Georgetown Security Law Brief

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sends envoy to China

05/22/13:  The BBC reports North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a special envoy to Beijing, state media has announced, amid cooling relations between the two neighbours. Choe Ryong-hae, a top military official, flew to the Chinese capital on Wednesday, KCNA said. The brief dispatch gave no details of the visit, which comes amid an apparent toughening of Beijing's stance in the wake of Pyongyang's third nuclear test. Chinese media said Mr Choe met Wang Jiarui, a top foreign affairs official. The visit - the duration of which remains unknown - follows weeks of high tension on the Korean peninsula. China is North Korea's biggest trading partner and closest ally. It has traditionally sought to maintain stability in North Korea, avoiding any crisis that could trigger the fall of the regime and propel a flow of refugees across the border. But in recent weeks, following Pyongyang's 12 February nuclear test and amid strident rhetoric from its leaders, China has expressed frustration with North Korea, with state media openly debating the benefits of close ties. Beijing supported expanded UN sanctions against Pyongyang after its nuclear test and some of its banks have recently suspended trading with North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank. It is also under domestic pressure after unidentified North Koreans seized, and subsequently released two weeks later, a 16-strong Chinese crew who had been fishing in the Yellow Sea.

State media shows NKorea has new military chief

05/22/13:  The Miami Herald reports a North Korean state media dispatch shows that leader Kim Jong Un has named a hardline general as his new military chief. The new title for Kim Kyok Sik came in a dispatch Wednesday from the North's Korean Central News Agency detailing a delegation at Pyongyang's airport that was seeing off a special envoy on a trip to China. There were no other details on the appointment. Kim Kyok Sik previously held the military chief post until 2009. He also was defense minister until being recently replaced by a little-known general. He is the former commander of battalions believed responsible for attacks in 2010 that killed 50 South Koreans. Kim replaces Hyon Yong Chol as military chief. Military chief is considered a higher-ranking position than defense minister.

Ban Ki-moon urges North Korea to end missile tests

05/19/13:  The BBC reports UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on North Korea to refrain from carrying out any further missile tests. He was speaking as Pyongyang test-fired a fourth short-range missile over the weekend. Such launches are routine but come as countries in the region are trying to break a stalemate in relations there, the BBC's Lucy Williamson says. Mr Ban urged Pyongyang to lower the tensions in the region and "resume dialogue" over its nuclear programme. Speaking in Russia after talks with President Vladimir Putin, Mr Ban called the missile tests "a provocative action".

North Korea 'fires three short-range missiles'

05/18/13:  The BBC reports North Korea has fired three short-range missiles from its east coast, South Korea's defence ministry said. Two missiles were fired on Saturday morning and one in the afternoon, the ministry said in a statement. Officials at the ministry said they were "monitoring the situation and remain on alert". The launches come at a time of stalemate between the two neighbours following weeks of high tension earlier this year. Saturday's missiles were fired in a north-east direction, and did not pose the same threat as the intermediate-range missiles Pyongyang was believed to have deployed along its coastline last month. It removed them from the launch site early in May, indicating a lowering of tension on the peninsula, a US official said. Such launches are routinely carried out by the Communist nation, the BBC's Lucy Williamson reports from Seoul. Tensions were high last month amid threats from North Korea to attack Japanese, South Korean and US military targets in the region and restart a mothballed nuclear reactor that produced plutonium for its weapons programme.

North Korea appoints new defence minister Jang Jong-nam

05/14/13:  The BBC reports North Korea has replaced its hard-line armed forces minister with a relatively unknown general, according to state-run news agency KCNA. Little is known about Jang Jong-nam, who replaces General Kim Kyok-sik. Officials in Seoul say his political stance is not known, but he appears to be younger than his predecessor. Meanwhile, Pyongyang has denounced new joint US-South Korea naval drills that involve a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Mr Jang, believed to be in his fifties, was reportedly commander of the First Corps of the Korean People's Army before assuming this role. He replaces General Kim Kyok-sik, who was said to be responsible for the shelling of South Korea's border island Yeonpyeong in 2010, which killed four South Koreans. Officials in Seoul said they were aware of the personnel change, but would "need more time to figure out the overall direction" and whether the change was significant. Analysts believe the move may be part of Kim Jong-un's efforts to consolidate his influence over the military. Another high-profile military move took place in July 2012, when North Korea's military chief, Chief of General Staff Ri Yong-ho, was removed. He was replaced by Hyon Yong-chol, who is also relatively unknown. Both the Chief of General Staff and the Defence Minister are subordinate to the National Defense Commission, which is chaired by Kim Jong-un.

North Korea 'removes' missiles from east coast launch site

05/07/13:  The BBC reports North Korea has removed two medium-range missiles from a coastal launch site, indicating a lowering of tension on the peninsula, a US official said. Pyongyang was believed to be preparing for a launch last month, having threatened attacks in the region. The threats followed tough new UN sanctions imposed on North Korea in March after its third nuclear test. North Korea has been angered by wide-ranging annual US-South Korea military drills, which ended a week ago. The news that the missiles had been removed from the site on the east coast came on the eve of a summit in Washington between the US and South Korean presidents. Park Geun-hye is to hold talks with Barack Obama later on Tuesday, with the two expected to reiterate a commitment to strong ties. Ms Park, who took office in February, will also address the US Congress on Wednesday. A report from South Korea's Yonhap news agency, citing an unnamed senior government source, backed that up, saying Pyongyang appeared to have lifted its highest combat alert and moved the missiles, although their current location was not confirmed. The move is the most tangible sign yet that North Korea has stepped back from its threats to launch missiles, the BBC's Jane Little in Washington reports. But a senior US official from the National Security Council warned that, given the North's unpredictable behaviour, it was "premature to celebrate it as good news".

