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☆ A North Korean defector was made a minister in South Korea, likely irking Kim Jong Un, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Joshua Nelken-Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tae made a high-profile defection to South Korea in 2016, and was previously an ambassador at the North Korean Embassy in London. The appointment makes him the first North Korean defector to be given a vice-ministerial job in South Korea, according to AP. Related stories"He's definitely considered a traitor of the current North Korean regime and I think that's how they'll paint it," she said. But "North Korea doesn't consider the Council to be particularly relevant," Pardo, the KF-VUB Korea Chair, told BI. Smith added: "He has been and will continue to be actively involved in campaigns that expose the North Korean government and the problems of the North Korean population."

Persons: —, Yoon Suk, Yongho, Tae, Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Sarah A ., Kim Jong, He's, Pardo, Hazel Smith, Smith, It's Organizations: Service, Korea, Advisory Council, North Korean Embassy, Business, North, KF, VUB, Brussels School, Governance, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, National Assembly, CNN, Korean Studies, University of Sheffield, South Korea's National Assembly, Korea doesn't, SOAS University of London, South Korean, Korean Locations: North Korean, South Korea, London, VUB Korea, Vrije, North, Korea, North Korea

☆ Kim Jong Un and Putin have upgraded their bromance, saying Russia and North Korea have reached a 'new high of alliance'
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewRussian President Vladimir Putin made his first visit to North Korea in 24 years on Wednesday, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un saying the two nations have upgraded their partnership to "a new high of alliance." AdvertisementState-run Russian news agency TASS reported that North Korea returned the favor by gifting Putin several pieces of art depicting his likeness. "North Korea is supporting Russia right now," he added, "but I think more significant is that now, at least in theory, Russia will have to support North Korea." AdvertisementRussia and North Korea have developed closer ties since the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. CNN noted that while Putin did not explicitly describe the new agreement as an alliance, he acknowledged that ties between North Korea and Russia have reached a "new level."

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Kim, gifting Putin, Putin, Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Antony Blinken, Biden Organizations: Service, North, Yonhap News Agency, Business, Korean, TASS, KF, VUB, Brussels School, Governance, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, UN, Ukraine, NBC News, CNN Locations: North Korea, Korea, VUB Korea, Vrije, Russia, Moscow, Pyongyang, Ukraine

☆ Plummeting fertility rates are making Asian countries worry about running out of soldiers
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewEast Asia has some of the world's lowest fertility rates, forcing countries in the region to think hard about how to maintain their military strength. This is particularly concerning given the rise in tensions between North and South Korea, and between China and the US. China, Japan, and South Korea have fertility rates below the global replacement rate — resulting in declining populations. South Korea's fertility rate was 0.72 in 2023, the lowest in the world, compared to the global average of 2.2, according to The Lancet. Hughes said that, like South Korea, Japan has been left thinking about how automation and AI can mitigate the worst effects of a shortage of an army-age population.

Persons: —, Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Pardo, Chris Hughes, Hughes, They've, it's, China's Organizations: Service, Business, KF, VUB, Brussels School, Governance, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, South Korean, North, - Defense Forces, University, Warwick, Self - Defense Forces, Japan Times, Liberation Army, Nikkei Asia Locations: Asia, North, South Korea, China, Japan, Korea's, VUB Korea, Vrije, North Korea, Korea, Israel, Pardo, Ukraine, Russia

☆ Russia's use of North Korean missiles in Ukraine could be a 'cash cow' for Kim Jong Un, expert says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewRussia's use of North Korean ballistic missiles in Ukraine could boost missile sales for Kim Jong Un's government, a military analyst told The Wall Street Journal. Last week, South Korea's ambassador to the UN accused North Korea of using Ukraine as a "test site" for its nuclear-capable missiles. "This is the cash cow," Dalton said, adding that now "North Korea will be able to command a premium for these systems in ways it wasn't before." Fragments of what may be North Korean missiles used by Russia in an attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine, on January 6, 2024. "If Ukraine, for example, proves more successful in shooting down North Korean missiles compared to Russian ones, then we can assume that North Korean technology is not as advanced," he said.

Persons: —, Kim Jong, Joonkook Hwang, John Kirby, Toby Dalton, Dalton, Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Pardo, Bruce Bechtol, Bechtol, Yoo Sang, Andriy Kostin Organizations: Service, Wall Street, Business, UN, National Security, Nuclear, Carnegie Endowment, Getty, King's College London, Federation of American Scientists, Angelo State University in, country's Intelligence Service, CNN, Suspilne, Meduza Locations: Korean, Ukraine, South, Korea, Russia, North Korea, Kharkiv, Iran, Angelo State University in Texas, South Korea, Japan

☆ Russia's use of North Korean missiles in Ukraine will help the US figure out how effective they really are
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia fired North Korean missiles at Ukraine on December 30, January 2 and 4, per South Korea. AdvertisementRussia's use of North Korean missiles in Ukraine will help us figure out how effective they actually are on the battlefield, military analysts said. North Korea has been testing a wide range of ballistic and cruise missiles since 2017, launching 68 missiles in 2022, according to the North Korea Missile Test Tracker maintained by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. "If Ukraine, for example, proves more successful in shooting down North Korean missiles compared to Russian ones, then we can assume that North Korean technology is not as advanced," he said. Ukraine has already started analyzing what it believes to be debris from a North Korean missile.

Persons: —, Joonkook Hwang, John Kirby, Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Pardo, James Martin, David Albright, Fabian Hinz, Andriy Kostin Organizations: North Korean, Service, Korean, UN, National Security, Center for Strategic, International Studies, North Korea Missile, James, James Martin Center, Nonproliferation Studies, for Science, International Security, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Newsweek, Suspilne, Meduza Locations: Russia, Ukraine, South Korea, Korea, North Korea, Japan, Washington, Korean, Ukrainian, Kharkiv

[1/8] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shake hands after a joint statement, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 15, 2023. South Korea is a U.S. ally and the world's ninth biggest arms exporter, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) think tank. In a press conference, Yoon said South Korea plans to provide "a larger scale of military supplies" to Ukraine this year, following last year's provision of non-lethal supplies such as body armour and helmets. Yoon said South Korea also plans to provide Ukraine with $150 million in humanitarian aid this year, following about $100 million in 2022. Yoon said on Saturday South Korea has delivered safety equipment and humanitarian aid that Ukraine needs, since May, including mine detectors.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Yoon Suk, Yoon Suk Yeol, Yoon, Zelenskiy, Yoon's, Ramon Pacheco Pardo, Pacheco Pardo, Joyce Lee, Olena, Josh Smith, Hyonhee, William Mallard, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: South, REUTERS, NATO, Russia's, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Ukraine, Brussels School, Saturday, Seoul's, Seoul's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, U.S, Seoul, SEOUL, KYIV, Lithuania, Poland, South Korea, Stockholm, North Korea, Korea, South

☆ North Korea's weapons programme defies COVID outbreak, reaches 'uncharted territory'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The country acknowledged its first COVID-19 outbreak in May, prolonging already stringent border closures and other anti-pandemic measures, blocking international engagement and causing economic woes, but doing little to slow its weapons tests. "The possibility of denuclearising North Korea has all but disappeared." Pyongyang rolled out a series of increasingly capable short-range missiles as well, in what it says is a strategy to deploy tactical nuclear weapons. North Korea also made preparations to reopen its shuttered nuclear test site, raising the prospect of a new nuclear bomb test for the first time since 2017. "North Korea could at least pretended that it was open to dialogue, but this hasn't been the case," said Ramon Pacheco Pardo, a Korea expert at King's College London.

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