthouse and artillery range

The Ryokpo Guesthouse, located below the mountain of the Daewon Village comprehensive artillery firing range in Pyongyang, has been demolished. Recent satellite images show new building and site construction underway. (Photo: Google Earth)

At the Ryokpo Guesthouse in Pyongyang’s Ryokpo District, all facilities including the residence and greenhouses have been demolished, and unknown construction is in full swing. Recent Maxar WorldView satellite images show extensive site development work nearby.

NK PRO first reported on the guesthouse demolition in early May. Recent high-resolution satellite images captured the demolition of residential facilities, partial filling of the pond, and newly identified large-scale construction and site clearing work in the surrounding area.

The Ryokpo Guesthouse’s location has long been a concern due to its proximity to military facilities. Just 900 meters away, across the mountain, lies an extensive artillery firing range in Daewon Village. This range spans 3.4 kilometers and features eight numbered targets along the mountain ridge. Each target, made of white cement and measuring 15-30 meters long, includes circular bullseyes with marked impact scores.

Satellite imagery reveals a disturbing detail: the remains of a destroyed Blue House model above the firing range. This model was the centerpiece of a December 2016 military exercise, where North Korean special forces simulated an attack on South Korea’s presidential complex. Kim Jong Un reportedly observed as his elite troops demolished the replica. The model’s skeleton still stands, a stark reminder of North Korea’s ongoing hostility towards South Korea.

Demolition of Ryokpo guesthouse and reclaimed pond

The flower-patterned roof residence and auxiliary facilities within Ryokpo Guesthouse have all been demolished, and part of the pond has been filled. New pathways have also been created on the site. (Photo: WV-2/3 (© 2024 Maxar, U.S.G. Plus))

Guesthouse demolition and new construction

The guesthouse facilities have been demolished, building construction is in full swing nearby, and site work is underway in the adjacent farmland. It’s presumed to be a significant expansion of the military training ground. (Photo: WV-2 (© 2024 Maxar, U.S.G. Plus))

The former Ryokpo Guesthouse site is now a hive of construction activity. A massive 80-meter-long structure dominates the landscape, surrounded by numerous smaller buildings spread across six hectares. Adjacent farmland is also undergoing transformation, with mysterious circular formations visible from above. These developments strongly suggest a major expansion of military training facilities.

While the exact reasons for this overhaul remain unclear, the guesthouse’s demolition likely stems from its declining relevance in recent years. Given the site’s proximity to the sprawling artillery range in Daewon Village, this redevelopment appears to be part of a broader strategy. North Korea’s leadership seems intent on bolstering national defense by significantly expanding its military training infrastructure.

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

Read in Korean

dailynk.com · by Bruce Songhak Chung · August 2, 2024

14. US will continue to monitor possibility of NK conducting nuclear test: Pentagon

The proverbial question: ​"What do you do now, Lieutenant?"

US will continue to monitor possibility of NK conducting nuclear test: Pentagon

The Korea Times · August 3, 2024

Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon, Jan. 26, in Washington. AP-Yonhap

The United States will continue to monitor the possibility of North Korea conducting another nuclear test, a Pentagon spokesperson said Friday, amid concerns that Pyongyang could engage in provocative acts around the U.S. presidential election in November.

Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh made the remarks, after South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said in a recent interview with Bloomberg that South Korea is not ruling out the possibility of a North Korean nuclear test before or after the U.S. general election.

"It's something that we're going to continue to monitor and something that we will always work with our ROK and Japanese allies on and coordinate on," she said, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.

"But any tests like that are incredibly destabilizing to the region and we will continue to monitor," she added.

Singh also reiterated that the U.S. wants to see the "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

In the interview with Bloomberg, Shin said that Pyongyang has completed preparations to conduct what would be its seventh nuclear test "when a decision is made," and that the North could conduct it before or after the election to "raise its leverage against the U.S." (Yonhap)

The Korea Times · August 3, 2024

​15. Trump Critic Max Boot Wanted the Feds to Bust Foreign Agents. Then His Wife Was Accused of Being One.

Sigh... this situation will be exploited for some time.

Trump Critic Max Boot Wanted the Feds to Bust Foreign Agents. Then His Wife Was Accused of Being One.​

By Michael Schaffer

08/02/2024 05:00 AM EDT

Politico

A shocking indictment against a policy insider — and what it says about how foreign influence in the Beltway.

Asia policy expert Sue Mi Terry, pictured here in September 2023, has been charged with two felony counts of serving as an unregistered agent for a foreign power. | Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for ABA

08/02/2024 05:00 AM EDT

Michael Schaffer is a senior editor and columnist at POLITICO Magazine. He has covered national and local politics for over 20 years and spent seven years as editor-in-chief of the Washingtonian. His Capital City column chronicles the inside conversations and big trends shaping Washington politics.

