Is the inter-Korean military agreement short-lived?
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…
Is the DPRK opening up to the world?
All walls fall eventually, and with the coronavirus decline, it also seems that the days of “self-isolation by the whole country” are coming to an end. Remember that North Korea implemented “emergency anti-epidemic measures” in May 2022 amid the “fever epidemic” and quarantined people at the border starting in early 2020 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. North Korea’s leader declared victory against the virus in August 2022, following which rail freight trade resumed. According to Korean specialist and journalist Oleg Kiryanov, the DPRK’s coming discovery…
North Korean Satellite: Awaiting Its Third Attempt
Discussions that the DPRK’s attempt to launch a satellite will entail the rupture of the inter-Korean military agreement impel the author to remind the audience how the preparation process for this launch is going on. On May 31, North Korea launched its first military spy satellite, Malligyong-1, mounted on a new-type carrier rocket, Chollima-1. According to North Korean media, the rocket crashed into the Yellow Sea after the second stage engine malfunctioned. In July 2023, North Korean satellite debris was retrieved from the Yellow Sea, after which South Korean experts declared that…
What does it imply that the DPRK has closed several of its embassies?
Several embassies and consulates were closed by North Korea in late October and early November of 2023. On October 23, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the DPRK Chon Dong-hak “paid a farewell visit” to Yoweri Kaguta Museven, President of the Republic of Uganda, and on October 27, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Jo Pyong Chol of the DPRK paid a similar farewell visit to President Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco of the Republic of Angola. North Korea reportedly closed its embassy in Spain on November 1…
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 peculiarities of tourism in North Korea
The Russian audience was very surprised when, during a visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated at a press conference that he would recommend Russian citizens to rest in the DPRK. They wondered what there was to see in North Korea other than statues of leaders and wondered if there were beach holidays in North Korea, and, of course, recalled the sad stories of Park Wang-Ja and Otto Warmbier, pointing out the safety of travelling. In fact, there is something to see in North Korea not only for a person…
Park Sang-hak and company are given the go-ahead, and IT’S DANGEROUS
The author has devoted about ten articles to the activities of Park Sang-hak and his organization Fighters for a Free North Korea (FFNK), who was viewed as being quite dangerous. Recall that some of his alleged “merits” include attempting to send coronavirus-infected items to North Korea, for which he was criticized by other defectors, or launching drones with explosives from the PRC to blow up statues of Kim, which were supposed to be a justification for “humanitarian intervention.” In 2020, Park & Co.’s activities triggered an inter-Korean crisis…
The Mideast Conflict and the Korean Peninsula: Part One. Immediate Reaction
The military conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza Strip, has continued since 7 October. That day, Hamas launched rocket attacks on central and southern Israel. Hamas militants stormed into the border Israeli communities and seized several border posts and a military base, taking hostages along the way. After the militant invasion, Israel declared war on Hamas, imposed a state of emergency, launched retaliatory air strikes and gave Gaza residents 24 hours to move south. Hamas responded that “dying in their homes” was better than expulsion…
Yoon Mee-hyang’s ordeal
The author has frequently come upon the results of politician and businesswoman Yoon Mee-hyang’s actions when investigating…
Travis King: Home-coming
On July 18, 2023, a 23-year-old US Army soldier Travis King defected to North Korea through the demilitarized zone from the South. In the history of the South-North Korean division, there have only been six instances (King was the seventh one) of U.S. soldiers fleeing to North Korea. King was a troublemaking soldier. Let us recall that, on October 8, 2022, King was detained by the South Korean police on the nightclub violence charges. The private was not cooperating with the police officers who demanded his personal data and kicked open their car door. From May 24 to July 10, King was held in a South Korean prison after failing to pay a fine…
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…
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…