Author: GIKorea

This seems like a good assessment, another possibility would be an ICBM launch towards the U.S. that lands in the ocean to demonstrate that the Kim regime can target the U.S. if it wants to:

Former National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Park Jie-won said Monday that North Korea will likely conduct a nuclear test ahead of November’s U.S. midterm elections to show off its nuclear capability.

“They are going to do it in order to demonstrate a threat that its missile can fly to the U.S. carrying a miniaturized and lighter warhead, and to deal a blow to the Joe Biden administration ahead of the midterm elections,” Park said on KBS Radio. 

Park also said the North could undertake provocations in protest of military exercises that South Korea and the U.S. kicked off Monday.

“Chairman Kim Jong-un is not going to overlook it as if nothing happened,” he said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see what provocation North Korea decides to go with in response to this military exercise:

During the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, there will be 13 combined field training programs, as well as a full operational capability assessment, a key procedure for the envisioned conditions-based transfer of wartime operational control from Washington to Seoul.

The same day, the government also started the annual Ulchi civil defense training program, led by government employees for the next four days.

“We can protect the lives of the people and national security only through realistic drills. Preserving peace on the Korean Peninsula is built on our airtight defense preparedness,” President Yoon Suk-yeol said at a Cabinet meeting at his office in Seoul. “Today’s war is different from the one of the past. It may involve cyberattacks on key facilities such as ports, airports and (the manufacturing plants of) semiconductors or attacks on the supply chains of important materials, with the aim of neutralizing our war capabilities.”

In fact, during the last five years, the two allies’ regular military drills were canceled or reduced to just computer simulations, while North Korea tested new types of weapons from their arsenal as part of its weapons development program, including hypersonic as well as short-range, intermediate-range and long-range ballistic missiles, which require new contingency plans and new drills.

Although the two allies made it clear that the Ulchi Freedom training exercise is defensive in nature, it is expected to draw an aggressive reaction from the North, which is likely to be ready for its seventh nuclear weapons test.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This is a really interesting read from a North Korean defector that had a very different upbringing from most defectors:

It has been said “Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.” My name is Lee Seo-hyun. I am a North Korean escapee who gave up the certain opportunity to thrive in hell, and instead fled my native country to face certain uncertainty.

My experience as a North Korean escapee might surprise you. I did not grow up in extreme poverty; I was not coerced into human trafficking; nor do I have horrific stories of being a political prisoner. My father was a senior-level government officer for the North Korean regime, and his loyal commitment to the nation and the leader allowed our family to live in the capital Pyongyang, a privilege as North Koreans. 

Like most people in North Korea, I had no doubts about the regime because I was brainwashed. I truly believed what our leader said: “Our country is the envy of the world!” Yes, I was living in a bubble. Not of my choosing ― I wasn’t even aware of it ― but a bubble, nonetheless. 

What about you? Have you ever even considered the possibility that you may be living in a bubble, regardless of your politics or religion, regardless of the color of your skin or your perceived status in life?

What if the ‘Bubble’ ― the truth I had accepted without question ― is in some way no different from yours ― although yours probably doesn’t include political oppression and torture? 

Korea Times

I highly recommend reading the whole thing at the link.

Here is a new book I will need to check out:

Sung-Yoon Lee, the Kim Koo-Korea Foundation professor in Korean Studies and assistant professor at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University near Boston, said that Kim Yo-jong has been more visible and empowered to speak on behalf of her brother since 2020. 

“She is Kim Jong-un’s most trusted aide, adviser, deputy, spokesperson, attack dog and confidante,” he said in a recent email interview with The Korea Times. “In their body language when they are in close proximity, I see genuine mutual trust and affection. She is not a mere ‘secretary.'” 

He said now is the time for the world to pay greater attention to the ambitious younger Kim because of her growing influence in her country. 

Her multiple crucial roles in the North ― as the deputy director of the Workers’ Party’s Publicity and Information Department, alternate member of the Politburo and member of the State Affairs Commission, among others ― have convinced Lee to believe that Kim Yo-jong could lead the country in case her brother is incapacitated for any reason. 

If this happens, he said, Kim Yo-jong will succeed her brother to become the supreme leader of the impoverished state because she is the only adult who is part of the Mount Paektu bloodline, which refers to the three-generation lineage of North Korea’s leadership, descending from founder Kim Il-sung. “There is no doubt that Yo-jong is leadership material,” said Lee. 

Kim Jong-un is believed to have children, although no further details about them are known, but they are too young to become leaders, said Lee. 

He ruled out Kim Jong-un’s brother Jong-chol from the possible successor list. 

“Kim Jong-chol has stayed out of public view since Jong-un ascended to the throne in the wake of their father’s death in December 2011. Jong-chol has long been known to harbor no interest in politics, whereas Yo-jong has been known since her childhood to be ambitious and bossy,” he said. “More importantly, Yo-jong has participated very visibly in policymaking at least since February 2018 when she visited South Korea as her brother’s special envoy.” 

Lee, an expert on North Korea’s leadership, is the author of the new book, “The Sister,” which unravels the rise of Kim Yo-jong. The book will be published on June 15 next year.
“I do reveal a few facts of policy relevance in my book,” he said. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

President Yoon is probably thinking ahead to when he exits office and I am sure he does not want a bunch of leftist protesters outside his retirement home:

Rallies around the home of former President Moon Jae-in will be banned starting Monday as the Presidential Security Service expanded the guard zone for the former president amid persistent noisy and menacing protests.

The decision to ban rallies within 300 meters from Moon’s home in Yangsan, about 310 kilometers southeast of Seoul, came after President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered the secret service to consider strengthening security for his predecessor following a suggestion from National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo.

Since Moon left office in May after a five-year term, his home has been plagued day and night by raucous loudspeaker demonstrations by right-wing protesters and YouTubers opposed to the way he ran the country. 

Last week, one protester was arrested after making threats with a box cutter in front of Moon’s home.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I don’t like the alternative military service for celebrities especially since a number of celebrities went and completed their military service and successfully restarted their careers afterwards:

Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon has proposed allowing the members of K-pop superband BTS to replace their military duties with alternative service as public relations ambassadors for the city’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo, officials said Thursday.

The government formally appointed the septet last month as a PR ambassador in charge of promoting the Expo bid, for which Busan is competing with cities in Italy and Saudi Arabia. 

Mayor Park recently made the proposal asking the presidential office to grant BTS the alternative military service benefit currently available to athletes and artists who helped elevate national prestige or cultural advancement, according to officials.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.