<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/north-korea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">North Korea</a> launched what it claimed was a spy satellite into orbit on Tuesday, an operation that drew a rebuke from the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/white-house" target="_blank" rel="noopener">White House</a> and alarm from U.S. allies in the region.
State-run media reported a Chollima-1 rocket launched from North Korea&#8217;s west coast and it &#8220;accurately&#8221; placed the Malligyong-1 reconnaissance satellite into orbit, per South Korea&#8217;s <a href="https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20231122000600315" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yonhap News Agency</a>.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un himself reportedly observed the launch, which followed two failed attempts earlier this year. Pyongyang cast the latest operation as being part of its &#8220;legitimate&#8221; right to strengthen &#8220;self defense&#8221; and vowed more satellites would follow in &#8220;a short period of time.&#8221;
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/white-house" target="_blank" rel="noopener">White House</a> issued a statement saying the United States &#8220;strongly condemns&#8221; North Korea&#8217;s use of ballistic missile technology in &#8220;brazen violation&#8221; of multiple United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions.
National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson added that the launch &#8220;raises tensions&#8221; and &#8220;risks destabilizing the security situation in the region and beyond.&#8221;
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South Korea&#8217;s military said it detected the launch from the Tongchang-ri area in the evening local time and that the rocket flew over waters west of the border island of Baengyeong, <a href="https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20231121010052315?section=nk/nk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">which according to Yonhap</a>, came hours before a 10-day launch window North Korea gave to Japan as a safety warning.
South Korean officials believe North Korea was able to make progress with the help of Russia after the technical issues mired the prior two launches this year, as reported by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/21/world/asia/north-korea-russia-rocket-launch-spy-satellite.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
North Korea has fired what it claims is a military spy satellite, the South&#39;s armed forces said on Tuesday, hours after Japan confirmed that Pyongyang had warned it of an imminent launch ➡️ <a href="https://t.co/D5pSChSekv">https://t.co/D5pSChSekv</a> <a href="https://t.co/5ztZVX3NYA">pic.twitter.com/5ztZVX3NYA</a>
&mdash; AFP News Agency (@AFP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1726998518467101054?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Japan as well as South Korea had <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-20/japan-warns-north-korea-after-getting-notice-of-satellite-launch?cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=business&amp;utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&amp;utm_source=twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pressed</a> North Korea to halt the launch. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned North Korea against the use of ballistic missile technology in violation of U.N. resolutions and said it would pose a &#8220;serious threat that affects the safety of our people.&#8221;
Indeed, following the launch on Tuesday, the Japanese government issued a J-Alert missile warning urging residents in Okinawa to take shelter for a short time, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-spy-satellite-japan-5e16266707e0e4034eca022fde44ffa7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted the Associated Press</a>.
Bloomberg News <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-20/japan-warns-north-korea-after-getting-notice-of-satellite-launch?cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=business&amp;utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&amp;utm_source=twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that officials in South Korea&#8217;s capital of Seoul believe North Korea&#8217;s satellite would be relatively primitive, but the report said it could help foster &#8220;target lists&#8221; as North Korean continues development of missiles meant to carry nuclear warheads.  Meanwhile, South Korea is <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-11-06/south-korea-plans-to-launch-its-1st-military-spy-satellite-on-nov-30" target="_blank" rel="noopener">planning to launch</a> its first home-built satellite to assist with surveillance efforts at the end of November using one of SpaceX&#8217;s Falcon 9 rockets, with more to follow.
President Joe Biden and his national security team are &#8220;assessing the situation in close coordination with our allies and partners,&#8221; Watson said in her statement on Tuesday.
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The U.S. urges &#8220;all countries to condemn this launch and call on [North Korea] to come to the table for serious negotiations,&#8221; she continued. The door has not closed on diplomacy but Pyongyang must immediately cease its provocative actions and instead choose engagement. The United States will take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the American homeland and the defense of our Republic of Korea and Japanese allies.&#8221;

