Archives North and South Korea - Page 4 of 5 - New Eastern Outlook

North Korea’s successful launch of a satellite on November 21 has led to another wave of speculation both about the satellite’s capabilities and about potential military-technological cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang. This is largely due to the syndrome noted more than once, in which anti-Pyongyang propaganda first comes up with certain clichés and then begins to believe in them. The DPRK is seen as an “Evil State” and thus incapable of real success. Any real achievements are therefore dismissed – “the new housing developments were built to distract the population from economic…

The style of North Korean propaganda is peculiar enough that many people cling to it rather than the substance of the messages, preferring to declare them propaganda statements denouncing non-existent enemies. However, over time, what the audience perceived as propaganda fairy tales turned out not to be fairy tales at all. Suffice it to recall the “blowing up statues of leaders by drone” repeatedly quoted by the author. When the North Koreans first announced the disclosure of such plans, most people marvelled at their absurdity: blowing up statues of leaders with drones sent from China…

On November 1, 2018, the Comprehensive Military Agreement (CMA), which was signed on September 19 in Pyongyang by South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo and North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol entered into force. The document’s full title is Agreement on Reconciliation, Non-Aggression, Exchanges, and Cooperation, known as the “Agreement on the Implementation of the Historic Panmunjom Declaration in the Military Domain” or Comprehensive Military Agreement (CMA). On April 27, the document was adopted…