China cuts ties with key North Korean bank

05/07/13:  The New York Times reports the state-controlled Bank of China said on Tuesday that it had ended all dealings with a key North Korean bank in what appeared to be the strongest public Chinese response yet to North Korea’s willingness to brush aside warnings from Beijing and push ahead with its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Chinese analysts said the Bank of China’s move carried clear diplomatic significance at a time when the Obama administration has been urging China to limit its longtime support for the North Korean government. The Bank of China’s action also dovetails with a longstanding American effort to target the North Korean government’s access to foreign currency. Most countries’ banks already refuse to have any financial dealings with North Korea, making the Bank of China’s role particularly important. And in another sign of international pressure on North Korea, the United Nations announced Tuesday that it had appointed a prominent Australian jurist to lead a panel tasked with investigating human rights abuses and possible crimes against humanity in North Korea “with a view to ensuring full accountability.”

North Korea imposes term of 15 years on American

05/02/13:  The New York Times reports North Korea said Thursday that its Supreme Court had sentenced an American citizen to 15 years of hard labor for committing hostile acts against its government. The citizen, Kenneth Bae, 44, a Korean-American from Washington State who ran a tour business out of China, was arrested in the special economic zone of Rason in northeastern North Korea in November after leading a group of businessmen there from Yanji, China. On Saturday, the North said it was indicting him on charges that he tried to overthrow Pyongyang’s government. On Thursday, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said the Supreme Court had sentenced Mr. Bae during a hearing Tuesday. The court convicted him of “hostile acts,” a charge less grave than the original charge that prosecutors pressed. The crime of trying to overthrow the government could have resulted in the death penalty. Under North Korean law, Mr. Bae should be transferred to a labor camp within 10 days of the ruling. The ruling came amid high tensions between Pyongyang and Washington and could complicate Washington’s diplomatic balancing act as it tries to hold a tough line with North Korea over its nuclear program.

North Korea is expected to indict an American

04/27/13:  The New York Times reports an American tour operator is facing indictment in North Korea on charges that he tried to overthrow the government there, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday. The announcement could complicate Washington’s difficult diplomatic balancing act as it tries to hold a tough line with North Korea over its nuclear program while avoiding any confrontations that could lead to an armed conflict. The tour operator, Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American from Washington State, traveled with a group of businessmen in November from Yanji, China, to the North Korean special economic zone of Rason, where he was arrested. The news report on Saturday said that the North had already finished its investigation and that Mr. Bae had admitted his guilt to charges that could draw the death penalty. North Korea, a police state, has often used the plight of detained Americans as a bargaining chip in its dealings with Washington. Some were freed only after former American presidents traveled to the North. Mr. Bae is the sixth American detained by North Korea since 2009, but he is facing the gravest charges. In January, Bill Richardson, a former American ambassador to the United Nations, tried to see Mr. Bae during a private trip to the North, but he said he was rebuffed by the government.

South Korean workers to leave industrial zone in North

04/26/13:  NPR reports South Korea has ordered the withdrawal of its workers from a jointly run industrial zone in North Korea, in a further sign of how relations have gone from bad to worse between the two countries in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Pyongyang blocked access to the Kaesong zone, which is located just inside North Korea and was established in 2002 as a symbol of rapprochement between the rival neighbors. In the past, even as tensions flared, Kaesong — an important source of hard currency for the North and cheap labor for the South — had kept operating. On Friday, however, Seoul's Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae said the approximately 175 South Korean workers still in the zone after the North's blockade would be returning home after Pyongyang this week declined to resume bilateral talks. "Because our nationals remaining in the Kaesong industrial zone are experiencing greater difficulties due to the North's unjust actions, the government has come to the unavoidable decision to bring back all remaining personnel in order to protect their safety," Ryoo said. "North Korea must guarantee the safe return of our personnel and fully protect the assets of the companies with investment in Kaesong," he added without giving a time frame for the withdrawal. About 120 South Korean companies set up shop in the complex, which employed 53,000 North Koreans, according to The Christian Science Monitor.

UN detects possible signs of past North Korean nuke test

04/23/13: The Miami Herald reports a UN agency tasked with looking for signs of nuclear explosions says its monitoring stations have detected radioactive gases that could be linked to North Korea's Feb. 12 test. CTBTO says stations in Japan and Russia have picked up ''significant" traces of noble gases that accompany a nuclear explosion and say they ''could be attributed" to the North's test. A statement from the Vienna-based CTBTO Tuesday said the Japanese station is located around 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from the test site. It says lower levels were picked up by the Russian site at Ussuriysk, without giving its location in relation to the site. It says the two types of xenon radioactive isotopes detected ''provide reliable information on the nuclear nature of the source."

North Korea sets conditions for return to talks

04/18/13:  The New York Times reports North Korea on Thursday demanded the lifting of United Nations sanctions and an end to joint American-South Korean military exercises as preconditions for starting dialogue to defuse tension on the Korean Peninsula. By making demands that both Washington and Seoul had no intention of accepting, North Korea signaled that it would not stand down anytime soon from a weeks-long military standoff. But the fact that North Korea has recently begun responding to U.S. and South Korean offers for dialogue, even though they came with steep preconditions, has raised cautious hopes among South Korean analysts that the North might be ready to wind down weeks of hostile rhetoric that at times appeared to bring the peninsula close to a point of conflict. The statement demanded that Washington withdraw “all nuclear war means” from South Korea. It also said South Korea must stop making negative assertions about North Korea, such as its accusation blaming North Korea for a cyberattack that paralyzed the computer networks of South Korean broadcasters and banks last month. It also taunted President Park Geun-hye of South Korea, saying that she should consider the North’s nuclear weapons “a property common to the nation.” Ms. Park has repeatedly said that nuclear weapons would only bring North Korea “self-destruction.”

