Pointing the world’s largest bomb at North Korea

The U.S. made bunker busting Massive Ordnance Penetrator developed with N. Korean, Iranian targets in mind

September 27th, 2015

John Grisafi and Leo Byrne

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In 1991, during the first Gulf War, the U.S. military recognized a need for weapons that could pierce underground concrete bunkers and hardened facilities.

In three weeks military researchers fashioned a hardened steel bomb made from an artillery casing that could be dropped from a high altitude, pierce earth and concrete, and detonate inside underground bunkers.

The ability to crack open facilities that previously were resistant to conventional ordnance meant bunker designers had to dig deeper, wrapping important facilities in extra layers of concrete and burying them under mountains.

Few countries are better at protecting their facilities under layers of rock and concrete than Iran and North Korea, who began bunker-building programs so deep underground that even more advanced bombs would not damage them.

THE MOP

In 2008 Boeing and the U.S. Air Force (USAF) began work on a non-nuclear bunker-busting weapon that could reach even the most hardened facilities. After six years, several rounds of upgrades and $341 million in developing and purchasing costs, they came up with Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), the world’s largest conventional bomb.

At 15 tons and 20 feet long, the MOP is six times larger than the GBU-28 and GBU-37, which were previously the largest bunker busters in the U.S. inventory.

‘… one Pentagon official told Politico Magazine the MOP “boggles the mind”‘

The GPS guided bomb is dropped from 20,000 feet and approaches hypersonic speeds. It can burrow through 200 feet of earth and 60 feet of concrete before delayed smart fuses sense empty space and detonate.

No footage of the bomb’s tests have been released to the public, but one Pentagon official told PoliticoMagazine the MOP “boggles the mind.”

The weapon is so large that the USAF also had to alter their massive B2 stealth bombers to carry it. The B2 Spirit is the only aircraft that can carry the weapon, according to a report signed by J. Michael Gilmore, the Defense Department’s director of operational test and evaluation and obtained by specialist news site InsideDefense.com

The MOP’s development has been closely tracked by Inside Defense, who also acquired test documents from 2014 showing the MOP was upgraded and ready for use. The U.S. Air Force (USAF), however, commissioned further enhancements, and development continued as negotiations began with Iran to rein in its nuclear program.

Despite ongoing talks, Iran’s Furdow nuclear facility was high on the list of possible targets for the new ordnance. The nuclear fuel enrichment plant is built inside a mountain, and could require multiple hits even from weapons as large as the MOP.

NORTH KOREA DIGS DEEP

Iran was by no means the only target in mind during the MOP’s development, however. North Korea has a long history of concealing its facilities away from prying eyes.

“(The MOP) would enable a larger target set, particularly of hardened targets that are very difficult to destroy with existing ordnance … It gives you more options to be able to take out sites, particularly when countries like Iran and North Korea are hardening their targets to try and make it difficult for the U.S. to hit them,” Kenneth Katzman, a specialist in Middle Eastern affairs at the Congressional Research Service, told Inside the Air Force, in January this year.

Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta made similar remarks to the Wall Street Journal, earlier in the bomb’s development.

“It’s not just aimed at Iran. Frankly, it’s aimed at any enemy that decides to locate in some kind of impenetrable location. The goal here is to be able to get at any enemy, anywhere,” he said in 2012.

The U.S. military has for decades relied heavily upon air assets – including those of the U.S. Air Force as well as the other branches of the U.S. military – to conduct heavy bombardment of enemy territory and units.

Strategic bombers, which belong to the USAF, are used to fly at higher altitudes and conduct bombing runs targeting key military facilities and other strategic assets including infrastructure in enemy territory, especially during the early phases of a conflict.

The MOP being loaded onto a truck. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

During the Korean War, the DPRK was subject to heavy aerial bombardment by the U.S. military.

Much of the country was leveled by bombing and it was difficult for the North Korean and Chinese forces to maintain heavy equipment or operate major bases in the country, unless they were heavily protected or difficult for United Nations forces to locate. Both of these factors could sometimes be achieved due in large part to taking advantage of Korea’s mountainous terrain.

The North Korean military has learned from its own experiences in the Korean War as well as observation of other conflicts since.

First-hand reports by troops and advisors sent to assist an ally, such as in the Vietnam War, will have helped the DPRK understand the effects of aerial bombardment as well methods of mitigating them, particularly use of underground bunkers, tunnels and camouflage.

