Category: North Korea

As long as Russia continues to be North Korea’s major patron there is no reason for the Kim regime to pursue any negotations with the ROK and the U.S. That is unless the new Lee Jae-myung administration plans to make unilateral concessions for little to nothing in return from North Korea:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has vowed to “unconditionally” support Russia over the war against Ukraine and “responsibly” observe the articles of a mutual defense treaty signed between Pyongyang and Moscow, the North’s state media reported Thursday.

Kim made the remarks during his meeting with Russia’s Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu the previous day in Pyongyang, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Shoigu, Russia’s top security official, arrived in North Korea on Wednesday, amid deepening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, highlighted by the North’s troop dispatch to Russia to support the war against Ukraine.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

That is what one analyst is claiming the North Koreans are trying to do:

Decker Eveleth, a researcher at the Center for Naval Analyses, theorized that North Korea is attempting to lift up its 5,000-ton destroyer with methods inspired by Pixar’s 2009 film “Up” in his account on X, along with a satellite image of the damaged warship. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

In a scene that evokes Pixar’s 2009 animation film “Up,” North Korea seems to be using balloon-like devices to lift a 5,000-ton warship that capsized during its launch at Chongjin Shipyard, according to a military expert. 
  
Decker Eveleth, a researcher at the Center for Naval Analyses, posted satellite imagery on his X account on Monday showing the damaged warship partially covered with a blue tarp and surrounded by several white objects.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Some people are in big trouble in the hermit kingdom after this failed launch of their new naval vessel:

North Korea’s newest warship was severely damaged during a launch ceremony Wednesday, with leader Kim Jong Un, who witnessed the accident, saying it brought shame to the nation’s prestige and vowing to punish those found responsible, state media reported.

In a rare admission of failure, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said a malfunction in the launch mechanism caused the stern of the as-yet unnamed 5,000-ton destroyer to slide prematurely into the water, crushing parts of the hull and leaving the bow stranded on the shipway.

Kim called the launch failure “a criminal act” and blamed it on “absolute carelessness” and “irresponsibility” by multiple state institutions – including the Munitions Industry Department, Kim Chaek University of Technology and the central ship design bureau.

CNN

You can read more at the link.

Kim Jong-un has made it very clear that he does not want reunification and this is just another attempt remind people of that:

North Korea has erased another symbol of reconciliation with the South, renaming a key building in the Demilitarized Zone and removing signage promoting reunification, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said this week. The building, previously known as the Unification Pavilion, was renamed Panmun Hall sometime in 2024, ministry spokesman Koo Byongsam said at a news conference Monday in Seoul. A sign bearing the former name was taken down in January 2024 and replaced with the new one about seven months later, he said. The move is part of a broader campaign by Pyongyang to strip away references to reunifying the Korean Peninsula, Koo said.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

This would be very interesting to see what would happen if Ukraine did in fact attempt to file war crime charges against Putin and Kim Jong-un. However, I don’t see that happening any time soon because such actions would definitely negatively impact any ceasefire negotations:

 North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could face a war crime probe at the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) for supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine, a former chief of the ICC said Monday, adding that it is the right time for Kim to be brought to justice. 

Song Sang-hyun, former president of the ICC, made the remarks at an international conference in Seoul, as North Korea confirmed for the first time last month that it has deployed troops to Russia to support Moscow’s war against Ukraine. 

Kim has not yet been referred to the ICC despite his human rights violations in North Korea, but legal standards have been met now for Ukraine to pursue a case against him at the ICC over the North’s assistance in the Russia-Ukraine war, the former ICC president noted.

“The time is right to bring Kim Jong-un before the ICC,” Song said in his keynote speech at the event, adding that Pyongyang’s military assistance to Russia provided Ukraine with the legal standards to file a complaint against North Korea as a victim.

“There is an opportunity for Ukrainian authorities, as the victim, to file a complaint against North Korea with the ICC,” Song said. “While a complaint filed by Ukraine would be very ideal, the ICC also has the authority to initiate an independent investigation.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The war on the fish in the East Sea continues by the North Koreans:

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Thursday, South Korea’s military said, in what could be a performance test aimed at exporting arms to Russia.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch, involving various types of multiple short-range ballistic missiles, from the North’s eastern coastal city of Wonsan between 8:10 a.m. and 9:20 a.m. 

The North’s missile flew up to 800 kilometers before splashing into the East Sea, it said. The latest test is also believed to have involved the North’s KN-25 super-large 600-millimeter multiple rocket launcher and the KN-23, which is similar to Russia’s Iskander short-range ballistic missiles.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

What exactly did this military agreement achieve that makes it worth restoring?:

South Korea’s leading presidential candidate has pledged to restore a military deconfliction agreement with the North if elected, aiming to reduce rising tension on the Korean Peninsula. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, said the Comprehensive Military Agreement signed on Sept. 19, 2018, should be reinstated. The deal was effectively scrapped by both countries last year. “We urgently need to ease military tensions and restore trust between the two Koreas,” he said in a recent news release.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

I wonder if Kim Jong-un thinks he may be able to export some of these tanks to Russia if the war with Ukraine keeps dragging on?:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected a tank factory and expressed satisfaction over the upgraded structural design of indigenous tanks, while emphasizing the need to modernize the military with advanced tanks, the North’s state media reported Sunday.

Kim inspected the factory’s production status, modernization and progress in implementing research tasks related to core tank technology, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

It did not disclose the name or location of the factory or the date of his visit, describing it only as an “important” tank factory.

“To replace the armoured weapons of the last century in our army with latest tanks and armoured vehicles is the most important issue in the building of armed forces and modernization of the army,” the KCNA quoted Kim as saying during the field guidance.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I am not sure what Seoul gets out of forcibly coming out against North Korea’s involvement in the Russian war against Ukraine because we all know the UN will do nothing about it:

South Korea has condemned Pyongyang’s first public admission that its troops fought alongside Russian forces against Ukraine, calling the move a violation of international law. “North Korea taking part in the war against Ukraine is certainly an illegal act that violates the United Nations charter and U.N. Security Council resolutions,” Jeon Ha Gyu, spokesman for the South’s Ministry of National Defense, said at a news briefing Monday.

“Admitting [that it engaged] in the war is admission of a criminal act,” he added. “Our military and the international community strongly condemn this inhumane, illegal act.” (….)

Another South Korean official condemned the loss of North Korean lives in the conflict. “North Korea can never cover the fact that deploying troops is an illegal act that violates international law, and is inhumane, unethical behavior that sacrificed young North Koreans for the governments’ sake,” Ministry of Unification spokesman Koo Byongsam said at a separate briefing. Koo called on Pyongyang to immediately withdraw its forces from Ukraine.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but someone needs to tell Minister Koo that the North Korean troops are not in Ukraine, they have been used to combat Ukrainian troops that invaded into the Russian Kursk region.

It sounds like the State Department may finally be recognizing reality when dealing with North Korea now:

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described North Korea as a “nuclear-armed” country in an apparent recognition of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons capabilities, despite the Trump administration’s stated commitment to the “complete denuclearization” of the North.

Rubio used the expression in a podcast interview released Wednesday, as he pointed to a series of security challenges facing the United States, including those from China, Russia and Iran.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the next reality the State Department needs to realize is that the Kim regime will never completely give up their nuclear weapons. Once the State Department completely recognizes reality when dealing with North Korea then maybe some kind of deal could be struck.