Kerry says US prepared to reach out to North Korea

04/15/13: The blog Space War reports Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday he would be prepared to reach out to North Korea urging it back to negotiations, but he vowed the US would protect Japan from Pyongyang’s threats.  Following talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo, where Patriot missiles have been deployed in anticipation of a missile launch by the North, Kerry pledged the US would backstop its ally.  “The United States is fully committed to the defense of Japan,” Kerry said at a joint press conference with Kishida.  “We’re prepared to reach out [to North Korea], but we need the appropriate moment, appropriate circumstances,” Kerry said later.  “There are standards clearly that we want to achieve to enter into negotiations, but there are certain channels that we can reach out to.”

China and US make North Korea nuclear pledge

04/13/13:  The BBC reports China and the US have vowed to work together to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear programme and to settle tensions through dialogue. A Chinese statement issued during a visit by US Secretary of State John Kerry said the nuclear issue was the "shared responsibility of all parties". Mr Kerry said the two sides must decide "very quickly" how to proceed. North Korea has recently threatened nuclear attacks, and is feared to be preparing a missile launch. A flurry of warlike statements from Pyongyang has prompted speculation that a launch could happen on 15 April, when the country marks the 101st birthday of the nation's founder and former leader, Kim Il-sung.

Wary of North Korea, Japan puts missile defense in Tokyo

04/09/13:  The New York Times reports the Japanese Army set up a battery of interceptor missiles on the grounds of the Defense Ministry in central Tokyo on Tuesday, as the nation girded itself for a possible missile test by North Korea, maybe as soon as this week. The Patriot antimissile battery was deployed after the defense minister, Itsunori Onodera, issued standing orders to the Japanese military on Sunday to shoot down any North Korean missile that threatened to hit Japanese territory. Japan has responded to past North Korean tests by similarly issuing such orders and positioning interceptor missiles. The ministry said warships carrying the Aegis radar and interceptor missiles had been deployed as a shield in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The Patriot battery, an American-supplied system that is also deployed at two Japanese military bases near Tokyo, will be the second line of defense, the ministry said. Signs that North Korea may be preparing for a missile test have been met with concern in Japan, which has found itself under the flight path of previous test missiles. In an intensifying war of words with South Korea and the United States, the North has threatened to strike American military bases in Japan. Some of those bases are in the greater Tokyo area, a densely populated urban zone of 33 million people. The United States military also has its own Patriot batteries on bases in Okinawa, the Japanese island that hosts most of the 50,000 American military personnel in the country.

Embassy warning joins drumbeat of North Korea threats

04/06/13:  The New York Times reports the North Korean government on Friday advised Russia and other countries to consider evacuating their embassies in Pyongyang amid rising tension there, Russia’s foreign minister said. British officials said that they had received a similar communication, but that there were no immediate plans to evacuate the British Embassy. Analysts in Russia and South Korea suggested that the North’s advisory was not an indication that Pyongyang was considering military action but was instead part of an unrelenting drumbeat of threats calculated to frighten the United States and its Asian allies, possibly to force concessions including much-needed aid.

Anonymous 'hacks' North Korea social network accounts

04/05/13:  The BBC reports the hacking collective Anonymous has said it has been "hacking" and vandalising social networking profiles linked to North Korea. The group has issued several warnings since the country's threats have intensified. Uriminzokkiri, a news site, has been forced offline - while Twitter and Flickr accounts have been breached. Anonymous also claimed to have accessed 15,000 usernames and passwords from a university database. As part of action which the loosely organised collective has called "Operation Free Korea", the hackers have called for leader Kim Jong-un to step down, a democratic government to be put in place - and for North Koreans to get uncensored internet access. Currently, only a select few in the country have access to the "internet" - which is more akin to a closed company intranet with only a select few websites that are government-run. The country recently allowed foreigners to access mobile internet, but this service has since been shut off. In a message posted online, members of Anonymous wrote: "To the citizens of North Korea we suggest to rise up and bring [this] oppressive government down!

North Korea moves missile to coast, but limited threat seen

04/04/13:  The New York Times reports South Korea’s defense chief said on Thursday that North Korea has moved to its east coast a missile with a “considerable” range, but that it was not capable of reaching the United States. The disclosure came as the Communist North’s military warned that it was ready to strike US military forces with “cutting-edge smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear strike means.” North Korea has been issuing a blistering series of similar threats in recent weeks, citing as targets the US military installations in the Pacific islands of Hawaii and Guam, as well as the United States mainland. In its latest threat on Thursday, it did not name targets but said it was authorized to “take powerful practical military counteractions” against the threats from B-2 bombers from the United States, B-52 bombers from Guam and F-22 Stealth jet fighters from Japan that have recently run missions over the Korean Peninsula during joint military exercises with South Korea.

