Are they martyrs or spies?
The Ministry of Reunification declared on November 2, 2023 that it chose to identify family members of South Korean nationals who had been detained in North Korea for a prolonged amount of time as Pyongyang abduction victims. Four family members living in the ROK will receive benefits ranging from 15 million to 20 million won ($11,000 to $15,000) per family. “For a substantial solution to the issue of detainees, abductees and prisoners of war (in North Korea), the government will cooperate with civic groups to continue to draw attention at home and abroad…
The Mideast Conflict and the Korean Peninsula: Part Two. South Korea’s Concerns
Recent developments on Israel’s borders have sparked exciting discussions among South Korean expert groups, the first of which notes that although Israel is a US ally, South Korea, with its specific attitude towards Israel, is more tightly connected to the Middle East than to Israel. During Park Chung-hee’s reign, South Korean migrant workers worked in the Middle East for many years, and these proceeds contributed significantly to the economic miracle. To recall, Korea and Israel established diplomatic relations…
Regarding the Russian Foreign Minister’s visit to the DPRK
On October 18–19, 2023, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov paid a ceremonial visit to Pyongyang to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and the DPRK. Following a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on September 13, the visit was officially announced to the Russian Foreign Minister on October 16, who accepted the invitation to visit the country…
Kim Jong-un’s visit to Russia, part six: consequences for relations between Russia and South Korea
The final article in this author’s series on the state visit by the leader of the DPRK to Russia will focus on its consequences for Russia’s relations with the Republic of Korea. After all, now we are already seeing the first political consequences of the strengthening of Moscow and Pyongyang. The DPRK’s leadership placed a high value on the visit, and as readers may remember, while he was still in Russia Kim Jong-un stated that “now the first priority for our country is our relations with the Russian Federation.” As the KNCA later reported…
Ninth Session of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK
On September 26-27, the ninth session of the 14th convocation of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, North Korea) was held at the Mansudae Palace of Congresses. As part of anti-Pyongyang propaganda, every news item about this event in the Republic of Korea (ROK, South Korea) central media included the passage that “the Supreme People’s Assembly is the supreme organ of state power in accordance with the North’s constitution, but in reality it only stamps the decisions of the ruling Worker’s Party of Korea (WPK)”…
Lee Jae-myung's Ordeal: His Hunger Strike and Possible Arrest
The previous series of trials of the leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) ended with him indicating his readiness for trial; before that he had miraculously escaped arrest during the parliamentary vote. However, the prosecutor’s office began preparing a second arrest warrant as part of an investigation into the development of the Baekhyeon-dong neighborhood of Seongnam (as mayor) and the illegal transfer of funds to the DPRK (as governor of Gyeonggi). We specifically covered the details…
On Kim Jong-un’s Visit to Russia, Part Four: More on the Agreements
On the evening of September 19, 2023, Kim Jong-un’s special train arrived in Pyongyang. Now that the visit is over, it is possible to finally summarize the agreements and answer “frequently asked questions” despite the fact that there was no final statement summarizing the results of the visit, and this was planned from the beginning. Next. On September 12, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “being neighbors, our countries cooperate in sensitive areas, which should not become the subject of any public disclosure…
On Kim Jong-un’s Visit to Russia, Part Three: Putin Left, Kim Stayed
Kim Jong-un’s visit turned out to be the DPRK leader’s longest trip outside the country. Although Vladimir Putin left for Moscow after the summit, Kim continued his trip around Primorye, combining pleasant and useful. The previous article ended with Kim’s arrival in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. The DPRK leader was met at the railway station by the Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Alexander Kozlov, the Governor of Khabarovsk Krai Mikhail Degtyarev and the head of Komsomolsk-on-Amur Alexander Zhornik. Mikhail Degtyarev showed…
On Kim Jong-un’s visit to Russia, part two: the visit that didn’t happen
Rumors about the visit of the DPRK president of the State Affairs to the Russian Federation had been circulating before the announced visit, but in the author’s opinion, there is no correlation between these rumors and what happened afterwards. On September 4, the New York Times, citing unnamed “American and allied officials”, reported that Kim Jong-un may soon travel to Russia to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a possible arms deal. North Korea is seeking advanced technology…
Digest of Inter-Korean Tensions amid US-ROK Joint Exercises. Part 2. The North Korean Response
The DPRK’s response to the upcoming exercises began long before the exercises started. From August 1-12, the North Korean leader visited a number of military factories.In particular, from August 3 to 5, Kim Jong-un visited factories producing multiple rocket launchers (MLRS) and engines for cruise missiles and drones.In addition, he familiarized himself with the production of launchers for tactical missiles equipped with nuclear warheads, as well as small arms production.Kim also visited the construction of a new factory for the production…
Has Kim Tok-hun fallen out of favor?
On August 21, 2023 the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un publicly reprimanded the Prime MinisterKim Tok-hun for his irresponsibility in failing to prevent the harm caused to the country’s agricultural land by the recent Typhoon Khanun. Kim’s comments came as he directed flood recovery work at the Ansok salt marshes in South Pyongan Province. The Great Leader’s personal visit was a response to an emergency: a dam burst, causing a large area of poorly drained land, including rice paddies, to be flooded with seawater…
On Kim Jong-un’s visit to Russia. Part One: A synopsis of the summit
Kim Jong-un’s visit to Russia is still ongoing as the author is writing these lines, yet the audience urges him (the author, not Kim) not to put off dissecting the event’s most important moments and results. The visit of the DPRK leader to the Russian Federation will therefore be covered in several parts. He (still the author) will need to discuss the misleading news that circulated prior to the visit and how it was received in South Korea, at the very least. He will also go into more detail on what was planned for the visit and what, contrary to expectations, most likely wasn’t…