Category: North Korea

President Lee is just speaking reality here:

Speaking to global investors at the New York Stock Exchange, Lee sought to reassure them, vowing to reduce security risks on the Korean Peninsula and reinforce investor confidence, as he noted that South Korea’s stock market has been “undervalued” despite its elevated economic and military stature.

“North Korea seems to have secured sufficient nuclear weapons needed to maintain its regime, with only atmospheric reentry technology remaining (for Pyongyang to complete) the development of nuclear-tipped ICBMs capable of reaching the continental U.S.,” Lee said at the event, called the “Korea Investment Summit.”

Yonhap

Here is where he becomes delusional:

If unchecked, Pyongyang would add 15-20 nuclear bombs to its nuclear arsenal each year, he warned.

“What’s worrisome is that there is a high possibility that North Korea would export (weapons) to other countries. Wouldn’t there be considerable security benefits if we could just halt the production of nuclear warheads or the development and export of ICBMs?,” he said.

“That is why I have proposed stopping them in the short term, reducing them in the midterm and pursuing (the North’s) denuclearization in the long term,” he added, referring to the three-stage plan to foster lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

I can support a deal to stop production of nukes and ICBMs to prevent proliferation, but North Korea will never reduce or give up their nuclear weapons. Lee could offer to surrender the ROK to Keep m in exchange for his nukes and I don’t think he would take that deal. Nukes mean regime survival, without them Kim is vulnerable.

Kim Yo-jong is upset because the US-ROK militaries plan to conduct what is essentially a video game military exercise together:

The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sunday blasted a planned joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States, warning the “reckless muscle-flexing” would bring unfavorable consequences.

Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the North Korean ruling party’s Central Committee, issued the warning in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The allies are set to stage the Iron Mace tabletop military exercise from Monday to Friday at the U.S. Forces Korea headquarters at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, focusing on integrating Washington’s nuclear assets and Seoul’s conventional capabilities to deter North Korean threats.

Kim reiterated her criticism of the allies’ nuclear deterrence plan, saying North Korea would regard the exercise as a “display” and continuation of a confrontational stance by the “current rulers” if it is staged with their full understanding of the dangers.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but she will be brought out to condemn every US-ROK exercise because the Kim regime thinks with the Lee administration in power they can get him to advocate for cancelling them for little or nothing in return.

The real story here is not this botched mission into North Korea, but why is it being leaked now after six years?:

A group of Navy SEALs emerged from the ink-black ocean on a winter night in early 2019 and crept to a rocky shore in North Korea. They were on a top secret mission so complex and consequential that everything had to go exactly right.

The objective was to plant an electronic device that would let the United States intercept the communications of North Korea’s reclusive leader, Kim Jong-un, amid high-level nuclear talks with President Trump.

The mission had the potential to provide the United States with a stream of valuable intelligence. But it meant putting American commandos on North Korean soil — a move that, if detected, not only could sink negotiations but also could lead to a hostage crisis or an escalating conflict with a nuclear-armed foe.

It was so risky that it required the president’s direct approval. 

For the operation, the military chose SEAL Team 6’s Red Squadron — the same unit that killed Osama bin Laden. The SEALs rehearsed for months, aware that every move needed to be perfect. But when they reached what they thought was a deserted shore that night, wearing black wet suits and night-vision goggles, the mission swiftly unraveled.

A North Korean boat appeared out of the dark. Flashlights from the bow swept over the water. Fearing that they had been spotted, the SEALs opened fire. Within seconds, everyone on the North Korean boat was dead.

The SEALs retreated into the sea without planting the listening device.

The 2019 operation has never been publicly acknowledged, or even hinted at, by the United States or North Korea. The details remain classified and are being reported here for the first time.

NY Times

You can read more at the link, but there is a reason someone is leaking this story now. My guess is that someone is trying to make it impossible for Trump to conduct any negotiations with North Korea. Kim Jong-un may ratchet up tensions in response to finding out his own citizens were killed by U.S. Navy Seals.

The Pentagon needs to investigate and find the leaker. Whoever did this should receive a long jail sentence as a future deterrent because this is likely being done for political reasons.

In year North Korea has had almost as many Soldiers killed as the U.S. did in 20 years of fighting in Afghanistan:

The spy agency estimated around 2,000 North Korean troops dispatched to Russia for combat in Ukraine were killed, lawmakers said Tuesday.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) shared the assessment during a closed-door briefing to the parliamentary intelligence committee, Reps. Park Sun-won and Lee Seong-kweun told reporters.