China continues military buildup near North Korean border as tanks, armor deploy

04/04/13:  The Washington Times reports China continued moving tanks and armored vehicles and flying flights near North Korea this week as part of a military buildup in the northeastern part of the country that US officials say is related to the crisis with North Korea. The Obama administration, meanwhile, sought to play down the Chinese military buildup along the border with Beijing’s fraternal communist ally despite the growing danger of conflict following unprecedented threats by Pyongyang to attack the United States and South Korea with nuclear weapons. According to U.S. officials with access to intelligence reports, both intelligence and Internet reports from the region over the past week revealed the modest military movements in the border region that began in mid-March and are continuing. The buildup appears linked to North Korea’s March 30 announcement that it is in a “state of war” with South Korea after the United Nations imposed a new round of sanctions following the North’s Feb. 12 nuclear test and because of ongoing large-scale joint US-South Korea military exercises. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troop and tank movements were reported in Daqing, located in northeastern Heilongjiang Province, and in the border city of Shenyang, in Liaoning Province.

North Korea threats: US to move missile defences to Guam

04/04/13:  The BBC reports the US is sending a missile shield to the Pacific island of Guam as North Korea threatens nuclear strikes. The Pentagon said the shield would be ready within weeks, adding to warships that were sent to the area earlier. The North had named Guam among a list of possible targets for attack that included Hawaii and the US mainland. North Korea is not thought to have the technology to strike the US mainland with either a nuclear weapon or a ballistic missile, analysts say. But it is capable of targeting US military bases in the region with its mid-range missiles.

North Korea can likely revive reactor in six months, needs years for more bombs

04/04/13:  Reuters reports North Korea can probably restart a mothballed plutonium-producing reactor in six months if it is determined to do so and the site has suffered no major structural damage, but it may take years to produce significant new atom bomb material. Pyongyang announced on Tuesday that it would revive the aged Yongbyon five-megawatt research reactor that yields bomb-grade plutonium, but stressed it was seeking a deterrent capacity. Several nuclear experts familiar with North Korea's program said it would probably take the North Koreans about half a year to get the Yongbyon research reactor up and running, provided it has not suffered significant damage from neglect. The decision to restart the reactor was the latest chapter in an escalating crisis that erupted after Pyongyang was hit with U.N. sanctions for conducting a third nuclear test in February, and the United States and South Korea staged military drills that North Korea viewed as "hostile."

Japan shifts from pacifism as anxiety in region rises

04/02/13:  The New York Times reports the Japanese soldiers in camouflage face paint and full combat gear were dropped by American helicopters onto this treeless, hilly island, and moved quickly to recapture it from an imaginary invader. To secure their victory, they called on a nearby United States warship to pound the “enemy” with gunfire that exploded in deafening thunderclaps. Perhaps the most notable feature of the war games in February, called Iron Fist, was the baldness of their unspoken warning. There is only one country that Japan fears would stage an assault on one of its islands: China. Iron Fist is one of the latest signs that Japan’s anxiety about China’s insistent claims over disputed islands as well as North Korea's escalating nuclear threats are pushing Japanese leaders to shift further away from the nation’s postwar pacifism. The new assertiveness has been particularly apparent under the new prime minister, Sinzo Abe, a conservative who has increased military spending for the first time in 11 years. Until recently, a simulated battle against Chinese forces would have been unthinkably provocative for Japan, which renounced the right to wage war — or even to possess a military — after its march across Asia in World War II resulted in crushing defeat. The purely defensive forces created in 1954 are still constrained from acting in too offensive a manner: last year, a smaller mock assault by Japanese and American forces on an island near Okinawa was canceled because of local opposition. That recalculation — a large step in what analysts see as a creeping over the years toward a more robust Japanese military — could have broad implications for the power balance in the region, angering China and likely giving the United States a more involved partner in its pivot to Asia to offset China’s extended reach.

 

US adds F-22 fighter jets to military exercise in South Korea

04/02/13:  NPR reports the United States has sent two F-22 Raptor fighter jets to take part military drills in South Korea, a move that is meant to show US commitment to the defense of the region from its North Korean neighbor, a Pentagon spokesman told the Associated Press. Also on Monday, South Korean President Park Geun-hye appeared to give her country's military permission to strike back at any attack from the North.  According to the New York Times, Park told the South's generals that she considers the threats from North Korea "very serious." Last week, B-52 and B-2 stealth bombers were sent to South Korea for the annual exercise.

 

North Korea 'crisis gone too far' says UN's Ban Ki-moon

04/02/13:  The BBC reports UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said the North Korea "crisis has gone too far" after Pyongyang announced plans to restart its main Yongbyon nuclear complex. Speaking at a news conference during a visit to Andorra, Mr Ban called for urgent talks with the North. The move by Pyongyang is the latest in a series of measures in the wake of its third nuclear test in February. North Korea has been angered by the resultant UN sanctions and joint US-South Korea annual military drills. "Things must begin to calm down, there is no need for the DPRK [North Korea] to be on a collision course with the international community. Nuclear threats are not a game," Mr Ban said. Weeks of rhetoric and almost daily threats by the North have raised tensions on the Korean Peninsula to their highest levels for years. South Korea's foreign ministry described Pyongyang's announcement as "very regrettable". Seoul and the US had warned of a "swift and strong response" to any military provocation. Russia's foreign ministry, meanwhile, warned against escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula.

 

North Korea says it will restart reactor

04/02/13:  The New York Times reports North Korea said on Tuesday that it would put all its nuclear facilities — including its operational uranium-enrichment program and its reactors mothballed or under construction — to use in expanding its nuclear weapons arsenal, sharply raising the stakes in the escalating standoff with the United States and its allies. The announcement by the North’s General Department of Atomic Energy came two days after the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, said his nuclear weapons were not a bargaining chip and called for expanding his country’s nuclear arsenal in “quality and quantity” during a meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea. The decision will affect the role of the North’s uranium-enrichment plant in its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon, north of the capital, Pyongyang, a spokesman for the nuclear department told the Korean Central News Agency. It was the first time North Korea had said it would use the plant to make nuclear weapons. Since first unveiling it to a visiting American scholar in 2010, North Korea had insisted that it was running the plant to make reactor fuel to generate electricity, though Washington suggested that its purpose was to make bombs.