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The president of South Korea is warning officials in the United States of the possibility of a “Hamas-style&#8221; attack from North Korea. 
In a meeting on Sunday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol told United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin that both the U.S. and South Korea face the possibility of a brutal attack from North Korea similar to what Israel experienced on October 7 at the hands of Hamas terrorists, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/yoon-warns-south-korea-united-states-must-be-ready-hamas-style-surprise-attack-north-korea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. 
The South Korean president called for &#8220;a vigilant South Korea-US combined defense posture capable of promptly and decisively retaliating against any provocations from North Korea, including surprise attacks resembling Hamas-style tactics due to its miscalculation,&#8221; according to Yoon&#8217;s spokesman, Lee Do-woon. 
Yoon issued the warning during a dinner with Austin and U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Q. Brown, Jr.
To help thwart a potential attack, South Korean officials are discussing suspending a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement made by North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and former liberal South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-us-austin-north-korea-nuclear-96d8d4623db45040f3449266695f8410" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a>. The agreement in question created no-fly and buffer zones along various land and sea borders. Suspending it would allow the South to increase surveillance capabilities on the North. Secretary Austin reportedly said he would work with South Korean National Defense Minister Shin Won-sik on the possibility of suspending the agreement. 
During Austin’s visit to Seoul for annual security talks, Yoon also expressed his belief that North Korea has been involved “directly and indirectly” in the conflict in Israel and the war between Russia and Ukraine, according to the AP. 
Previously, South Korean officials <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/13/south-korea-us-austin-north-korea-nuclear/b1662616-8202-11ee-924c-6e6807155e36_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have said</a> that Hamas may have used North Korean-made munitions – including rocket-propelled grenades – during its massacre of Israelis last month. According to the AP, Kim is potentially considering selling weapons to other terror groups in the Middle East.
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Earlier this month, South Korean officials said that the North had sent Russia rifles, rocket launchers, short-range ballistic missiles, and anti-tank missiles for its war against Ukraine. The news came on the heels of a visit Kim Kong-un made to Russia in September, where the two <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kim-jong-un-putin-discuss-military-cooperation-space-tech-and-ukraine-war-at-russian-summit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">discussed</a> topics including Ukraine, space technology, and the potential for military cooperation. 
On Sunday, Austin told Yoon of President Joe Biden’s hopes to continue strengthening the alliance between the U.S. and South Korea, and on Monday, the two countries updated a security agreement to better respond to nuclear and missile threats from North Korea, according to the AP. Also agreed upon during the security talks was a plan between South Korea, the U.S., and Japan to improve real-time information-sharing on missile threats. 
&#8220;Around the world, as you see our troops deployed and working together, it is impressive,&#8221; Austin <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/yoon-warns-south-korea-united-states-must-be-ready-hamas-style-surprise-attack-north-korea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> ceremony during his visit. &#8220;The United States military is the most powerful military in the world, and we absolutely take pride in our relationship with our Korean counterparts.&#8221;

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Korean Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik

South Korea Warns U.S. Of Possible ‘Hamas-Style’ Attack From North Korea

South Korea Warns U.S. Of Possible ‘Hamas-Style' Attack From North Korea

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Over the years, the United States has produced many remarkable generals and admirals, but only a few have stood out as world-class strategists and leaders of troops. As Veterans Day approaches on November 11, let’s remember and celebrate them. Here is my list of America’s finest 11 commanders.
<h2>Matthew B. Ridgway, 1895-1993 (WWII and Korea)</h2>
Few generals have done more to completely reverse a catastrophic strategic situation — proverbially pulling victory from the jaws of defeat — in so little time, as did the infectiously driven Ridgway during the Korean War. West Point Class of 1917, this was a man who parachuted with the 82nd Airborne into Europe during World War II at age 49. His standard accoutrements of a grenade hanging on one breast pocket and a first aid kit on the other projected the image of a bona fide field general, which he was, endearing him to the men.
<div id="attachment_646321" style="width: 471px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-646321" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-646321" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-515488010-461x576.jpg" alt="(Original Caption) Portrait of General Matthew B. Ridgway, Chief of Staff, United States Army." width="461" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-515488010-461x576.jpg 461w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-515488010-240x300.jpg 240w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-515488010-768x959.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-515488010.jpg 820w" sizes="(max-width: 461px) 100vw, 461px" />(Original Caption) Portrait of General Matthew B. Ridgway, Chief of Staff, United States Army. Getty Images.</div>
Such a tough, no-nonsense commander was needed in Korea in the winter of 1950-51, when Ridgway’s superior, Douglas MacArthur, found himself in headlong retreat following the massive Chinese counterattack which negated his stunning victory at Inchon in the fall and subsequent advance through North Korea to the Yalu River on China’s border. The heady days of MacArthur’s optimistically named “Home By Christmas” offensive were long gone. By January 1951, the South Korean capital Seoul was back in communist hands, and the seemingly invincible Chinese People’s Liberation Army looked ready to push the withdrawing UN forces off the peninsula entirely.
The U.S. was fortunate to have Ridgway, who had never served in Asia before he got the call to fly to Korea and take over the Eighth Army after a jeep accident killed its previous commander, Gen. Walton Walker. In fact, as he took stock of the seemingly desperate situation on the peninsula, he soon realized he’d seen this scenario before, and Ridgway was well-suited to halt Mao’s winter offensive.
<div id="attachment_646323" style="width: 727px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-646323" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-646323" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-640478517-717x576.jpg" alt="(Original Caption) : (Douglas MacArthur at the front lines above Suwon, Korea, accompained by Courtney J. Whitney, Matthew B. Ridgway, William B. Kean, and others.) Photoprint by USASC 28 Jan. 1951(no. SC 356736) lot 8755 (Photo by Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)" width="717" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-640478517-717x576.jpg 717w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-640478517-300x241.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-640478517-768x617.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-640478517.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 717px) 100vw, 717px" />(Original Caption) : (Douglas MacArthur at the front lines above Suwon, Korea, accompanied by Courtney J. Whitney, Matthew B. Ridgway, William B. Kean, and others.) Photoprint by USASC 28 Jan. 1951(no. SC 356736) lot 8755 (Photo by Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)</div>
During the Second World War, Ridgway had been instrumental in blunting the German winter attack of 1944-45 through the Ardennes, popularly called The Battle Of The Bulge. He restored order and discipline to his panicked troops, a circumstance eerily similar to the UN “bug-out” before him. While some saw the Red Chinese as supermen, Ridgway had no such fearful delusions. In fact, he understood that by the time the communists had retaken Seoul, they were over-extended and suffering from exposure to the elements as well as malnourishment due to severely taxed logistics. This was not unlike the position Von Rundstedt’s Panzer groups found themselves in by January 1945. While some generals and civilian authorities alike were declaring Korea lost and planning for evacuation, Ridgway saw an opportunity to destroy Mao’s exhausted, starving, frost-bitten legions.
Stern, ramrod straight, in excellent physical health, one gets the feeling that were we to look up “U.S. General” in the dictionary, Ridgway’s resolute face would glare back at us. And his determination to win prompted him to get the word out that the plague of defeatism was over. The U.S. would go on the offensive and end this “bug out” nonsense. In fact, he forbade even the use of that defeatist term. Ridgway officially took command of the Eighth Army on December 26, 1950, and by January 15 the U.S. and Republic of Korea (R.O.K.) divisions were holding firm. There would be no evacuation of the peninsula.
<div id="attachment_646333" style="width: 467px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-646333" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-646333" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-613478342-457x576.jpg" alt="" width="457" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-613478342-457x576.jpg 457w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-613478342-238x300.jpg 238w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-613478342-768x967.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-613478342.jpg 813w" sizes="(max-width: 457px) 100vw, 457px" />(Original Caption) Commander Of The 8th Army Goes To The Front, Korean Battle Continues. Lieutenant General Matthew B. Ridgeway, commanding General 8th Army talks with James H. Lee, Dallas, Texas, during the former&#8217;s inspection of the front line positions in Korea. The General is on the right. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)</div>