The NIS said Pyongyang is planning to additionally send some 6,000 soldiers to Russia in its third batch of troop deployment to aid Moscow’s war with Ukraine, while around 1,000 combat engineers have already arrived in Russia.

The existing troops are stationed in the “rear front as reserve forces,” the agency said, pointing to the possibility of a leadership change among the dispatched troops.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Kim Jong-un has arrived in Beijing to celebrate the CCP’s fan fiction version of how they defeated the Imperial Japanese during World War II:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, the North’s state media said, as photos showed him accompanied by his daughter on a key trip marked by his planned attendance at a Chinese military parade.

Kim, who departed Pyongyang the previous day in a special armored train, arrived at Beijing Railway Station at 4 p.m., local time, and was greeted by senior Chinese officials, including Cai Qi, member of the Chinese Communist Party’s central committee, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Beijing Mayor Yin Yong, the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, citing its foreign ministry.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Kim Jong-un has left on a rare state trip outside of North Korea to go cosplay with Emperor President Xi that the CCP defeated the Imperial Japanese during World War II:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has departed aboard an armored train to make his multilateral diplomatic debut in Beijing, where he will join Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders.

North Korea’s state media early Tuesday confirmed that Kim had set off by private train on Monday to attend China’s ‘Victory Day’ celebrations.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency reported the news, citing a notice from Kim Chon-il, director of the department of press and information at North Korea’s Foreign Ministry.

According to the notice, the North Korean leader is accompanied by senior party and government officials, including Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui. However, state media did not provide further details, including the exact location of his departure.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

For both Kim Jong-un and Putin, the North Korean troop deployment to fight against Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk province has to now be considered a success. The Ukrianians lost a valuable negotiating piece by losing the land they gained in Kursk provice. Additionally many inexpendable Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the Kursk operation fighting very expendable North Korean soldiers:

This image captured on Aug. 30, 2025, shows the music video of the song titled “Remember,” aired by the Korean Central Television, highlighting the contributions made by North Korean troops in the Russia-Ukraine war. (Yonhap)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un finalized his decision to deploy troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine on Aug. 28 last year, shortly after Kyiv launched a surprise offensive into Kursk, a video released by the North’s state media showed Sunday.

The Korean Central Television recently released the music video of a song titled “Remember,” featuring North Korean soldiers who fought in Russia’s front-line region of Kursk.

The video’s background images include a document on a plan to “liberate” Kursk, ratified by Kim, as well as a scene of the leader in a white summer Mao suit presiding over a meeting with key military officials, including Pak Jong-chon, vice chairman of the ruling party’s Central Military Commission, and Ri Chang-ho, vice chief of the General Staff.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The axis of authoritarianism is meeting in China this week to pretend that the CCP had anything to do with helping to win World War II:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is set to take an initial step onto the multilateral diplomatic stage in China this week, with his planned trip to attend a military parade in Beijing setting the stage for a possible three-way summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

It will be the first time for Kim, who assumed power in late 2011, to attend a multilateral diplomatic event. His grandfather and the North’s founder Kim Il-sung attended a military parade in Beijing in 1959.

The decision by Kim to attend China’s military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, alongside Putin and Xi, was announced days after both South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump expressed their eagerness to resume diplomacy with North Korea in their high-stakes summit in Washington.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I wonder if the development of these new missiles was helped by the Russians?:

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the test-firing of two types of new antiair missiles, state media said Sunday, displaying his expanding military capabilities as the South Korean and U.S. militaries carry out joint drills.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said the test Saturday proved the missiles effective in countering aerial threats such as drones and cruise missiles, and that Kim assigned unspecified “important” tasks to defense scientists ahead of a major political conference expected early next year. The report did not specify the missiles that were tested or where the event took place. It did not mention any remarks by Kim directed at Washington or Seoul.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

This is supposedly the first time open source imagery has located one of North Korea ICBM bases:

North Korea has an undeclared ballistic missile operating base near its border with China, which likely possesses intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching the continental United States, a U.S. monitor confirmed Wednesday.

Beyond Parallel, a project of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, unveiled the Sinpung-dong Missile Operating Base in North Pyongan Province, about 25 kilometers from the border with China, as it released its analysis of satellite imagery taken July 11.

It marks the first open-source study confirming the base, according to the monitor.

“Preliminary analysis suggests that the base likely houses a brigade-sized unit equipped with a total of six to nine nuclear capable Hwasong-15 or -18 ICBMs, or an as yet unknown ICBM, and their transporter-erector-launchers (TEL) or mobile-erector-launchers (MEL),” it said in a report posted on its website.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.