North Korea has made extensive use of tunnels and bunkers for the military and to hide and protect other sensitive facilities, likely including bunkers and underground complexes to which the leadership could flee during a crisis.

In 2003, the LA Times spoke to defectors who worked on underground facilities before escaping North Korea. Their accounts revealed construction projects so secretive the workers were never allowed to leave, and remained there their whole lives.

“This is how we hide from our enemies. Everything in North Korea is underground,” a defector identified as “K” told the LA Times.

OPTIONS

U.S. military planners looking to deploy the MOP in North Korea would certainly have no shortage of options to choose from. Even a cursory glance of North Korea researcher Curtis Melvin’s 2007 Google Earth “DPRK uncovered” overlay shows large numbers of underground facilities scattered all across the country.

Though estimates vary, analysts and North Korea watchers place the number at greater than 10,000.

One of the DPRK’s “thunderbird runways.” Image credit: Google Earth

“North Korea has many of its key military facilities underground. They may have a highly enriched uranium centrifuge facility underground – though this has not been verified … They also have aircraft facilities that are tucked inside of mountains for protection. Finally, some of their important command and control facilities are buried deep underground,” Bruce Bechtol, associate professor of political science at Angelo State University and president of the International Council on Korean Studies told NK News.

‘These (smaller) bunker busters can be really useful in neutralizing North Korea’s air superiority’

Nonetheless smaller, cheaper bunker busters might be sufficient to deploy against many of the more lightly protected facilities, in addition to artillery emplacements along the DMZ set into mountainsides.

“These (smaller) bunker busters can be really useful in neutralizing North Korea’s air superiority. To prevent their oil tanks being targeted by ROK-U.S. forces, North Korea hid its air fuel tanks under the ground. If we can identify their location, the GBU-28 can be used to penetrate those underground tankers,” Chung, a former ROK army officer who wished to remain anonymous told NK News.

“The ROK military’s No. 1 priority during wartime would be nullifying North Korea’s Long Range-Artilleries (LRA) hidden inside the mountains. Usually, ROK Air Forces are expected to demolish the facilities within 3-4 minutes prior to the first launch … we can (also) use GBU-28 to smash the entrances,” he added.

So far, given their high cost and deployment requirements the U.S. has only ordered 20 MOPs, so it seems likely they would only deploy them against high value, highly shielded targets.

While it is not publicly known if North Korea has any Furdow equivalent facilities, large structures, factories and roads built into mountainsides are in plentiful supply.

“I am unaware of any underground nuclear facilities in the DPRK – some sites have been targeted and inspected in the past with no results. Any such facility could be disguised as a mine or regular military base, of which there are thousands,” Melvin told NK News.

Despite the difficulties, some targets still appear relatively obvious. According to Melvin, the mountain behind the Ministry of People’s Armed Forces in Pyongyang could be a potential target, and a likely command and control center. Satellite imagery of the facility shows numerous entrances into the mountain.

Image credit: Google Earth

North Korea’s infamous “thunderbird runways,” aircraft strips which can be seen protruding through mountains in Wonsan and Onchon, are other possible targets.

“Also, there is an entire underground component under the Korean Worker’s Party complex 1 and 2 in downtown Pyongyang,” Melvin added.

These types of key facilities, along with air defenses and radars, are typically among the first targets for bombardment in the early stages of war, when a military force will seek to destroy an enemy’s command, control and communications network.

According to an article in Stars and Stripes on August 5, the U.S. military has mapped many of North Korea’s underground faculties. One of the reasons for such mapping is surely planning for aerial bombardment in the event of a conflict.

NORTH KOREAN ATTENTION

North Korea for their part, are not oblivious to the threat posed from new U.S. weaponry and the MOP, having released numerous articles on both U.S. and South Korean bunker busters in North Korean media.

The KCNA Watch data tool shows the North Korea’s primary media outlet began to mention the term “bunker buster” more frequently since the early half of 2010.

“The U.S. seeks to bomb the military and strategic targets of the DPRK all of a sudden by use of B-2 loaded with Bunker Buster in ‘contingency’ on the Korean Peninsula in a bid to disable them,” an article from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) published in September 2011 reads, a date coinciding with when the USAF first took delivery of the weapons, prior to rounds of upgrades to make them more accurate and resistant to jamming and interference technologies.

While a Pentagon official told Politico that a credible threat to its nuclear programs will have helped bring Iran to the negotiating table, North Korea are probably just as likely to keep digging deeper.