In preparation for his counteroffensive, Ridgway led by example; his first order of business was to move the Eighth Army Headquarters from 115 miles south right up to the front lines. Then he constantly roamed and overflew the lines, getting a feel for the men’s needs and concerns. Having stabilized the front (a Ridgway hallmark) he then instilled in his men a sense of a righteous mission to save the world from communist enslavers.
Beyond ideological verve, Ridgway made sure that his troops had the full support of their commanders who would provide them with good winter clothes, plenty of food and ammo, reliable weaponry, and a sense that, as badly worn as they were, the Chinese were much worse off. Indeed, with severe winter laying waste to the poorly equipped, drained enemy, he viewed the bitter cold as an ally. A point he made sure was driven home to the men as well.
With this renewed confidence, Ridgway’s command opened up its February 1951 counteroffensive; he set about using his overwhelming advantage in artillery and air power to systematically destroy the malnourished and exhausted Chinese. As a clue to his mindset as a no-nonsense warrior, Ridgway dubbed his offensive operations pugnacious names like “Killer,” “Ripper,” and “Rugged.”  This was typical Ridgway bravado, designed to inculcate in his men a ruthlessness that gushed down from their commanding general to the lowliest private.
<div id="attachment_646337" style="width: 633px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-646337" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-646337" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-104715082-1-623x576.jpg" alt="Lieutenant General Matthew B. Ridgway (1895-1993), CG of the United States Eighth Army, standing in front of his USAF B-17 plane 'Hi Penny' during the Korean War, Korea, 30 January 1951. (Photo by FPG/Getty Images)" width="623" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-104715082-1-623x576.jpg 623w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-104715082-1-300x277.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-104715082-1-768x710.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-104715082-1.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 623px) 100vw, 623px" />Lieutenant General Matthew B. Ridgway (1895-1993), CG of the United States Eighth Army, standing in front of his USAF B-17 plane &#8216;Hi Penny&#8217; during the Korean War, Korea, 30 January 1951. (Photo by FPG/Getty Images)</div>
Soon the U.S. and R.O.K. columns were advancing northwards again, retaking Seoul in March 1951. So successful was Ridgway’s 100-day turn-around of UN fortunes, that President Truman felt he had political clout to fire the outspokenly recalcitrant MacArthur and put Ridgway in overall theater command. It is no exaggeration to say that Ridgway saved the war, and with it Truman’s presidency and the United States’ credibility.
As with certain iconoclastic figures, Ridgway could rub his peers in the military and those in the political arena the wrong way with his strong views on how wars and policy should be conducted. Yet, unlike MacArthur – whom he publicly praised while privately vowing not to repeat his mistake racing to the Yalu – he understood and respected his subordinate role. He was a firm believer in military subservience to civilian control. Married three times, the maverick general who lived to 98, managed throughout his career to speak his mind, unconcerned for his career path. In particular, he clashed with Eisenhower over mission creep in Southeast Asia and U.S. hegemony. In turn, Eisenhower despised Ridgway so much that in his memoirs he never even mentions him, falsely showering credit for retaking Seoul onto Ridgway’s Eighth Army command successor Gen. Van Fleet.
<div id="attachment_646335" style="width: 735px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-646335" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-646335" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-515363988-725x576.jpg" alt="(Original Caption) General Matthew B. Ridgway (right) is greeted by President Truman as he arrives, May 19, at the White House with General Omar Bradley (left), Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Ridgway is enroute to Europe where he will replace Gen. Dwight Eisenhower as NATO commander. While in Washington, Ridgway will be called before the Senate Armed Services Committee, May 21, to be questioned on the Koje Island prison capture of an American General." width="725" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-515363988-725x576.jpg 725w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-515363988-300x238.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-515363988-768x611.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/11/GettyImages-515363988.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 725px) 100vw, 725px" />(Original Caption) General Matthew B. Ridgway (right) is greeted by President Truman as he arrives, May 19, at the White House with General Omar Bradley (left), Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Ridgway is enroute to Europe where he will replace Gen. Dwight Eisenhower as NATO commander. While in Washington, Ridgway will be called before the Senate Armed Services Committee, May 21, to be questioned on the Koje Island prison capture of an American General.</div>
Ridgway’s vision for a modern military went beyond strategy. He was a champion of integration of all armed forces, while opposing women in combat. Seen by the Left as too merciless and the Right as too isolationist, nevertheless, it was Matthew Ridgway, along with Truman and MacArthur, who was most responsible for saving South Korea, and with it, the millions of citizens who were spared the hellish existence of living under their northern antagonists — enemies whom this underappreciated American general knew how to fight so well.
* * * 
America&#8217;s Top 11 Generals
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americas-top-11-generals-11-curtis-e-lemay">Related: #11 Curtis E. LeMay</a>
* * *
Brad Schaeffer is a commodities trader, columnist, and author of two acclaimed novels. His newest book, the fact-based <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Life-Pits-Rough-Tumble-Exchange/dp/B0CKPNCMQW/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=1331509151681009&amp;hvadid=83219665089301&amp;hvbmt=bp&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvlocphy=97755&amp;hvnetw=o&amp;hvqmt=p&amp;hvtargid=kwd-83219680392082%3Aloc-190&amp;hydadcr=18892_13467888&amp;keywords=brad+schaeffer&amp;qid=1698162015&amp;sr=8-1">LIFE IN THE PITS: My Time as a Trader on the Rough-and-Tumble Exchange Floors</a> will be published in December and is currently available for pre-order. You can also find more of Brad&#8217;s articles on <a href="https://bradschaeffer.substack.com/">Substack</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Portrait of General Matthew B. Ridgway