As allegations of foreign meddling roiled the Donald Trump presidency, Washington Post columnist Max Boot blasted the 45th president as a Russian stooge — and urged the feds to get tough.

“Washington should ramp up enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and expand U.S. counterintelligence efforts against foreign influence, not just espionage,” Boot wrote in a 2019 column. The government, he said, should “change its focus from encouraging compliance to punishing noncompliant parties.”

Five years later, he might want to re-think that one.

In a delicious story twist that has lit up pro-Trump media, Boot’s wife and occasional co-author, the former CIA analyst and longtime Asia policy expert Sue Mi Terry, has herself now been charged with two felony counts of serving as an unregistered agent for a foreign power.

According to a sweeping indictment unsealed last month, Terry spent more than a decade taking instructions from South Korea’s intelligence agency before publishing articles in prestige media, organizing conferences at top think tanks and arranging networking events to give Korean operatives access to Washington players — and then allegedly accepted pricey Louis Vuitton and Bottega Veneta handbags, as well as money for her think tank programs, in exchange for her service. One of the columns in question was co-written with Boot in the Post.

As Boot demanded, it’s about noncompliance, not espionage. Being paid to say nice things about a foreign government is perfectly legal. You just have to register under FARA.

Terry’s attorney, Lee Wolosky, said Terry “strongly denies the government allegations” and would fight them in court. “Dr. Terry did not register under FARA because she was not working for the South Korean government,” he told me. “She was an independent analyst who was often critical of South Korean foreign policy.”

Terry was suspended from her senior fellow position at the Council on Foreign Relations, then resigned. If convicted, she faces 10 years in prison. She’s out on a $500,000 bond. No trial date has been set. Boot has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

But on the right, no one’s waiting for a jury’s verdict to celebrate the ironic misfortunes of a guy who repeatedly called the former president a possible foreign cutout. “Trump’s unwillingness to criticize Putin makes you wonder what hold the Kremlin has over him,” Boot, a former Republican, wrote in 2018. “The Steele dossier looks more credible all the time.” A year later, he wrote a column headlined “Here are 18 reasons Trump could be a Russian asset.”

“Usually the loudest and most annoying critics like Max Boot are the ones that have the most to hide,” Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trump’s presidential campaign, said by email. “Max Boot should be careful because the other shoe is about to drop.” He declined to elaborate about what that meant.

For those who think the foreign policy blob is out to get them, it’s a pretty compelling example of a Beltway double standard. Trump, who doesn’t share the hostility toward Russian President Vladimir Putin, gets maligned as the Kremlin’s Manchurian candidate. But a hawkish scholar allegedly supporting a traditional ally can literally be indicted as a foreign agent with little attention in establishment circles — let alone any collateral damage to her celebrated co-author/husband.

“This is the kind of foreign interference in our government, in our elections, that people like Max Boot and everyone else, including The Washington Post, have been warning of when it came to Donald Trump even though it wound up being false,” thundered Glenn Greenwald on his Rumble show, where he called Boot “an absolute, fanatical sociopathic bloodthirsty neocon” for good measure. “You rarely see karmic justice so satisfying. … How can Max Boot stay at The Washington Post?”

A Post spokesperson defended Boot: “Max Boot is a longstanding contributor to Washington Post Opinion. He has not been accused of any wrongdoing and will continue to publish with The Washington Post on a regular basis.”

He also retains his own position at Council on Foreign Relations, the same august organization that parted ways with his wife. “The Council has confirmed that he is not a part of the government’s investigation of Dr. Terry,” spokesperson Iva Zorić said. “As a result, he remains a Council senior fellow.”

Terry’s writings in publications like Foreign Affairs and the Post, including the pieces co-written with Boot, have been appended with editor’s notes about the charges and Terry’s denials. But Boot’s solo Post columns don’t have a disclosure. His most recent Korea-related column, about the North Korea-Russia “alignment of evil,” came June 20, several weeks before the indictment. He’ll now recuse himself where appropriate from column topics connected to the case. Boot and Terry didn’t respond to requests for comment.

In fact, it’s not quite so easy to separate the couple’s professional work. Consider the alleged provenance of one of their co-written columns. According to prosecutors, Terry received a call from a Korean government official a day before the column ran in the Post. She promptly texted the official to say that there were “already many articles written on this topic” and followed up with a series of questions that might take the column in a different direction. A day later, the joint Boot-Terry piece appeared in the Post, headlined “South Korea takes a brave step toward reconciliation with Japan.”

“Ambassador and National Security Advisor were so happy for your column,” Terry’s contact later gushed, according to the indictment.

It’s cringey stuff. And thanks to the shared byline, Boot is in the middle of it.

But is the cringiness actually out of the ordinary? In the indictment, the unnamed Korean “official” with whom Terry communicated about the column is clearly differentiated from the (also unnamed) “handlers” who allegedly steered gifts her way. In other words, maybe all that happened is she fielded a suggestion from an official — something writers do all the time — and then followed up by leveraging that suggestion to press for new details, another tried-and-true columnist’s move. It’s also pretty normal for a source to write afterward and say how pleased the VIPs were.