Additional reporting: JH Ahn

Featured image: Wikimedia Commons

Kim Jong Un’s popularity, explained

Despite purges, third generation of Kim rule maintains approval

September 27th, 2015

Andrei Lankov

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A survey of North Korean refugees attracted some attention several weeks ago. According to the survey, a full 63 percent of recently arrived refugees believed that Kim Jong Un enjoys support amongst a majority of the North Korean public.

Such findings are not all that surprising for people who interact with North Koreans frequently enough. Indeed, while the protruding belly, plump cheeks and rather bizarre haircut present a somewhat comical picture to Western audiences, a significant number of North Koreans feel much hope about the third incarnation of Kimhood, finding the young leader attractive and somewhat charismatic.

It is often stated that one of the reasons behind Kim Jong Un’s popularity is his looks or, rather, his striking similarity to his grandfather, the late Generalissimo Kim Il Sung, who founded the North Korean state back in the 1940s. Indeed, the young Kim looks quite like his grandfather, and the North Korean propaganda apparatus goes out of its way to emphasize this.

Kim Il Sung was in power from 1945 to 1994 – nearly five decades. His rule was remarkably brutal: the emphasis on a hyper-Stalinism at home and often adventurous, aggressive foreign policies brought terrible tidings for his people. Nonetheless, the late dictator was and still remains popular.

To an extent, this reflects his genuine nationalistic credentials. The exploits of Kim Il Sung and his guerrillas in the 1930s were much exaggerated by later official propaganda. However, it is undeniable that the founder of the Kim dynasty once was a brave resistance fighter. The actual contribution he made toward the collapse of the Japanese Empire was pretty close to zero, but his heroic and seemingly doomed struggle in the wilderness of Manchuria made him widely known and respected amongst nationalist Koreans even before the liberation.

It did help Kim Il Sung’s standing in history that the famine that swept North Korea in the 1990s erupted after he died

It helps that Kim Il Sung was remarkably enthusiastic about promoting his own personality cult, which by the late 1960s reached a truly unprecedented level, leaving the notorious heights of Stalin and Mao in the long grass. Pretty much all North Koreans currently alive grew up on a heavy diet of stories about Kim Il Sung’s unparalleled wisdom, heroism and virtue. Expressing any doubt about such things was the quickest way to a rather painful death, so skeptics knew to remain silent.

It did help Kim Il Sung’s standing in history that the famine that swept North Korea in the 1990s erupted after he died. The famine brought suffering and deprivation to the vast majority of North Koreans, and around 500,000 died.

THE ‘LIBERAL’ KIM

The great famine of 1994-98 was to a large extent the inviolable result of the policies that Kim Il Sung had pursued for decades. The famine was brought about by Kim Il Sung’s fanatical belief in a hyper-centralized, state-managed agriculture, as well as an excessive reliance on (unacknowledged) foreign aid, not to mention militarization run amok. However, if the mine was planted (unintentionally, of course) by Kim Il Sung, it went off under the rule of his son. Hence, most North Koreans blame Kim Jong Il, rather than his father, for the economic disasters of the 1990s.

For the average North Korea over the last two decades, the times of Kim Il Sung have often been seen as a lost era of order and stability, in which everyone could be sure that twice a month they would receive food rations sufficient for survival, and essentially free of charge. This was also a time when corruption was kept under control and was largely invisible, material inequality was also almost unnoticeable.

Objectively speaking, it was Kim Il Sung’s policies that made the disaster of the 1990s unavoidable. But this had little impact on public perception, and he continues to be held in high esteem by many. Remarkably, such sentiments toward the late Generalissimo are even expressed by refugees – not usually known for their sympathies for the North Korean system and its embodiment, the Kim family.

Thus, it is that Kim Il Sung remains venerated, and due to the luck of dying in time, has a remarkably good reputation in death. The opposite is very much the case with his unfortunate son, Kim Jong Il, who inherited power in 1994 and reigned for 17 turbulent years, till 2011.

Of the Kim kings, Kim Jong Il was probably the softest and most liberal in many regards. His reign was marked by unnoticed and unappreciated relaxations of social controls. For example, it was Kim Jong Il who significantly decreased the number of political prisoners as a percentage of the population. Under Kim Jong Il’s watch, the political prisoners’ number declined from nearly 200,000 when his father died to a still massive but much smaller 80-90,000.