America’s Top 11 Generals: #10 Matthew Ridgway

America's Top 11 Generals: #10 Matthew Ridgway

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<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/north-korea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">North Korea</a> accused the U.S. of an “an undisguised military provocation” on Friday as an American aircraft carrier battle group arrived in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/south-korea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">South Korea</a>.
The USS Ronald Reagan sailed to the southeastern port of Busan on Thursday after participating in naval exercises with Japan and South Korea in international waters, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-nuclear-weapons-us-aircraft-carrier-be56e91daba9eeeaf2edefdccf3c9133" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Associated Press.
South Korean officials said the Reagan was there as a means of deterrence while North Koreans claimed it was going to be part of a U.S. attack on North Korea.
“The [North Korean] doctrine on the use of nuclear weapons already opened to public allows the execution of necessary action procedures in case a nuclear attack is launched against it or it is judged that the use of nuclear weapons against it is imminent,” the government&#8217;s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Friday.
The KCNA added that North Korea’s “most powerful and rapid first strike will be given to the ‘extended deterrence’ means, used by the U.S. to hallucinate its followers, and the bases of evil in the Korean peninsula and its vicinity.”
North Korea also <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/north-korea-denies-its-weapons-used-by-hamas-against-israel-2023-10-13/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> reports that its weapons had been used by Hamas terrorists during their brutal attack against Israel that began last Saturday. The communist country claimed that the reports were an attempt at U.S. propaganda.
&#8220;It is nothing but a bid to shift the blame for the Middle East crisis caused by wrong hegemonic policy onto a third country and thus evade the international criticism focused on the empire of evil,&#8221; KCNA said.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby has said that he has not been able to confirm the reports of North Korean weapons being used in the terror attacks.
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Relations between the the U.S. and North Korea have been sour in recent months, especially after North Korea’s Kim Jong Un <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kim-jong-un-putin-discuss-military-cooperation-space-tech-and-ukraine-war-at-russian-summit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">met with</a> Russian President Vladimir Putin last month to discuss the war in Ukraine, space technology, and the potential for military cooperation between the two countries.
According to the White House, North Korea <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/north-korea-sent-over-1000-containers-of-ammo-to-russia-white-house-5509709?ea_src=frontpage&amp;ea_med=top-news-world-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has been</a> supplying Russia with arms and ammunition, sending 1,000 weapons shipments to a Russian munitions depot.
“We now have information that North Korea has delivered arms to Russia for use in Ukraine,” Kirby said this week. “Our information indicates that in recent weeks North Korea has provided Russia with more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions.”

North And South Korean Leaders Meet For Third Summit In Pyongyang

North Korea Accuses U.S. Of ‘Undisguised Military Provocation’ After Aircraft Carrier Arrives In South Korea

North Korea Accuses U.S. Of 'Undisguised Military Provocation' After Aircraft Carrier Arrives In South Korea

