The ROK defense minister had some blunt talk for the Kim regime:
Defense Minister Shin Won-sik visits the 17th Fighter Wing at Cheongju Air Base, 112 kilometers south of Seoul, which operates 40 F-35 stealth fighter jets, on Jan. 24, 2024, in this photo provided by his office.
South Korea’s defense chief said Wednesday that North Korea will face the end of its regime if it wages war, hours after the North fired several rounds of cruise missiles into the Yellow Sea in its latest series of weapons tests.
Defense Minister Shin Won-sik issued the warning during his visit to the 17th Fighter Wing at Cheongju Air Base, 112 kilometers south of Seoul, which operates 40 F-35 stealth fighter jets.
“North Korea has defined the Republic of Korea as its principal enemy and has maintained a hostile policy under the goal of communizing the whole Korean Peninsula,” Shin was quoted as saying, referring to South Korea’s official name.
Here is the latest provocation in what will likely continue to be a busy year of provocations from North Korea:
North Korea fired several cruise missiles toward the Yellow Sea on Wednesday, the South Korean military said, the latest in a series of saber-rattling that heightened tensions.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the North’s launch took place around 7 a.m. but did not elaborate, citing an ongoing analysis.
“While strengthening our monitoring and vigilance, our military has been closely coordinating with the United States to monitor additional signs of North Korea’s provocations,” the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.
This undated file photo shows former Ssangbangwool Group Chairman Kim Sung-tae delivering a speech at an unidentified event.
A local court on Tuesday granted bail to the former chairman of South Korean underwear maker Ssangbangwool who had been arrested for embezzlement and illegal remittance to North Korea.
The Suwon District Court allowed former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Sung-tae to be released on bail on condition that he pay 100 million won (US$75,000) and carry a real-time location tracking device with him until trials are over.
The former chairman was released late Tuesday evening when the deposit was paid, a company official said.
“With the court’s decision, the former chairman will attend the remaining trials without physical detention,” Ssangbangwool said in a statement.
On Feb. 3, 2023, Kim was indicted and detained on charges of embezzlement of funds worth 54 billion won in the group’s five unlisted “paper” companies and an illegal remittance of $8 million to the North and has since been behind bars.
You can read more at the link, but it is alleged that the money he was sending to North Korea was a payoff to allow Lee Jae-myung to travel to North Korea when he was the Gyeongi-do governor at the time.
I don't know if NK is headed for a war, but it is headed for lots of bad stuff this year. At least that is what the DATA, behavioral patterns, & U.S. election years suggest….@CSISKoreaChair@CSIS Why not war? 1) KJU could do many things short of war to rattle the cages; 2) he… https://t.co/xw1yNqboiY
The Kim regime has found a new and inventive way to raise tensions on the peninsula. They know that anything they claim that has the word “nuclear” in it the media widely publish even without any evidence to support it:
A set of file photos, carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on April 8, 2023, show the North testing an underwater nuclear-capable attack drone named the Haeil from April 4-7. (Yonhap)
The United States on Friday called on North Korea to refrain from further “provocative” and “destabilizing” actions, and to return to dialogue, after Pyongyang claimed to have tested an underwater nuclear weapons system under development.
The North’s defense ministry said the country conducted an “important” test of the Haeil-5-23 system, denouncing this week’s naval drills between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan as “reckless confrontation hysteria,” according to the Korean Central News Agency.
“We call on the DPRK to refrain from further provocative, destabilizing actions and return to diplomacy,” a State Department spokesperson said in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency. DPRK stands for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Considering the war on fish the North Koreans have waged in the East Sea with all their missile launches, they could really win the war on the fish if they start detonating underwater nuclear devices.
President Yoon best hope that Kim Jong-un does not call him on this threat. For example if North Korea was to sink a ROK naval ship would President Yoon order the ROK military to then launch an attack against a North Korean naval base to sink multiple ships in response? If he does things can quickly escalate:
President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Tuesday to punish North Korea multiple times as hard in the event it carries out a provocation against South Korea, after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for defining South Korea as a “primary foe and invariable principal enemy.”
Kim issued the call during a parliamentary meeting Monday, saying the country should revise its constitution to codify the new definition of South Korea and the North’s commitment to “completely occupying” South Korean territory in the event of war.
“The current Republic of Korea government is different from any previous government,” Yoon said during a Cabinet meeting, referring to South Korea by its formal name. “Our military has an overwhelming response capability. … Should North Korea provoke us, we will punish them multiple times as hard.”
As with any news coming out of North Korea from defector reports make sure to keep some skepticism, but this report seems plausible to me:
More than 17 young North Koreans were prosecuted for watching unsanctioned videos and using South Korean slang in 2023 as the regime strengthened its control over almost every aspect of people’s lives, according to a report published Thursday (U.S. time).
In its annual World Report, Human Rights Watch (HWR), a New York-based NGO, said North Korea “remains one of the most repressive countries in the world” as totalitarian leader Kim Jong-un continues to use torture, executions and other barbaric means to tighten his grip on power.
Citing North Korean escapees who spoke to their relatives there, Elaine Pearson, HRW’s Asia director, said 17 young North Koreans were prosecuted last year for watching unauthorized videos ― likely originating from South Korea ― and using South Korean-style language.
“The group’s leader was sentenced to 10 years forced labor,” Pearson said in response to The Korea Times’ email inquiries. “In another case, youth athletes were sentenced to 3-5 years for using South Korean vocabulary.”
Here is more on North Korea’s latest missile launch:
North Korea said Monday it successfully test-fired a solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) carrying a hypersonic warhead the previous day as part of regular activities to develop powerful weapons systems.
The missile loaded with a hypersonic maneuverable controlled warhead was launched Sunday afternoon in a bid to verify the warhead’s gliding and maneuvering capabilities and the reliability of newly developed multi-stage high-thrust solid-fuel engines, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). It did not disclose the missile’s flight details.
North Korea must have found a more effective way to send orders to their spies in South Korea:
North Korea is pressing ahead with measures to disband its inter-Korean organizations, apparently stopping a radio station previously used to send encrypted messages to its spies in South Korea.
As of Saturday, the North appears to have stopped broadcasting the state-run Pyongyang Radio and cut off access to its website.
The latest move comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered “readjusting and reforming” its organizations in charge of inter-Korean affairs during a key Workers’ Party meeting last month amid growing cross-border tensions.
Pyongyang Radio is known for broadcasting a series of mysterious numbers, presumed to be coded messages, giving directions to its agents operating in South Korea.
