Kim Jong Un holds all the cards on the Korean Peninsula
Gabriela Bernal is a Korean affairs analyst based in Seoul and a non-resident fellow at the European Centre for North Korean Studies.
The election of Lee Jae-myung as South Korea's president represents a decisive return to progressive leadership in Seoul, yet expectations of a renewed era of inter-Korean detente are premature. Despite his liberal credentials, Lee's presidency faces overwhelming obstacles to meaningfully improving relations with North Korea in the near term.
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The Mainichi
15 hours ago
- The Mainichi
South Korea halts propaganda broadcasts along border with rival North in a move to ease tensions
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- South Korea's military shut down loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korea propaganda along the inter-Korean border on Wednesday, marking the new liberal government's first concrete step toward easing tensions between the war-divided rivals. The South resumed the daily loudspeaker broadcasts in June last year following a yearslong pause in retaliation for North Korea flying trash-laden balloons toward the South in a psychological warfare campaign. South Korea's Defense Ministry said the move, ordered by President Lee Jae-myung, was part of efforts "to restore trust in inter-Korean relations and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula." Kang Yu-jung, Lee's spokesperson, described the decision as a "proactive step" to reduce military tensions and ease the burden for South Koreans residing in border areas, who have also been affected by North Korea's retaliatory loudspeaker broadcasts. North Korea, which is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of its authoritarian leadership and its third-generation ruler, Kim Jong Un, didn't immediately comment on the step by Seoul. South Korea reactivated its front-line loudspeakers to blast propaganda messages and K-pop songs toward the North last year in response to thousands of trash balloons that Pyongyang flew toward South Korea to drop substances including wastepaper, cloth scraps, cigarette butts and even manure. From May to November last year, North Korea flew about 7,000 balloons toward South Korea in 32 separate occasions, according to the South's military. The North said that its balloon campaign came after South Korean activists sent over balloons filled with anti-North Korean leaflets, as well as USB sticks filled with popular South Korean songs and dramas. Trash carried by at least one North Korean balloon fell on the South Korean presidential compound in July, raising concerns about the vulnerability of key South Korean facilities. Officials said that the balloon contained no dangerous material and no one was hurt. The South's broadcast playlist was clearly designed to strike a nerve in Pyongyang, where Kim's government has been intensifying a campaign to eliminate the influence of South Korean pop culture and language among the population in a bid to strengthen his family's dynastic rule. The Cold War-style psychological warfare campaigns added to tensions fueled by North Korea's growing nuclear ambitions and South Korean efforts to expand joint military exercises with the United States and strengthen three-way security cooperation with Japan. Efforts to improve relations Lee, an outspoken liberal who took office last week after winning an early election to replace ousted conservative Yoon Suk Yeol, has vowed to improve relations with Pyongyang, which reacted furiously to Yoon's hard-line policies and shunned dialogue. During his election campaign, Lee promised to halt the loudspeaker broadcasts, arguing that they created unnecessary tensions and discomfort for South Korean residents in border towns. In recent months, those residents had complained about North Korea's retaliatory broadcasts, which included howling animals, pounding gongs and other irritating sounds. On Thursday morning, South Korea's military said North Korean broadcasts weren't heard in South Korean frontline areas, but it wasn't clear if the North has formally halted its own broadcasts. In a briefing on Monday, South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, also called for South Korean civilian activists to stop flying anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets across the border. Such activities "could heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula and threaten the lives and safety of residents in border areas," said Koo Byoungsam, the ministry's spokesperson. In his inaugural address last week, Lee vowed to reopen communication channels with North Korea. But prospects for an early resumption of dialogue between the rival Koreas remain dim. North Korea has consistently rejected offers from South Korea and the United States since 2019, when nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang collapsed over sanctions-related disagreements. The North's nuclear threats remain North Korea's priority in foreign policy is now firmly with Russia, which has received thousands of North Korean troops and large amounts of military equipment in recent months for its war with Ukraine. South Korean and U.S. officials have expressed concern that Kim in return could seek Russian technology transfers that could enhance the threat posed by his nuclear weapons and missile program. Yoon, who was removed from office in April over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December, had focused on strengthening military partnerships with Washington and Tokyo and on securing stronger U.S. assurances of a swift and decisive nuclear response to defend the South against a North Korean nuclear attack. In a fierce reaction to Yoon's policies, Kim declared in January 2024 that he was abandoning the long-standing goals of a peaceful unification with the South and instructed the rewriting of the North's constitution to cement the South as a permanent "principal enemy." Following years of heightened testing activity, Kim has acquired a broad range of missiles that could potentially target rivals in Asia and the U.S. mainland. He has also called for increased production of nuclear materials to create more bombs. Rafael Mariano Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Monday that the U.N. nuclear watchdog is monitoring signs that North Korea may be building a new uranium-enrichment plant at its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon.