 

UPDATED: Voice in Kim Jong-un's head tells him to stop what he's doing

04/01/13: The Onion reports that while performing his duties as Supreme Leader of North Korea Monday, Kim Jong-un reportedly heard a small voice in the back of his mind telling him that his actions over the last six months have been very strange and wrong.  Sources confirmed that the tiny voice, which spoke to Kim at various points throughout the day, quietly suggested that the four-star military general and Worker Party’s secretary is a weird person with out-of-whack priorities who acts in a way that makes little sense to anyone.  “You are a very odd man who does things that are bizarre and indicative of a mentally ill person,” the little voice reportedly said following a speech in which Kim issued apocalyptic threats to enemies in the West and predicted the destruction of America.  “The things you say on a daily basis are not only extremely creepy and off-putting, but they are also very wrong. You should probably not be the leader of a country.”

UPDATE: April Fool.

North Korea vows to keep nuclear arms and fix economy

04/01/13: The New York Times reports North Korea’s leader on Sunday announced a “new strategic line” that defied warnings from Washington, saying that his country was determined to rebuild its economy in the face of international sanctions while simultaneously expanding its nuclear weapons arsenal, which the ruling party called “the nation’s life.”  North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un presided over a Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party, the first such meeting since 1993.  The party meeting took place against the backdrop of joint military exercises in South Korea involving American and South Korean forces.  On Sunday, American F-22 stealth fighter jets were flown from a base in Japan to South Korea to join the exercises.  In past weeks, B-52 and B-2 bombers offered a demonstration of American air power as part of the exercises.

White House says North Korea "state of war" threat taken seriously

03/31/13: The Hill reports the White House said Saturday it was taking threats of war from North Korea “seriously,” while acknowledging that Pyongyang has a history of bellicose rhetoric.  “We take these threats seriously and remain in close contact with our South Korean Allies,” said Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council.  “But, we would also note that North Korea has a long history of bellicose rhetoric and threats and today’s announcement follows that familiar pattern.”  North Korea Saturday declared that a “state of war” existed with the South and threatened to “dissolve” the United States in an “all-out war and nuclear war.”  Pyongyang has cut the military hotline with Seoul and earlier this week said the armistice ending the Korean War in 1953 was void.

North Korea enters 'state of war' with South

03/30/13:  The BBC reports North Korea has said it is entering a "state of war" with South Korea in the latest escalation of rhetoric against its neighbour and the US. A statement promised "stern physical actions" against "any provocative act". North Korea has threatened attacks almost daily since it was sanctioned for a third nuclear test in February. However, few think the North would risk full-blown conflict. It has technically been at war with the South since 1953 as no peace treaty has been signed. An armistice at the end of the Korean War was never turned into a full treaty.

Corporate cyberattacks seem meant to destroy, not just disrupt

03/29/13:  The New York Times reports the assault, which took American Express offline for two hours, was the latest in an intensifying campaign of unusually powerful attacks on American financial institutions that began last September and have taken dozens of them offline, costing millions of dollars. JPMorgan Chase was taken offline by a similar attack this month. And last week, a separate, aggressive attack incapacitated 32,000 computers at South Korea’s banks and television networks. The culprits of these attacks, officials and experts say, appear intent on disabling financial transactions and operations. Corporate leaders have long feared online attacks aimed at financial fraud or economic espionage, but now a new threat has taken hold: attackers, possibly with state backing, who seem bent on destruction. “The attacks have changed from espionage to destruction,” said Alan Paller, director of research at the SANS Institute, a cybersecurity training organization. “Nations are actively testing how far they can go before we will respond.” Security experts who studied the attacks said that it was part of the same campaign that took down the Web sites of JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and others over the last six months. A group that calls itself the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Cyber Fighters has claimed responsibility for those attacks. The group says it is retaliating for an anti-Islamic video posted on YouTube last fall. But American intelligence officials and industry investigators say they believe the group is a convenient cover for Iran. Just how tight the connection is is unclear. Government officials and bank executives have failed to produce a smoking gun. North Korea is considered the most likely source of the attacks on South Korea, though investigators are struggling to follow the digital trail, a process that could take months. The North Korean government of Kim Jong-un has openly declared that it is seeking online targets in its neighbor to the south to exact economic damage.

 

 

North Korea 'readies rocket force' after US stealth flights

03/29/13:  The BBC reports North Korea says it has put missile units on stand-by to attack US targets in response to US stealth bomber flights over the Korean peninsula. State news agency KCNA said leader Kim Jong-un signed off on the order at a late-night meeting of top generals. The time had come to "settle accounts" with the US, KCNA quoted him as saying, with the B-2 flights an "ultimatum". Pyongyang has been angered by fresh UN sanctions and annual US-South Korea military drills. Russia said it was concerned by "unilateral action being taken around North Korea" and warned against the situation slipping out of control. China, North Korea's biggest trading partner, has called on all sides to ease tensions. Kim Jong-un "finally signed the plan on technical preparations of strategic rockets of the KPA, ordering them to be stand-by for fire so that they may strike any time", the KCNA report said.