US Navy

North Korean state media warned <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-military">U.S. Military</a> officials on Monday that &#8220;thermonuclear war&#8221; could break out after denouncing the U.S. and South Korea joint military drills test-firing strategic cruise missiles on the Korean Peninsula.
U.S. and South Korean militaries began their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield computer-simulated command post exercise, which Navy officials <a href="https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/Press-Releases/display-pressreleases/Article/3491680/the-republic-of-korea-and-united-states-announce-exercise-ulchi-freedom-shield/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> is designed to ensure the Alliance is ready to defend the Republic of Korea and promote security and stability in Northeast Asia. But North Korea has long viewed the drills as a potential war simulation.
&#8220;A thermo-nuclear war, the first ever in history, is more than likely on the Korean peninsula,&#8221; KCNA news agency <a href="http://www.vok.rep.kp/index.php/detail_com/comde/ien230822001/18/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
The warning comes days after leaders of the U.S., South Korea, and Japan met at Camp David in Maryland last week to form their first stand-alone trilateral agreements dubbed the &#8220;Camp David Principles,&#8221; as threats from China and North Korea increase in the Pacific.
&#8220;The purpose of our trilateral security cooperation is and will remain to promote and enhance peace and stability throughout the region,&#8221; U.S. President Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida <a href="https://apnews.com/article/camp-david-summit-biden-south-korea-japan-0bc36bb3705a3dc1b69dc8cd47b35dd3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> said in a joint statement.
The allied nations consented to ramp up ballistic missile defenses to counter North Korea&#8217;s nuclear missile threat.
North Korean state media reported authorities said the summit between allied nations aimed at formulating a &#8220;nuclear war provocation.&#8221;
&#8220;If the agreements fabricated at the Camp David Resort are additionally put into practice in the war drill &#8230; the possibility of outbreak of a thermonuclear war on the Korean peninsula will become more realistic,&#8221; KCNA news agency said.
According to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/north-korea-kim-jong-un-cruise-missile-us-south-korea-drills-rcna100903" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBC</a>, North Korea has conducted over 100 weapons tests, including nuclear-capable missiles designed to attack the U.S., South Korea, and Japan since the beginning of last year.
The state-run commentary also said the armed forces of North Korea &#8220;will wait for a chance&#8221; to &#8220;punish the hostile forces threatening the sovereignty of our state and our people&#8217;s right to live century after century is waiting for the moment of flush.&#8221;
According to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/north-korea-says-camp-david-agreements-raise-possibility-thermonuclear-war-2023-08-21/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters</a>, the Japanese Coast Guard said North Korean officials plan to launch a satellite between Aug. 24 and Aug. 31 in the direction of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea.
South Korean lawmakers reportedly said the North could protest the joint military drills and last week&#8217;s summit with the United States and Japan by showing force of military strength by test-firing an intercontinental ballistic missile.

SKOREA-NKOREA-POLITICS

North Korea Warns US, South Korean Military Drills Could Trigger ‘Thermonuclear War’

Biden Administration

Nuclear Weapons

U.S. Military

The propaganda arm of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/north-korea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">North Korean</a> dictatorship released its first public comment about its detainment of American soldier Travis King, claiming he entered the communist country because he faced mistreatment in the U.S. Army. 
King, 23, sprinted across the heavily guarded demilitarized zone (DMZ) line last month while on a civilian tour and was taken into custody by North Korea. When he crossed into the communist country, King had reportedly been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/american-soldier-in-north-korean-custody-was-facing-disciplinary-action-over-assault" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disciplined</a> for assault in South Korea and was facing further disciplinary action in the U.S.
North Korean state media said Wednesday that King fled into the country because he “harbored ill feelings against inhuman mistreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army” and “was disillusioned at the unequal American society,” POLITICO <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/15/north-korea-u-s-soldier-disillusioned-00111394" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. 
A Pentagon official <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/north-korea-makes-first-public-comments-about-detained-u-s-soldier-travis-king-48ace148" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Wall Street Journal that it cannot verify King made these comments. The North Korean media arm reporting on King’s alleged dissatisfaction with America releases statements tailored to the communist regime&#8217;s wishes, which usually involves painting the U.S. as an evil empire.  
“We can’t verify these alleged comments,” the Pentagon official said. “We remain focused on his safe return. The department’s priority is to bring Pvt. King home, and we are working through all available channels to achieve that outcome.”
Former CIA analyst Soo Kim told POLITICO that the regime’s statement “is 100% North Korean propaganda in its element. King, as an American citizen held in North Korea, has no sway in how the DPRK chooses to cast its narrative.”
“As for King’s release, his fate rests in North Korea’s hands. Perhaps the regime will try to ‘bargain’ King’s life in exchange for financial concessions from the U.S. More than likely, negotiations won’t be easy, and terms will be dictated by Pyongyang,” she added.
King was the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/19/1188656665/travis-king-north-korea-soldier-history" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first</a> American soldier to voluntarily cross into North Korea since 1982. American civilian Otto Warmbier was detained and imprisoned by the communist country in 2016 on phony charges of subversion before he was released 17 months later in a coma; he died shortly after coming home to the U.S.
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Prior to crossing into North Korea, King was involved in at least two separate episodes where Korean police were brought in to intervene, including incidents in September and October 2022. 
In September, King had a case settled after he was accused of punching a man in the face at a South Korean club. The following month, he was accused of acting aggressively toward police officers responding to a call about a fight, court documents obtained by Reuters show. 
He spent almost two months in detention for the assault charge, according to The Associated Press. The news agency reported that he had been released on July 10. Officials have said that King was going to be sent back to America before he crossed into North Korea. 
Leif Le Mahieu contributed to this report.