The (officially) revered Kim Jong Il photo by MichaelTyler 

He also chose to turn a blind eye to cross-border traffic, thus allowing a burgeoning trade with China to grow more rapidly. He did not implement agricultural reforms, which he probably saw as destabilizing, but for much of his rule he looked upon the emerging market economy as a necessary evil that could be tolerated for the time being. He also chose not to punish excessively refugees found in China. Attempted escape to China became a misdemeanor, when it was once a serious crime.

However, for all this liberalization, Kim Jong Il did not become popular with his people. Kim Jong Il was seen as the source of all the mess. Under his watch, the stability and security of Kim Il Sung’s era suddenly disappeared, as people began to starve to death in large numbers. Hence, for the average man and woman from the North Korean street, he was the person who directly or indirectly was responsible for disaster and dislocation.

POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY

No one really knows what Kim Jong Un thinks about his father, with whom he probably spent relatively little time. However, it seems that the current North Korean sovereign finds it politically useful and astute to quietly distance himself from his paternal predecessor, who still remains officially venerated. When Kim Il Sung died, Kim Jong Il maintained a three-year mourning period that only ended in 1997, whereupon he officially took over supreme power in the state. Kim Jong Un, by contrast, only waited a few months before he anointed himself as the ruler of the country. Obviously, this was done to send a signal to his subjects, to make it clear that from now on, everything would be done differently, so perhaps the golden age of Kim Il Sung would return.

In reality, however, Kim Jong Un is quite different from his grandfather when it comes to policy. He is bandwagoning quite effectively on the grandfather Kim, but the first few years of Kim Jong Un’s rule have been marked by an exponential growth in the unofficial economy. The authorities have stopped interfering with many illegal and semi-legal private businesses that now flourish in North Korea. This change of direction, combined with earnings from mineral exports to China and beyond, not to mention the active sale of North Korean labour power overseas, has resulted in a noticeable economic recovery. In actual fact, this recovery began under Kim Jong Il’s stewardship, but for the average person, it is closely associated with his son, and hence is seen as a sign of his leadership talents.

‘People around my age love (Kim Jong Un). Girls kind of like him because he is handsome’

But what of state-sponsored terror, the much rumoured, alleged executions conducted under Kim Jong Un with remarkable frequency? Surprising though it may be, the average North Korean is not that worried about such things: under Kim Jong Un, purges nearly always target the elite, largely the military top brass and high level apparatchiks. The average person in North Korea does not feel all that sorry about the fate of these people, and sometimes even feels some relief when learning about the violent demise of yet another party secretary and four-star general. On the other hand, the chances of getting arrested for a real or alleged political crime has not changed much compared to what it was 5-10 years ago.

Popular attitudes to Kim Jong Un are nicely summed up by a young female refugee who recently said in an interview, “People around my age love him. Girls kind of like him because he is handsome. And seems to trying to do something. Certainly … But it is clear that he is trying to remain in power, so if necessary, he sometimes kills. But, I am not dead, right? So, I don’t care.”

How long with Kim Jong Un’s honeymoon last? Well, we cannot be sure. World history provides us with countless cases of political leaders loved first, before becoming the object of popular contempt and/or derision. Nonetheless, for the time being, one should admit: Right now, the Supreme Leader is popular with his people.

Picture: KCNA

What will it take for a normalization of relations between the U.S. and North Korea? By Chad O'Carroll First it was Myanmar, then Cuba – then finally a breakthrough nuclear deal with Iran. But what about North Korea? Veering towards another satellite launch this September and with strong potential of a follow-up nuclear test – as was the pattern in 2009 and 2013 – it appears almost impossible to imagine how a normalization of relations could occur anytime soon between the U.S. and North Korea. Yet could there be a way? In part one of a major new NK News expert interview series, four American North Korea watchers – alongside a rising young voice – shared their thoughts about what it might take to see a major improvement in relations with North Korea. And while there were some disagreements about exactly how things have got to the point they are now, there was striking accord amongst all participants on the impression that unlike with Cuba, Myanmar and Iran, North Korea is simply not interested in improving relations with its long-time foe. Click here to read the full article at NK News