UN treaty to control arms sales hits snag

03/29/13:  The New York Times reports the global effort to regulate the sale of conventional weapons suffered a significant but not fatal setback on Thursday after Iran, Syria and North Korea opposed the draft Arms Trade Treaty, blocking the consensus needed for passage after years of arduous negotiations. Achieving consensus among all 193 member states of the United Nations is considered a monumental task, but it was hoped that it would be possible in this case because so many countries supported the idea of trying to regulate the $70 billion annual industry at the root of much death and destruction. The treaty would require states exporting conventional weapons to develop criteria that would link exports to avoiding human rights abuses, terrorism and organized crime. It would also ban shipments if they were deemed harmful to women and children. After Iran and North Korea voted against the draft treaty, Peter Woolcott, the Australian ambassador who was the president of the treaty conference, suspended the meeting. When it resumed, Syria voted against the treaty as well. In the absence of consensus, it was expected that the treaty would be sent to the General Assembly as early as next week for approval. That is considered a weaker, but no less binding, manner of getting it passed. After General Assembly passage, the treaty would still require ratification by 50 member states before it could take effect.

 

North Korea cuts off the remaining military hot lines with South Korea

03/28/13:  The New York Times reports North Korea cut off the last remaining military hot lines with South Korea on Wednesday, accusing President Park Geun-hye of South Korea of pursuing the same hard-line policy of her predecessor that the North blamed for a prolonged chill in inter-Korean relations. Amid tensions over the North’s third nuclear test last month and ensuing United Nations sanctions, North Korea had already shut down Red Cross hot lines with South Korea and a communication line with the American military command in South Korea. But the North’s decision to cut off military hot lines with South Korea on Wednesday was taken more seriously in Seoul because the two Koreas have used those four telephone lines to control daily cross-border traffic of workers and cargo traveling to the North Korean border town of Kaesong. The two countries run a joint industrial park at Kaesong, the last symbol of inter-Korean cooperation that has survived the political tensions of recent years. Seoul officials said 887 South Korean workers were in Kaesong on Wednesday. The traffic was running normally on Wednesday and Thursday morning, with long lines of trucks crawling through the border crossing, South Korean officials said, indicating that the North Korean military did not go so far as to stop cross-border economic exchanges.

 

N Korea 'combat posture to hit US'

03/26/13: The BBC reports North Korea says it has ordered artillery and rocket units into "combat posture" to prepare to target US bases in Hawaii, Guam and the US mainland. The announcement, carried by KCNA news agency, follows days of strong rhetoric from Pyongyang. It came as South Korea marked the third anniversary of the sinking of the Cheonan warship, which left 46 sailors dead. South Korea said it had detected no signs of unusual activity in the North. Tensions remain high on the Korean peninsula in the wake of North Korea's third nuclear test on 12 February. The test led to new UN sanctions which Pyongyang strongly opposes. Joint US-South Korea annual military drills have further angered the communist nation. In recent weeks its habitually fiery rhetoric has escalated - it has threatened the US with "pre-emptive nuclear attacks", as well as strikes on US military bases in Japan. North Korea is not thought to have the technology to strike the US mainland with either a nuclear weapon or a ballistic missile, but it is capable of targeting US military bases in the region with its mid-range missiles.

 

South Korea and US sign new security pact

03/25/13: Al Jazeera reports South Korea and the United States have signed a new military plan that lays out how the allies will communicate with each other and react to any future North Korean aggression.  The signing on Monday comes amid North Korean threats to attack the allies over their joint military drills and recent punishing UN sanctions aimed at Pyongyang’s latest nuclear test.  Seoul’s joint chiefs of staff said the plan is designed to counter a future limited attack by North Korea, but details weren’t released.  Work on the plan began after a North Korean artillery attack on a South Korean island in 2010 killed four people.  The allies also have a separate plan in the case of a full-blown war on the Korean peninsula.  There are 28,500 American troops stationed in South Korea.

China punished North Korea as US asks for more

03/23/13:  The Miami Herald reports China is trying to punish ally North Korea for its nuclear and missile tests, stepping up inspections of North Korean-bound cargo in a calibrated effort to send a message of Chinese pique without further provoking a testy Pyongyang government. Freight handlers and trading companies at ports and cities near the North Korean border complain of more rigorous inspections and surprise checks that are raising the costs to doing business with an often unpredictable North Korea. Machinery, luxury goods and daily necessities such as rice and cooking oil are among the targeted products, the companies said, and business is suffering. North Korea's economic lifeline, China is showing signs of getting tough with an impoverished neighbor it has long supported with trade, aid and diplomatic protection for fear of setting off a collapse. The moves to crimp, but not cut off trade with North Korea come as Beijing falls under increased scrutiny to enforce new UN sanctions passed after last month's nuclear test, Pyongyang's third. US officials in Beijing for two days of talks to lobby China on enforcement said Friday that they were heartened by Chinese expressions of resolve. Spurring Beijing to cooperate, the US officials said, is a concern that North Korean behavior had begun threatening China's interests in a region vital to its economic and security.

South Korea says it misidentified source of cyberattack

03/22/13:  The New York Times reports the South Korean government said on Friday that it was mistaken when it identified an Internet address in China as the source of synchronized cyberattacks that paralyzed the computer networks of banks and broadcasters. The Korea Communications Commission, a government agency, said the Internet address actually belonged to a computer at NongHyup, one of the three banks affected by the hacking on Wednesday. It was mistaken earlier, it said, because the address, used only for the bank’s internal network, was identical to a public Internet Protocol address in China. South Korean investigators have found “indications that the malicious codes were installed from abroad,” the commission said in a news release on Friday. “There are so many similarities in the ways the attacks were executed and the viruses used that we believe that there was probably a single group behind them.” The coordinated attacks on Wednesday affected 32,000 computers and servers at the country’s two largest broadcasters, one cable channel and three banks. For hours the banks’ A.T.M.'s were shut down and account-holders could not use their debit cards. Many in South Korea suspect that North Korea was behind the shutdowns, partly because it was suspected in earlier attacks against South Korean Web sites. But South Korea has not officially assigned blame. Government investigators said it would take weeks to complete their analysis. Even after a lengthy investigation, they said, it is still sometimes impossible to identity the hackers.

