Hopefully this outgoing North Korean ambassador to Cuba doesn’t have a date with an anti-aircraft gun waiting for him when he returns to Pyongyang:
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel (R) meets with North Korean Ambassador to Cuba Ma Chol-su at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana on March 16, 2024, in this photo captured from the president’s X.
North Korea’s ambassador to Cuba has paid a visit to Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel before concluding his mission, the Cuban presidential office said, as Pyongyang is preparing to replace the envoy after Cuba’s surprising establishment of diplomatic ties with South Korea.
Diaz-Canel shared a brief video of Friday’s meeting with Ambassador Ma Chol-su on X, the former Twitter platform, saying he reassured the ambassador that Pyongyang could always rely on Cuba’s support, solidarity and friendship in all aspects.
The president, who visited North Korea twice, also emphasized the brotherhood between the countries.
Ma is reported to have received the Friendship Medal from the president that day in recognition of his diplomatic service in Cuba for the past five years.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link, but the timing of the change is making it look like he is being blamed for Cuba establishing formal diplomatic relations with South Korea.
Fortunately the designers of this tank made the hatch wide enough for Kim Jong-un to be able to get into it:
This photo, carried by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency on March 14, 2024, shows the North’s leader Kim Jong-un guiding “training matches” involving tank troops the previous day, as the country unveiled a new main battle tank. (Yonhap)
North Korea has unveiled a new battle tank during training exercises, state media reported Thursday, amid ongoing joint military drills between South Korea and the United States.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un drove a new tank himself during the “training match” between tank units Wednesday in a bid to inspect tank troops’ actual combat capabilities, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Calling them “the most powerful tanks in the world,” Kim expressed satisfaction over their striking power and maneuverability, it said.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
Considering all the bunkers and tunnels in North Korea trying to quickly eliminate Kim Jong-un and his inner circle would likely be extremely difficult:
This photo, provided by the defense ministry on March 7, 2024, shows Defense Minister Shin Won-sik (2nd from R) making an on-site inspection of a command bunker in Seoul.
Defense Minister Shin Won-sik called on special operations troops Wednesday to equip themselves with capabilities to “swiftly eliminate” the North Korean leadership if it starts a war against the South.
Shin made the call at the Army Special Warfare Command in Icheon, 56 kilometers southeast of Seoul, as South Korea has been conducting the Freedom Shield joint military exercise with the United States since last week to boost deterrence against the North’s threats.
“If Kim Jong-un starts a war, as a key unit of Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR), you must become the world’s strongest special operations unit to swiftly eliminate the enemy leadership,” Shin said, according to his office.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
North Korea is doing some outreach to one of its few friends:
A North Korean diplomatic delegation led by Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong-ho has departed for Mongolia, the North’s state media reported Sunday.
The delegation left from Pyongyang International Airport in the capital Saturday, the Rodong Sinmun, the North’s main newspaper, said, without specifying the purpose of the trip.
The diplomatic delegation’s visit to Mongolia marks the first of its kind since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. The North last sent a delegation to the country in 2019.
The latest trip is seen as part of the North’s diplomatic efforts to strengthen ties with its traditionally friendly countries.
Mongolia is viewed as having close relations with the North, having maintained its diplomatic mission in Pyongyang even during the pandemic despite strict border restrictions.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
Jung Pak the U.S. nuclear envoy to North Korea seems to be hinting that the U.S. is open to a deal that does not include the denuclearization of North Korea. This validates what a National Security Council spokesman put out earlier this week:
The top U.S. nuclear envoy pointed out the need Tuesday for “interim steps” to be taken on a path towards North Korea’s ultimate denuclearization, which she stressed would not happen “overnight.”
U.S. Senior Official for North Korea Jung Pak made the remarks while reiterating Washington’s “clear” goal to pursue the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. (……)
“I don’t want to prejudge that as a final step,” she said at a forum hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “But I think it goes without saying that there would have to be interim steps toward ultimate denuclearization.”
Yonhap
Here is what the U.S. would focus a so called interim deal on, freezing other weapons programs that North Korea has:
“I think it is really important to acknowledge that there is a lot of weapons to be dealt with,” she said, noting the North’s efforts to develop solid-fuel ballistic missiles, tactical nuclear weapons, hypersonic capabilities and unmanned underwater vehicles.
“Given the scope of the DPRK weapons activities and its proliferation, there is a lot to work with there … It is not going to happen overnight. That’s the reality of it,” she added. DPRK stands for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
You can read more at the link, but in my opinion the best that can be hoped for at this point is an agreement limiting the amount of nuclear weapons North Korea has, a ban on proliferation, and an end to their ICBM program in return for dropping sanctions.
I have been saying this for years that North Korea is never going to denuclearize and it appears U.S. negotiators may finally be understanding this:
Mira Rapp-Hooper, the U.S. National Security Council senior director for East Asia and Oceania, speaks during a forum in Seoul co-hosted by South Korea’s JoongAng Ilbo newspaper and the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on March 4, 2024.
The United States seeks dialogue with North Korea, including on mitigating the risk of an inadvertent conflict on the Korean Peninsula, a National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson said Monday, stressing its goal for the “complete” denuclearization of the peninsula remains unchanged.
The remarks came after Mira Rapp-Hooper, the NSC senior director for East Asia and Oceania, said this week that Washington will consider “interim steps” on the pathway toward the North’s denuclearization — a statement that raised speculation about a potential U.S. policy shift.
In the negotiation lexicon for the North, interim steps usually involve such measures as Pyongyang’s freeze of its nuclear weapons development in return for sanctions relief or other incentives to encourage the regime’s denuclearization efforts.
“Our position on the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula has not changed,” the spokesperson said in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link, but in my opinion the best that can be hoped for at this point is an agreement limiting the amount of nuclear weapons North Korea has, a ban on proliferation, and an end to their ICBM program.