Korea killer: Is risk of failure stymieing U.S. North Korea policy? By Chad O'Carroll While ignoring North Korea runs the risk of Pyongyang conducting further satellite launches and nuclear tests – events that clearly go against long-term U.S. interests in the region – could it be that those risks are easier to deal with than the embarrassment of a major policy initiative failure? In part two of a major new NK News expert interview series, four prominent American North Korea watchers – alongside a rising new voice – shared their thoughts about the current policy situation regarding Korea. On the one hand, some indicated the past record and risk of failure may have a major impact in restricting new options for policymakers. On the other, one former State Department observer disputed the notion that President Obama wasn’t already making major efforts to deal with the problem. And yet others suggested there was little to be gained from further efforts. Click here for the full article at NK News

Pivot to Asia: What does it mean for North Korea? By Chad O'Carroll Initially emerging in 2009, the Obama administration’s “pivot to Asia” strategy was said to reflect growing consensus that a significant part of history in the 21st century would be “written in the Asia-Pacific region.” But today, almost seven years on, the policy appears to have had little impact on how Pyongyang looks at the outside world. And with inter-Korean tensions nearly bubbling over into conflict on two occasions since 2013, U.S. deterrence over the North has been described in some quarters as being shakier than ever. In part three of a major new NK News expert interview series, established and rising American North Korea watchers look back at how exactly the pivot to Asia is impacting the Korean peninsula. While some suggested Pyongyang may be increasing emboldened by decreasing U.S. military capabilities – with the impact that some nations may be unsure of relying too much on American assurances – others stated the policy didn’t effect the Koreas too much. Click here for the full article at NK News

Analysis: International service unlikely to N. Korea’s new Wonsan Int’l Airport By Chad O'Carroll International service to a recently showcased modern new airport at the east coast city of Wonsan is not yet possible, and major hurdles could prevent the introduction of service there any time soon, an NK News analysis of the airport and domestic airline capabilities has shown. North Korea’s state airline Air Koryo currently only has four aircraft permitted to enter neighboring Chinese and Russian airspace, while the new Wonsan International Airport is said to currently lack refueling capabilities to top up visiting commercial jets. The lack of commercial refueling capabilities means that for the foreseeable future, only domestic flights from nearby domestic airports will be possible, provided they bring enough fuel to make a round-trip without refueling in Wonsan. Click here for the full article at NK News

The many ways of dying in North Korea By Fyodor Tertitskiy Sad news often comes from North Korea and this news often involves someone being executed. Usually it is either a nameless group of people killed for something small – like possessing foreign DVDs – or some high-ranking official. However, apart from that the average person does not know much about the death penalty in North Korea. When can a person be executed? Who passes the sentence? Who administers the punishment? Legal proceedings in North Korea take more than one avenue. One exists for common criminals, another for political offenders. Moreover, the military, as well as the concentration camps, have their own internal courts and regulations. The procedures regulating common criminals are quite standard: The accused stands trial and judges pass a verdict according to the DPRK’s penal code. In the Kim Il Sung era the penal code itself was de facto a restricted document. Even diplomats in foreign embassies who did their best to get their hands on the document failed to do so. Click here for the full article at NK News

North Korea DPRK news

Top Stories Today

Minister's visit to Germany draws ire of Pyongyang (Korea Times)
Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo's visit to Germany to join celebrations on the 25th anniversary of the European nation's unification is drawing criticism from North Korea.

Roh had hotline to Pyongyang and used it often (JoongAng Ilbo)
The late President Roh Moo-hyun had a 24-hour Blue House hotline for direct calls to and from North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, according to Kim Man-bok. 

UN Could Expand Ban on Luxury Goods to North Korea (VoA News)
The United Nations may consider expanding a ban on the flow of luxury goods and strategic materials into North Korea if Pyongyang fires a long-range rocket, a South Korean envoy said Thursday.

U.S. Think Tank Speculates on N.Korean Regime Collapse (Chosun Ilbo)
Around 150,000 U.S. troops would need to go into North Korea if the regime were to suddenly collapse, the RAND Corporation think tank speculates.

North Korea freight train en route to launch pad, report says (UPI)
The train headed for North Korea's rocket launch pad was first spotted on Thursday, an unidentified source told Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun. 

the week in North Korea

Hidden people of North Korea: New economy, old politics

• The Brookings Institution will host this book event in Washington D.C. on September 28.
• Kongdan Oh, nonresident senior fellows at Brookings, will present second edition of her book “The Hidden People of North Korea: Everyday life in the Hermit Kingdom.”
• For more information and to RSVP click here.