South Korea links cyberattack to China, North Korea

03/21/13:  The Washington Times reports a Chinese Internet address was the source of at least one of the wave of cyberattacks that hit South Korean banks and broadcasters, wiping as many as 32,000 computers and shutting down ATMs and online banking, according to authorities in Seoul Thursday. Mr. Park stressed that tracking down the IP source to China did not explain who was behind the attack, which might simply have been routed through the Chinese address from elsewhere. Wednesday’s cyberattack, the largest against South Korea for at least two years and what looks like the most sophisticated to date, came in the midst of rising tensions on the peninsula and just days after North Korea accused the United States and its South Korean allies of knocking several of Pyongyang’s websites offline last week. North Korean leaders have ratcheted up their bellicose rhetoric recently, and on March 11, Pyongyang abrogated the 1953 armistice that ended fighting in the Korean war — though not the conflict itself as the two sides remain technically in a state of hostilities. Pyongyang has been blamed for previous cyberattacks in 2009 and 2011 that had also targeted South Korean financial institutions and government agencies.

US B-52 bombers simulated raids over North Korea during military exercises

03/19/13:  The Washington Times reports United States B-52 bombers carried out simulated nuclear bombing raids on North Korea as part of ongoing U.S.-South Korean military exercises, Pentagon officials said on Monday. Pentagon press secretary George Little told reporters that B-52 bombers from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, conducted a training mission over South Korea March 8 during war games known as Exercise Foal Eagle. “It’s not any secret that we are in the midst of sending a very strong signal that we have a firm commitment to the alliance with our South Korean allies,” Little said. Deputy defense secretary Ashton Carter said during a visit to South Korea on Monday that the bomber flights are part of the U.S. “extended deterrence”—the use of U.S. nuclear forces to deter North Korea, which conducted its third underground nuclear test Feb. 12.

China: US missile defense plan risks antagonizing North Korea

03/18/13: CNN reports China warned Monday that the United States’ plans to beef up its missile defenses against North Korea are likely to inflame tensions already running high over Pyongyang’s nuclear program.  “Bolstering missile defenses will only intensify antagonism, and it doesn’t help to solve the issue,” Hong Lei, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a news briefing in Beijing.  Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced Friday that the United States will deploy additional ground-based missile interceptors on the West Coast as part of efforts to enhance the nation’s ability to defend itself from attack by North Korea.  The announcement came after North Korea recently threatened a preemptive nuclear attack on South Korea and the United States in response to stepped-up UN sanctions over its latest nuclear test last month.

North Korea says it won't trade nuclear arms for economic aid

03/17/13: The New York Times reports North Korea said Saturday that its nuclear weapons were not a bargaining chip to trade for economic concessions, warning that it would never negotiate with the United States as long as Washington maintained its hostile policy toward Pyongyang.  The statement was the latest in a series in which North Korea has appeared to harden its position on its nuclear weapons program.  Since the United Nations Security Council imposed more sanctions to punish North Korea for its launching of a long-range rocket in December and its third nuclear test last month, the country has said it will no longer attend talks on dismantling its nuclear program.  North Korea previously quit multinational nuclear talks, but until recently had often said ridding the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons was its ultimate goal.

US 'to boost missile defences', to counter North Korea

03/15/13:  The BBC reports the Pentagon is expected to announce plans to boost missile defences on the US West Coast to counter the threat from North Korea. The US plans to add 14 interceptors, which can shoot down missiles in flight, to 30 already in place in California and Alaska, officials say. US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel is set to outline the decision at 15:00 (19:00 GMT) on Friday. Tensions have escalated after North Korea's third nuclear test last month. Only last week, the Pyongyang regime, which is known for its fiery rhetoric, threatened the US with a pre-emptive nuclear strike. However, analysts say that North Korea's missiles do not have the capability to reach the continental United States. In a speech on Tuesday, James Miller, defence undersecretary for policy, noted that the Pentagon had the ability to deploy the additional missile interceptors "if needed". He did not say in that speech that a decision had been reached to do so.

North Korea sees South Korea and US behind cyberstrikes

03/15/13:  The New York Times reports North Korea, a country paranoid about perceived threats from the outside world, said on Friday that it had found new foreign invaders: hackers from the United States and its allies shutting down the North’s Web sites, the country’s main tool of spreading propaganda abroad. Until now, the complaint came from the other direction, with South Korean officials suspecting that North Korea was behind a recent series of hacking attacks on South Korean and American Web sites. After North Korea’s recent threats to retaliate against United Nations sanctions, South Korea warned of possible North Korean efforts to disrupt the Internet in the South, one of the most wired countries in the world. These accusations, although denied by the opposing sides, showed how inter-Korean tensions are increasingly spreading into cyberspace. North Korea’s often strident rhetoric has escalated to a feverish new pitch in recent weeks, complete with a threat to launch a “pre-emptive nuclear attack” at the United States and South Korea after the allies started joint military drills on March 1, followed by new United Nations sanctions for the North’s Feb. 12 nuclear test.