Travis King

North Korea Claims American Soldier Entered Country After Becoming ‘Disillusioned’ By ‘Unequal American Society’

North Korea Claims American Soldier Entered Country After Becoming 'Disillusioned' By 'Unequal American Society'

U.S. Army

The family of the American soldier who “willfully” <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/18/asia/us-national-north-korea/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crossed</a> into North Korea earlier this month is speaking out, revealing what their “worst fear” is and encouraging the U.S. government to do more to bring him home. 
Travis King, a 23-year-old U.S. Army private, was with a tour group at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea when he ran across the border into the North. On Wednesday, some of King’s family members <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/travis-king-north-korea-family-suffering-emotionally-rcna96518" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke with NBC News</a> about the situation and the efforts to get him back. 
&#8220;When he went to the Army to fight for America, America should fight for him, fight for him to come home,&#8221; Myron Gates, King’s uncle, told NBC. The comments from Gates came after a U.S. State Department spokesman <a href="https://www.state.gov/briefings/department-press-briefing-july-26-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told reporters</a> in a press briefing that he had “no updates or news to share” on the situation. 
“At the end of the day, I just feel like it should be no men left behind,” King’s sister, Jaqueda Gates, added. 
Since his detention, King’s family has reportedly been in contact with the parents of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/american-in-north-korean-custody-after-crossing-dmz-during-tour" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrested</a> and imprisoned in North Korea after he was accused by the government of stealing a propaganda poster. In June 2017, Warmbier was returned to the United States in a coma, where he died within six days. 
King’s uncle told NBC that his “worst fear” was that his nephew would return to the U.S. in a “vegetative state” like Warmbier. “I hope he comes back the same way he went in,&#8221; he said, adding that Warmbier’s parents had been helpful to the King family by giving them advice. 
&#8220;The days are getting longer, nights are worse,&#8221; Jaqueda Gates said about the time her brother has been gone. &#8220;All I think about is what he can be doing.&#8221;
She also told NBC that she had spoken with King just 48 hours before he crossed the border, calling the event “crazy.” She said King isn’t “the type to get into trouble like that,” and said it all sounds “made up.” 
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Prior to his dash across the DMZ, King was facing disciplinary action over a confrontation with South Korean police. He was supposed to fly back to Fort Bliss and was at the airport — but not in custody — in Incheon, South Korea. He didn’t board his plane but instead left the airport, Newsweek <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/travis-king-family-speak-north-korea-defection-1815695" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. 
On Monday, American officials confirmed that there had been no communication with North Korea since last week. Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesman, said that an initial message from the United Nations command had been acknowledged by North Korea, but that has been the extent of communications, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/travis-king-north-korea-american-runaway-united-nations-rcna95885" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.

South Korean Unification Minister Visits North Korean Border Village

Family Of American Soldier In North Korean Custody Reveal Their ‘Worst Fear,’ Call For U.S. To ‘Fight For Him’