Tokyo Weekender
15 hours ago
- Tokyo Weekender
Evangelion Voice Actress Megumi Hayashibara Deletes ‘Invasive Species' Comment on Blog
Prominent Japanese voice actress Megumi Hayashibara sparked an online debate earlier this week foll owing her blog post on Sunday. The 58-year-old Tokyo native, who's most well known for her role as Rei Ayanami in Neon Genesis Evangelion , shared her concerns about Japan's cultural identity and political apathy. The blog , titled 'Indifference, Ignorance, and Not Knowing,' quickly went viral. The comments that drew the most attention regarded international students receiving subsidies and foreign tourists behaving badly. Referring to the latter, she used a metaphor of a Japanese crayfish being overwhelmed by an 'invasive species.' She later deleted the remark. List of Contents: Megumi Hayashibara's Blog The Online Reaction Related Posts Megumi Hayashibara Urges Japanese People To Vote 'Some international students receive subsidies for free, whereas Japanese students need to take out a student loan (which must be paid back, leading to debt),' wrote Hayashibara. 'The truth is being twisted. Don't leave it up to others. You must vote. We're at a point where just saying 'whatever' or 'it won't change' doesn't cut it anymore. If things continue as they are, Japanese unique qualities, such as our manners, our attitude, our technology and possibly even anime as a form of freedom of expression, will be lost. 'In the midst of all this, there are some people staying at vacation rentals with no manners, foreign tourists who don't know what it means to yield, and even those who go so far as to remove bamboo from trees in Kyoto,' continued Hayashibara. 'If we don't have regulations that are properly enforced, it could become dangerous. It will be like how Japanese crayfish were instantly devoured by invasive species. For instance , the Japanese rule of lining up to buy things could end up disappearing.' Hayashibara went on to say that she wasn't trying to criticize any specific country. She just feels that tax money should first go to people who pay taxes here, including foreign residents, as well as to disaster-hit areas and to students who are supporting the country. The original blog post also included a section discussing South Korean politics. That was later edited out after a Korean friend contacted her to say that her comments could inadvertently fuel political divisions. The Online Reaction While there have been several comments online criticizing Hayashibara's blog, including one X user who described it as 'hate speech,' many agree with her views. 'The behavior of many international tourists is really bad, she's not wrong to call out the problem,' posted one person on X. Another pointed out that Japanese crayfish was 'a metaphor for how traditional Japanese culture is being overwhelmed by outside influences. This is supported by the following line about the decline of the unspoken rule of lining up.' On Wednesday, Hayashibara deleted the line about the crayfish. 'Part of the way I expressed myself was deemed too extreme, so I removed it,' she wrote. 'I used it to illustrate the kind of person mentioned above, but it has hurt people who are not involved. I will learn. Thank you for letting me know.' Related Posts Suzie Yeung on Voice Acting in Anime and Video Games Voice Actors From Japan Insist on Tighter AI Regulation Voice Actor Hideyuki Umezu Dies Aged 68
Japan Today
a day ago
- Japan Today
South Korea halts propaganda broadcasts along border with rival North in a move to ease tensions
FILE - A South Korean military vehicle with loudspeakers is seen in front of the barbed-wire fence in Paju, near the border with North Korea, on Feb. 15, 2018.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File) By KIM TONG-HYUNG South Korea's military shut down loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korea propaganda along the inter-Korean border on Wednesday, marking the new liberal government's first concrete step toward easing tensions between the war-divided rivals. The South resumed the daily loudspeaker broadcasts in June last year following a yearslong pause in retaliation for North Korea flying trash-laden balloons toward the South in a psychological warfare campaign. South Korea's Defense Ministry said the move, ordered by President Lee Jae-myung, was part of efforts 'to restore trust in inter-Korean relations and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.' Kang Yu-jung, Lee's spokesperson, described the decision as a 'proactive step' to reduce military tensions and ease the burden for South Koreans residing in border