That’s the problem with alleged entanglements: They make even anodyne things look sketchy.

A national security expert advocating a strong stand against North Korea isn’t especially weird — until the feds release an indictment that includes photos of that expert shopping for luxury goods with an alleged South Korean intelligence operative. It’s why media organizations don’t let food critics take free meals or allow sports writers to cadge choice seats. At the very least, you’re supposed to level with your readers if you’re getting gifts from the folks you write about.

In the same way, the indictment could cause someone to look askance at pieces by Boot. In April, for instance, he wrote a solo column arguing it would be OK if South Korea acquired nuclear weapons. I’m willing to believe that, like many spouses, he wasn’t paying too much attention to his wife’s new handbags or to the contents of her workplace bank accounts. But in a polarized country, a lot of readers might not feel so reassured, which puts him in a tough spot.

Alas, the world of think tanks and research organizations — where both Boot and Terry, like much of the bipartisan foreign-affairs commentariat, have enjoyed plum positions — is considerably murkier when it comes to disclosure. And that may be the real reason the Terry case hasn’t rocked Washington, let alone caused her husband to fall from grace: Even if all the charges are true, they’re not so radically different from a status quo where foreign money and sponsor influence course legally through the system.

“A think-tanker with foreign entanglements doing stuff that would benefit that foreign power? That’s not unusual,” said Ben Freeman, a scholar at the anti-interventionist Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, who has studied foreign government influence in the foreign policy expert ecosystem. “If she had just disclosed the funding she was getting and registered under FARA, this all would have been legal.”

Terry, in fact, spent much of the period leading something called the Hyundai Motors-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy, housed at D.C.’s Wilson Center. There wasn’t any secret about the program’s overseas ties, nor any objection to them.

Some coverage of the case, noting Terry’s CIA past, has called her an accused spy. Conjuring images of dead drops and James Bond capers, it seems off base. Without commenting on specifics, an agency spokesperson confirmed that Terry, like all former employees, is subject to a rule requiring her to submit materials for pre-publication review. But the indictment contains no alleged violations of that policy; she hasn’t had classified access at all since 2011. The actual allegations mainly boil down to doing undisclosed PR.

And the details of those PR efforts will seem a lot less exotic to anyone who has spent time in the foreign affairs expert ecosystem.

Consider the indictment’s list of articles and events allegedly produced at Seoul’s behest: A Foreign Affairs article on the advisability of re-uniting Korea. Another Foreign Affairs article about the scariness of North Korea’s nuclear program. A piece about the importance of the Korean president’s U.S. visit that ran in a Korean journal. A Wilson Center event titled “70 Years of the US-ROK Alliance: The Past and the Future.” Not exactly radical takes.

Or look at the interpersonal contacts the indictment accuses her of arranging. One of them was a happy hour for congressional staffers allegedly paid for by Korean intelligence but organized under the auspices of Terry’s Wilson Center program. According to the indictment, Terry didn’t tell invitees that Korean intelligence officers would be there, positioned to develop contacts. But everyone got gift bags, including Yeti-branded tumblers, that were festooned with the Korean Embassy logo, making the general affiliation pretty clear. The specifics may have drawn investigators’ interest, but a regular guest might not have noticed much difference from other events on Washington’s sponsor-friendly networking circuit.

The most spy-like allegation in the indictment also feels familiar on closer review: In 2022, Terry was invited to an off-the-record briefing by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Immediately afterward, her handler allegedly picked her up in a Korean Embassy car, where she allowed him to photograph her two pages of notes on think tank stationery. The indictment says she disclosed “nonpublic U.S. government information.” But journalists who’ve been invited to off-the-record bigwig sessions know there’s a big gap between the contents of those briefings and actual state secrets. That’s partly because so many people disregard their off-the-record commitments, as Terry allegedly did.

Even most of the goodies don’t feel so bizarre in the Beltway context. Though the $10,000 in couture swag understandably got the most attention, the bulk of the alleged payments from Korea’s spymasters — $37,000 over a decade — went to accounts connected with Terry’s think tank program. In good Beltway form, the alleged money was better positioned to expand her professional footprint than buy the couple a luxury vacation.

But just because they’re humdrum and entirely different from the charges about Russian electoral interference doesn’t mean the allegations are admirable, whether or not the government can prove they’re criminal.

Allegedly violating an off-the-record promise is a lousy thing to do. Allegedly not telling your colleagues or your guests that you’re connecting them to foreign intelligence operatives is a lousy thing to do. And allegedly not disclosing to your readers that you’re doing business with someone you write about is a lousy thing to do.

If the Washington establishment isn’t pulling its hair out over the Terry allegations, it’s because the Beltway is inured to some pretty lousy stuff.

Politico

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