South Korea disputes North’s dismissal of armistice

03/12/13:  The New York Times reports South Korea said on Tuesday that North Korea cannot unilaterally nullify the 1953 Korean War cease-fire, calling the North’s war threats a psychological ploy to strengthen Kim Jong-un’s leadership at home and force Washington and South Korea to make concessions to the isolated country. Following through on a standing threat that it revived last week amid tensions over joint United States-South Korean military drills coupled with United Nations sanctions, North Korea declared the armistice nullified as of Monday and that the guns of the 1950-53 Korean War, silenced for 60 years under an uneasy truce, could roar again any time. North Korea also severed military and Red Cross hot lines and issued a torrent of threats, including a possible “pre-emptive nuclear strike” against the United States and South Korea. In North Korea, the authorities were kicking up a war fever — a tool of populace control they had previously used at times of international tension — by having people evacuate into tunnels with emergency provisions and putting up military camouflages on buses and trucks, the South Korean Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

North Korea nullifies armistice as South Korea, US proceed with joint military exercise

03/11/13: The Washington Times reports North Korea has canceled its 60-year-old armistice with South Korea as war games with South Korea and the US began on Monday.  An estimated 10,000 South Korean soldiers and 3,000 American troops kicked off a joint 11-day drill.  Troops from the South are on high alert as Pyongyang responded to the joint exercise with fresh vows to launch a nuclear attack against the United States.  Twice on Monday, the North ignored calls from the South to its hotline.  This is the highest tensions have hit between the two nations since the North fired artillery shells at a South Korean island nearly three years ago.  The North has purported to nullify the armistice before, however.

As North Korea blusters, South breaks taboo on nuclear talk

03/11/13: The New York Times reports a new sense of vulnerability created by recent aggressive talk from the North is causing some influential South Koreans to break a decades-old taboo by openly calling for Seoul to develop its own nuclear arsenal, a move that would raise the stakes in what is already one of the world’s most militarized regions.  While few in the South think this will happen anytime soon, two recent opinion polls show that two-thirds of South Koreans support the idea posed by a small but growing number of politicians and columnists.  In recent weeks, Pyongyang has approached a crucial threshold with its weapons programs, followed by a barrage of apocalyptic threats to rain “preemptive nuclear strikes” and “final destruction” on Seoul.

China warns against Korea escalation

03/08/13:  The BBC reports China has appealed for calm on the Korean peninsula, hours after North Korea said it had scrapped all peace pacts with the South and threatened pre-emptive nuclear strikes. China, the North's only major ally, said all sides should continue to talk and avoid "further escalation". Pyongyang has reacted angrily to another round of sanctions imposed by the UN over its recent nuclear test. The sanctions restrict luxury goods imports and banking activities. Beijing provides fuel, food and diplomatic cover to Pyongyang. It has repeatedly voted in favour of UN sanctions imposed over the nuclear programme, but enforcement of the measures in China is patchy. Hua Chunying of China's foreign ministry told a news conference on Friday: "China and North Korea have normal country relations. At the same time, we also oppose North Korea's conducting of nuclear tests.

North Korea warns of pre-emptive nuclear attack

03/07/13:  The New York Times reports North Korea on Thursday threatened for the first time to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the United States and South Korea, issuing the warning as the United Nations was preparing tough new sanctions over its nuclear program.  The threat from the North Korean Foreign Ministry came hours before the United Nations Security Council was scheduled to meet on the sanctions, which are  aimed at squeezing the international financing of the already isolated regime in Pyongyang. Calling such sanctions "an act of war," North Korea has sharply escalated its threats against the United States and its allies in the last few days, declaring the 1953  armistice that stopped the Korean War null and void and threatening to turn Washington and Seoul into "a sea in flames" with "lighter and smaller nukes."

UN Security Council to hold closed-door talks on North Korea

03/05/13:  The BBC reports the UN Security Council is to hold closed-door talks on North Korea after reports of a US-Chinese deal on new sanctions over its nuclear test. Unnamed diplomats were quoted as saying the US is expected to circulate a draft resolution to the 15-nation council at its 11:00 (16:00 GMT) meeting. North Korea carried out its third and most powerful nuclear test in February, sparking worldwide condemnation. Earlier on Tuesday, Pyongyang warned it may scrap a 60-year Korean ceasefire. North Korea's military said it would end the truce with South Korea if Seoul continued annual military exercises with the US, which began on Friday. The Korean War ended with an armistice in 1953 - not a peace treaty - meaning the peninsula is still technically at war. Similar threats have been made before by the North, which sees the military exercises and pressure over its nuclear programme as acts of aggression.

North Korea's Kim meets Dennis Rodman

03/01/13:  The BBC reports North Korea has released photographs of its leader Kim Jong-un meeting retired US basketball player Dennis Rodman. Mr Kim, who is known to be a basketball fan, was seen attending a game with Rodman, who is in the country filming a documentary with a US media company. The game involved the three members of the Harlem Globetrotters, who had joined Rodman on the tour, and members of North Korea's "Dream Team". Rodman and the Globetrotters arrived in North Korea earlier this week, accompanied by the Vice television company which said they hoped to engage in some "basketball diplomacy". The game ended in a 110-110 tie. The players later joined Mr Kim and his wife at a banquet which Mr Duffy described as an "epic feast". The meeting makes Rodman the most high-profile American to meet Mr Kim since he took over from his father last year. The US said it had no comment to make on the meeting. The players' visit comes at a time of heightened tensions between the US and North Korea over the test and Pyongyang's launch of a three-stage rocket, a move condemned by the UN as a banned test of missile technology. Both were seen as a breach of UN resolutions and condemned as a threat to stability in the region.