areas, who have also been affected by North Korea's retaliatory loudspeaker broadcasts. North Korea, which is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of its authoritarian leadership and its third-generation ruler, Kim Jong Un, didn't immediately comment on the step by Seoul. South Korea reactivated its front-line loudspeakers to blast propaganda messages and K-pop songs toward the North last year in response to thousands of trash balloons that Pyongyang flew toward South Korea to drop substances including wastepaper, cloth scraps, cigarette butts and even manure. From May to November last year, North Korea flew about 7,000 balloons toward South Korea in 32 separate occasions, according to the South's military. The North said that its balloon campaign came after South Korean activists sent over balloons filled with anti-North Korean leaflets, as well as USB sticks filled with popular South Korean songs and dramas. Trash carried by at least one North Korean balloon fell on the South Korean presidential compound in July, raising concerns about the vulnerability of key South Korean facilities. Officials said that the balloon contained no dangerous material and no one was hurt. The South's broadcast playlist was clearly designed to strike a nerve in Pyongyang, where Kim's government has been intensifying a campaign to eliminate the influence of South Korean pop culture and language among the population in a bid to strengthen his family's dynastic rule. The Cold War-style psychological warfare campaigns added to tensions fueled by North Korea's growing nuclear ambitions and South Korean efforts to expand joint military exercises with the United States and strengthen three-way security cooperation with Japan. Lee, an outspoken liberal who took office last week after winning an early election to replace ousted conservative Yoon Suk Yeol, has vowed to improve relations with Pyongyang, which reacted furiously to Yoon's hard-line policies and shunned dialogue. During his election campaign, Lee promised to halt the loudspeaker broadcasts, arguing that they created unnecessary tensions and discomfort for South Korean residents in border towns. In recent months, those residents had complained about North Korea's retaliatory broadcasts, which included howling animals, pounding gongs and other irritating sounds. In a briefing on Monday, South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, also called for South Korean civilian activists to stop flying anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets across the border. Such activities 'could heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula and threaten the lives and safety of residents in border areas,' said Koo Byoungsam, the ministry's spokesperson. In his inaugural address last week, Lee vowed to reopen communication channels with North Korea. But prospects for an early resumption of dialogue between the rival Koreas remain dim. North Korea has consistently rejected offers from South Korea and the United States since 2019, when nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang collapsed over sanctions-related disagreements. North Korea's priority in foreign policy is now firmly with Russia, which has received thousands of North Korean troops and large amounts of military equipment in recent months for its war with Ukraine. South Korean and U.S. officials have expressed concern that Kim in return could seek Russian technology transfers that could enhance the threat posed by his nuclear weapons and missile program. Yoon, who was removed from office in April over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December, had focused on strengthening military partnerships with Washington and Tokyo and on securing stronger U.S. assurances of a swift and decisive nuclear response to defend the South against a North Korean nuclear attack. In a fierce reaction to Yoon's policies, Kim declared in January 2024 that he was abandoning the long-standing goals of a peaceful unification with the South and instructed the rewriting of the North's constitution to cement the South as a permanent 'principal enemy.' Following years of heightened testing activity, Kim has acquired a broad range of missiles that could potentially target rivals in Asia and the U.S. mainland. He has also called for increased production of nuclear materials to create more bombs. Rafael Mariano Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Monday that the U.N. nuclear watchdog is monitoring signs that North Korea may be building a new uranium-enrichment plant at its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