U.S.-Republic of Korea Ambassadors Panel

• The Korea Institute at Harvard University, the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Kim Koo foundation are hosting this panel discussion in Boston on October 1.
• Speakers include Amb. Stephen Bosworth, Amb. Kathleen Stephens, and Amb. Sung Kim. Katharine Moon, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution will moderate the discussion.
• RSVPs are requested.
• For more information and to RSVP click here.

2015 ROK-US Summit: Regional Context for Alliance Coordination

• The Korea Culture Center of DC will host this lunch forum in Washington D.C. on October 1.
• Scott Snyder, senior fellow at CFR, will speak about the evolution of the U.S.-ROK alliance and Park Geun-hye’s upcoming visit to Washington D.C.
• Korean lunch will be provided.
• RSVP is required.
• For more information and to RSVP click here.

Striving for Northeast Asian Peace

• CSIS will host this conference in Washington D.C. on October 2.
• Speakers will discuss U.S.-ROK relations in advance of Park Geun-hye’s visit to the White House.
• Speakers include; Evan Medeiros, Kurt Campbell, Amb. Ahn Ho-young, Victor Cha, Shin Beom-chul, Jin Canrong, Choi Kang, and Narushige Michishita.
• RSVP is required.
• For more information and to RSVP click here.

North Korean Sports Official to visit Seoul

• Chang Ung, a North Korean representative International Olympic Committee, will reportedly be traveling in South Korea from October 3 to 8.
• Chang will reportedly attend an inter-Korean Taekwondo event and tour other parts of South Korea.

Kim Jong Un tours new luxury cruise liner

Kim Jong Un tours new luxury river cruiser in Pyongyang North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un toured a recently completed luxury river cruiser in Pyongyang and named it "Mujigae" (rainbow), state media said on Monday. The multi-floor vessel, spotted under construction by NK News in September last year, contains restaurants, bars, a coffee shop, roof deck and even sushi-conveyor belt-style dining area, pictures published in Monday’s Rodong Sinmun showed. With Kim Jong Un ordering the Mujigae to be ready for use by October 10, it appears likely that it will be used for observation activities along the river on the anniversary date. Visit NK News for more External construction on N. Korean power plant complete The main building work on Power station No.1 of the Paekdusan Youth Hero Hydro project is now complete, according to a broadcast from Korean Central Television released yesterday. North Korea watcher Curtis Melvin also noticed DPRK media recently began referring to the plant by a new name. According to the NK News KCNA Watch data tool, articles published in August referred to the project as the “Paektusan Songun Youth Power Station”, but those in September have replaced the word “songun” with “hero”. Visit NK News for more NK News launches new international expert opinion survey series on N. Korea NK News – an independently owned specialist North Korea focused news, information and data outlet – announced the launch of a major new international expert opinion survey series on Monday. Drawing on the opinions of nearly 40 experts working on DPRK affairs, the survey will show the contemporary opinions of groups of leading American, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Russian DPRK specialists, as well as defector voices and the rarely vocal foreign residents of Pyongyang. Visit NK News for more What will it take for a normalization of relations betwen North Korea and the United States? In the first of a new expert opinion survey series, NK News speaks to five American experts about what it will take for a breakthrough in relations between Pyongyang and Washington. Experts include Bruce Klinger, Darcie Draudt, David Straub, Nicholas Eberstadt, and Stephan Haggard. Visit NK News for more

Top Stories Today

S. Korea, China to build joint industrial complex near N. Korea (Korea Times)
South Korea and China plan to build a joint industrial complex near a border area with North Korea, according to South Korean Ambassador to China Kim Jang-soo.

After murders by North Korean intruders, China border villagers flee (Japan Times)
A three-meter-high barbed wire fence and the winding Tumen River are all that separate Nanping in China from North Korea.

N. Korea's Kim Jong Un now tips scales at 130 kg: paper (Mainichi Shimbun)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's reported weight gain is continuing unabated, with the South Korean government estimating he has put on some 30 kilograms.

Japan May Deploy Aegis Ships for North Korean Rocket Launch (ROK Drop)
The Japanese government is mulling deploying Aegis destroyers in the East Sea and the East China Sea to intercept a long-range rocket.

