Tag: North Korea

You know things are bad on the North Korea engagement front when former President Moon’s point man on Kim regime appeasement, Moon Chung-in has largely given up on bilateral talks:

Prospects for inter-Korean dialogue are even more constrained, Moon said, noting that North Korea has formally labelled South Korea a hostile state and cut off nearly all communication channels. Symbolic or technical measures, he added, are unlikely to alter Pyongyang’s broader strategy.

“Suspending loudspeaker broadcasts or softening rhetoric will not change North Korea’s strategic calculus,” Moon said, “The problem is structural, not tactical.”

When assessing the Lee Jae Myung administration’s North Korea policy, Moon said that the government’s intentions matter less than the external environment that shapes Pyongyang’s choices. He pointed out that North Korea currently has little incentive to engage, given that it can withstand pressure with the backing of Russia and China.

“It’s not that Seoul is unwilling to talk,” Moon said. “North Korea simply does not feel the need to respond.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but I have been saying for months that these attempts to start talks with North Korea are pointless. They have no reason to pursue talks with the ROK when the Russians are currently filling all their economic and security needs.

At this point I don’t think there is much to talk about in regards to DPRK missile launches other than just confirming what was fired:

South Korea, the United States and Japan discussed North Korea’s latest missile launch and coordination efforts in three-way phone talks the previous day, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Wednesday. 

Baek Yong-jin, director general for the Korean Peninsula policy, spoke by phone with Dan Cintron, acting U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state, and Otsuka Kengo, deputy director general of the Japanese foreign ministry’s Asia and Oceania bureau, the ministry said. 

On Tuesday, South Korea’s military said the North fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea, in yet another military muscle-flexing by Pyongyang ahead of its upcoming key party congress. 

North Korean state media said Wednesday it has test-fired an upgraded large-caliber multiple rocket launcher system, with leader Kim Jong-un in attendance.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) looks at men using a spa facility a spa facility as he attends a ceremony marking the completion of remodeling the Onpho Working People’s Holiday Camp in Kyongsong, North Hamgyong Province

It now appears the Chinese are not too eager to assist South Korea on the North Korea issue:

South Korea’s presidential office said the two leaders reaffirmed that peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula — an apparent reference to the denuclearization of North Korea — are shared interests, and confirmed China’s willingness to play a constructive role.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs made no reference to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula in its readout of the summit.

Doo Jin-ho, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, said China’s unresponsiveness on the North Korean issue fell short of South Korea’s expectations.

“Beijing did not appear to roll up its sleeves to the extent Seoul may have hoped, nor did it take a particularly forward-leaning stance on the North Korean nuclear issue,” Doo said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but I did not expect the Chinese to do much of anything on this issue. Right now the North Koreans are having all their needs met by the Russians, which means the Chinese do not have as much influence as they have had in the past over the Kim regime. China also probably looks at pressuring North Korea as a waste of time because they understand that North Korea will engage with South Korea when they want to, not because the ROK demands they do.

It is pretty clear that the North Korean regime was sending a message to the Trump administration with these missile launches to not try to launch an operation against Kim Jong-un like what was done to Maduro. Honestly as long as Kim Jong-un doesn’t threaten America Trump will leave him alone:

The launch of missiles came as President Lee Jae Myung was set to depart for Beijing for summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. It also came after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Washington has captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a large-scale military strike. 

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the missiles launched from near Pyongyang at around 7:50 a.m.

The missiles flew some 900 kilometers, the JCS said, adding the South Korean and U.S. authorities were analyzing the exact details of the launch.

The missiles reportedly landed at sea, according to a JCS official.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Hypocrisy must not be a word used in North Korea, because Japan would not be conducting a nuclear review or expanding its military if it wasn’t for the constant threats from North Korea and China:

North Korea’s state media on Thursday denounced Japan’s reported review of its decades-long three non-nuclear principles. 

The Rodong Sinmun newspaper issued the criticism as Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has reportedly sought to shift the principles that mandate no possessing, producing or introducing nuclear weapons. 

Takaichi is reportedly seeking to review the no-introduction principle, particularly regarding U.S. nuclear-armed assets.

The Rodong Sinmun accused Japan of trying to rearm itself, saying this was “not aimed at seeking national or regional peace and security but, rather, constitutes a vicious challenge to peace.”

The newspaper also accused Japan of trying to justify its drive to become a military powerhouse and of drumming up public opinions in favor of its increased defense spending, a constitutional revision and overseas military expansion.

“This reminds us of Japan’s past history of brainwashing its people to jump into a war of aggression to establish the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere,” the newspaper said, citing Japan’s World War II-era imperial ambitions.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but irony must not be a word used in North Korea either when they are complaining about so called Japanese brainwashing.

NK leader’s wife carrying what looks like Gucci shoulder bag

Ri Sol-ju (R), wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, carries what appears to be a Gucci GG Marmont mini shoulder bag (circled in red), as she accompanies Kim with her daughter Ju-ae during his inspection of an industrial complex in Kangdong County on the outskirts of Pyongyang on Dec. 15, 2025, in this photo captured from the North’s official Korean Central Television the next day. (Yonhap)

It looks like Fighters For A Free North Korea will have to secretly as possible launch their propaganda balloons towards North Korea:

 The National Assembly passed Sunday a bill led by the ruling Democratic Party (DP) that would give police legal authority to block attempts to send anti-Pyongyang leaflets near border areas.

The amendment to the Act on the Performance of Duties by Police Officers allows police to intervene in the launch of leaflets near the inter-Korean border, aiming to prevent activities that could heighten tensions between the two Koreas.

The bill was passed at a plenary session, shortly after the main opposition People Power Party (PPP)’s filibuster ended through a vote 24 hours after it began. 

The DP has argued that the legislation is necessary to protect the safety of border residents and to help reduce military tensions, while the PPP opposed the bill, saying it infringes on freedom of expression.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.