Tag: North Korea

It is amazing for how little money people will sell out their country for:

A South Korean man has been sentenced to five years in prison for spying for North Korea, officials said Saturday.

The 43-year-old man, whose identity was withheld, was found to have received an order from a North Korean agent via the messaging app Telegram in May-June of 2021 to collect information about anti-Pyongyang defectors from North Korea and their activities.

Around that time, the man took about 660 million won (US$479,346) worth of virtual currency from the North Korean agent as funds for operating cryptocurrency investments.

He later approached the head of a North Korean defector group, offering to sponsor the organization. He asked the leader to create a virtual currency wallet and forwarded its address to the North Korean agent.

After the agent transferred 1 million won worth of Bitcoin in the name of donation, the man received videos and photos showing the group sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets in return.

The man was also instructed by the agent to collect personal information of seven active-duty military officers, including their units and resident registration numbers, and attempt to recruit them for espionage.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like serious talks to organize a summit are happening behind closed doors right now:

South Korea’s spy agency said Tuesday a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may be held at any time, citing possible signs of dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) made the assessment during a closed-door briefing to the National Assembly’s intelligence committee, according to Rep. Youn Kun-young of the ruling Democratic Party and Rep. Yoo Yeong-ha of the main opposition People Power Party.

“Regarding a North Korea-U.S. summit, we should consider it possible at any time,” the NIS was quoted as saying. “No concrete facts of dialogue between North Korea and the U.S. have been confirmed, but there are signs of dialogue.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Here is what could be discussed at a possible Trump-Kim summit according to a former Trump official:

President Donald Trump could put on the table the “tacit” acceptance of North Korea’s nuclear program, a peace treaty and an end to South Korea-U.S. military exercises should a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un take place, a former U.S. official has said.

Anthony Ruggiero, who served as the National Security Council’s (NSC) director for North Korea during the first Trump administration,” made the comment in an opinion piece published by The Hill, a U.S. media outlet, on Thursday as Trump recently expressed his intention to meet Kim later this year.

Speculation has continued that Trump could seek a meeting with Kim during his next trip to Asia, likely to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, in November, as The Wall Street Journal recently reported.

“Negotiations with Kim will likely include at least a tacit acknowledgement of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program,” he said.

Ruggiero went on to say, “In addition to Washington’s acceptance of North Korea’s nuclear program, Trump could offer a peace treaty formally ending the Korean War, a better political and economic relationship, and a permanent end to military exercises with South Korea.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but this guy is basically advocating for the end of the U.S.-ROK alliance. How do you have an alliance that does not do military exercises together?

I can’t believe I find myself agreeing with Chung Dong-young, but he is right:

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Thursday North Korea’s nuclear capabilities have grown 100,000 times over the past 30 years, insisting that pursuing North Korea’s complete denuclearization is no longer sustainable.

Chung made the remarks at a forum, as Pyongyang has continued to advance its nuclear capabilities and claimed its nuclear status is “irreversible,” while ruling out denuclearization talks.

“It is evidently the harsh truth that the approach of pushing for the complete denuclearization (of North Korea) pursued in the past is no longer sustainable,” Chung said in his opening speech at the annual Global Korea Forum.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Considering the benefits of troop dispatches to both Russia and North Korea, it makes sense they would continue:

No signs have been detected of any imminent dispatch of additional North Korean troops to Russia, a lawmaker said Sunday, citing a report from the South Korean military.

North Korea, however, is believed to continue making preparations for a possible deployment of additional troops to Russia, according to Rep. Yoo Yong-won of the main opposition People Power Party.

In a report submitted to the lawmaker, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) said, “North Korea continues to prepare for deployment, but no sign of an imminent deployment of additional troops has been identified.”

The assessment comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed last month that Russia was preparing to bring in an additional 30,000 North Korean troops to a border region in the southwest to assist its war against Ukraine.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

My assumption would be is that there is some new tech that North Korea must be trying out on these recent launches. The more capable missiles they can manufacture would likely mean more money from the Russians:

North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, marking the second such launch in less than a week in an apparent protest against an upcoming combined military exercise between the South and the United States. 

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the missile launched from the Wonsan area on the east coast at around 6 a.m. 

The missile flew more than 700 kilometers, with a detailed analysis on its specifications under way by South Korean and U.S. authorities, according to the JCS.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Zelenskyy is probably in competition with the Arab countries to purchase Korean-made air defense systems. It seems his strategy is to scare the ROK with the North Korean threat in order to prioritize Ukraine for selling the systems to:

North Korea appears set to deploy an additional 30,000 to 50,000 troops to support Russia in its war with Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday.

Zelenskyy made the remarks in a post on X, quoting comments he made in an interview with the United News telethon. 

“North Koreans appear on the territory of the Russian Federation from time to time … At first, we were talking about hundreds, then thousands, and now a decision has been made for 30,000 to 50,000 North Koreans to be deployed on the territory of Russia,” Zelenskyy said.

North Korea will certainly gain experience in modern warfare under Russia, the Ukrainian president also said, adding that Pyongyang will continue to build its experience in modern warfare, receive licenses from Russia and acquire various military tools.

Zelenskyy, in particular, said South Korea should have closer cooperation with Ukraine under such circumstances, adding that Ukraine seeks Seoul’s support for air defense systems, drones and other areas.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.