Truck accident on sinking North Korea bridge suspends traffic, says report (UPI)
A 72-year-old railroad bridge connecting North Korea and China was closed after a crash involving multiple trucks occurred on the North Korea side.

north korea this week

The week that was: Five North Korea articles you don't want to miss To ensure you never miss out on the best NK News content, we highlight the top five most-read features and interviews of the week

Korean unification(s) – The past and prospects for family reunions By Dr. Andrei Lankov It has been reported that North and South Korea have agreed to hold another round of reunions for divided families. As part of the recent thaw in intra-Korean relations, the sides agreed to hold the next (20th) meeting of the divided families. The meeting is scheduled for late October, so there is a fairly high chance that another North Korean missile launch, likely to happen in early October, will disrupt the plans. Nonetheless, it is still probably a good time to discuss the origins and current state of the “divided families” issue. This problem emerged as a result of the division of Korea in 1945. With the emergence of two Korean states in 1948, this division has become (semi-) permanent. When the Korean Peninsula was divided there was a great deal of migration between two emerging states, even though authorities on both sides did what they could to control or block such movement. The vast majority of the divided families were divided as a result of the massive migration in the years following the division. Click here to read the full article at NK News

China can’t solve Seoul’s N. Korea problem By Georgy Toloraya The South Korean media was very enthusiastic about the fact that, during the military parade in Beijing on September 3, the Republic of (South) Korea’s president was sitting in the first row with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Meanwhile, North Korea’s “second in command,” Choe Ryong-hae, secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, sat at the end of the row, and “was hardly visible, as if to testify to the current status of the Seoul-Beijing and Pyongyang-Beijing relations.” The ROK might proudly hope that China has “changed sides” in the Korean conflict, but that may be far from true; the picture is much more complicated. In this article we deal with another big country and former ally of North Korea – Russia – in the hopes that the experience of its relations with the two Koreas can help draw some lessons. This is topical while ROK is courting China – even to the dismay of the U.S. and Japan – hoping that, among other things, this strategy would lead to China assisting in, or at least not opposing, Korean unification. Click here for the full article at NK News

Promises, pitfalls on the North Korea-China border By Peter Ward Sino-Korean relations are very important to us, to the North Koreans, even to the Chinese. As any reader of NK News will no doubt be aware, North Korea is a highly unusual place in this part of the world, a place without much external trade, and its only truly important trading partner is China. The border between the two countries is an important focal point for the two states. Seen from the North Korean side, the Chinese Northeast (often known as Manchuria) is a beacon of accessible and perilous prosperity. The area that immediately borders North Korea is also wealthy, and its eastern area has many Chinese Koreans who migrated there starting in the late 19th century. Thus, the borderlands specifically, but the Chinese Northeast in general (with its good transport infrastructure) presents opportunities for North Korean state companies and agencies to trade commodities wholesale and set up restaurants staffed with the most beautiful members of the country’s lower elite. As a student in the area, it was easy to find North Korean restaurants in Shenyang, Yanji and Hunchun, usually overstaffed with beautiful North Korean waitresses who often sang, sometimes with customers, and made sure that you always had enough drink. Click here for the full article at NK News

In North Korea, sometimes the dead come back By Leo Byrne I know there are many funeral halls in South Korea. But there were none in my hometown in North Korea. I don’t know if such funeral halls existed in other regions of North Korea, but I know we usually held funerals at the homes of the dead. Without any funeral halls in business, people had to have their funerals at home. Now, before I go on, let me point out that I’m not and never have been a mortician. So, I don’t know every detail about the exact process of funerals in North Korea. But I do know that the funeral process takes three days, and the very first thing they do is clog the ears and noses of the dead person with wads of cotton. I have heard that the reason why they do this to prevent water from leaking out. And they fill the dead person’s mouth with raw rice – this is supposed to be the dead person’s food when they get to the afterlife. After that, they dress the dead body up with clean clothes. They make sure that these are made of cotton, because they think cotton is most suitable when the dead body begins to decompose. Click here for the full article at NK News

Digital TV recorder showcased at North Korean trade show By Leo Byrne A digital TV recorder which also groups North Korean television broadcasts into different categories was showcased at the ongoing Pyongyang trade fair, according to a Korean Central Television (KCTV) broadcast published yesterday. The report shows the device attached to a TV with a wire, although curiously the recorder’s box indicates it also has a connection for an “ADSL modem.” The device also has an antenna of some kind, though it is not clear if it is broadcast, or receive a signal. “Using this device users can watch the programs that were already broadcast before and can be free from worrying about the time of broadcast,” the stall owner says in the KCTV report. “This device allows a live TV stream as well as option to load the previous programs as well, users can choose whatever program he or she wants to watch.” Click here for the full article at NK News