Military

The U.S. soldier currently detained in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/north-korea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">North Korea</a> after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/american-in-north-korean-custody-after-crossing-dmz-during-tour" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crossing into the communist nation</a> at the DMZ line was facing disciplinary action for alleged assault, according to military officials. 
The soldier, identified as 23-year-old Travis King, willingly crossed the border into North Korea, according to Pentagon officials. King had reportedly been disciplined for assault in South Korea and was facing further disciplinary action in the U.S. 
King was involved in at least two separate episodes where Korean police were brought in to intervene, including incidents in September and October 2022. 
In September, King had a case settled after he was accused of punching a man in the face at a South Korean club. The following month, he was accused of acting aggressively toward police officers responding to a call about a fight, court <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-soldier-got-fights-damaged-police-car-before-dash-north-korea-court-docs-2023-07-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">documents obtained</a> by Reuters show. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Travis King got into fights, damaged police car before running to North Korea <a href="https://t.co/OCV7IBO7q6">https://t.co/OCV7IBO7q6</a> <a href="https://t.co/2IhOfx8qx4">pic.twitter.com/2IhOfx8qx4</a>
&mdash; New York Post (@nypost) <a href="https://twitter.com/nypost/status/1681640742425448451?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 19, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Korean court said that King then shouted expletives aimed at police and Koreans and damaged the police car when he was taken in for questioning. In the aftermath, King reportedly paid to repair the vehicle and was fined $4,000 by the Seoul Western District Court in February after he pleaded guilty to assault and destruction of public goods. 
He spent almost two months in detention for the assault charge, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-us-soldier-travis-king-tourist-witness-92f96befe0b2b8d2e7d016d645d21180" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to The Associated Press. The news agency reported that he had been released on July 10. Officials have said that King was going to be sent back to America before he crossed into North Korea. 
“We believe he is currently in [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] custody and are working with our [Korean People’s Army] counterparts to resolve this incident,” U.S. Forces Korea spokesperson Col. Isaac Taylor <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/18/asia/us-national-north-korea/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, adding that the entry into North Korea was done “willfully and without authorization.”
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One witness <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/07/19/travis-king-got-into-fights-damaged-police-car-before-defection/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that King ran across the border yelling “ha-ha-ha,” according to The New York Post. 
“I assumed initially he had a mate filming him in some kind of really stupid prank or stunt, like a TikTok, the most stupid thing you could do,” a New Zealand tourist named Leslie <a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-us-soldier-travis-king-tourist-witness-92f96befe0b2b8d2e7d016d645d21180" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the AP. “But then I heard one of the soldiers shout, ‘Get that guy.’”
The detention comes just days after the U.S. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-us-north-korea-nuclear-0c6a71344452d5b12420c13fd66a5a1f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sent</a> the USS Kentucky to South Korea, the first time a nuclear-armed submarine had been sent to the area in more than 30 years.

American Soldier In North Korean Custody Was Facing Disciplinary Action Over Assault

General

A U.S. national is believed to have been taken into <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/north-korea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">North Korean</a> custody after crossing into the communist nation at the DMZ line during a tour, according to the United Nations. 
The person was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-us-citizen-crossed-border-e4aaa883901052e65f5c400c8279438b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> on a tour of the Joint Security Area in the demilitarized zone when he crossed into North Korea and was taken into custody. 
“A U.S. National on a JSA orientation tour crossed, without authorization, the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our KPA counterparts to resolve this incident,” the U.N. said in a tweet. 
A local South Korean outlet <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us-national-crosses-military-demarcation-line-into-north-korea-yonhap-2023-07-18/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has</a> identified the American national as an Army soldier named Travis King, though other outlets have not yet confirmed the identity of the American. According to NBC News, JSA tours <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/north-korea-holds-us-national-straying-border-united-nations-rcna94815" target="_blank" rel="noopener">are conducted</a> by both the U.N. and private companies, due to the historical significance of the area. 
The incident marks the first time in several years that an American has been taken into custody in North Korea. Most travel <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/02/541242238/state-department-bans-travel-to-north-korea-on-u-s-passports-starting-sept-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was</a> banned in 2017 due to &#8220;the serious risk to United States nationals of arrest and long-term detention.&#8221;
The move came on the heels of 22-year-old college student Otto Warmbier dying after he was detained in North Korea after being accused of trying to steal a propaganda poster. Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor before later being released by North Korea and returned to the U.S. in a coma. He died days after his return to America. 
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The detention comes after the U.S. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-us-north-korea-nuclear-0c6a71344452d5b12420c13fd66a5a1f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sent</a> a nuclear-armed submarine, the USS Kentucky, to South Korea, the first time that kind of sub had been sent to the area in over 30 years. 
South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-Sup said the sub “shows the allies’ overwhelming capability and posture against North Korea.”
North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile last week in a test as it continues to develop its nuclear capabilities. The tests have been condemned by the Biden administration. 
&#8220;With respect to its intercontinental ballistic missile capability, this is a capability they began testing several years ago. They have continued to test it. We watch all of those tests very closely to see how it is developing and we could coordinate extremely closely with our allies — with Japan and Korea —  to make sure that we are responding in lockstep to this threat,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jake-sullivan-north-korea-nuclear-weapons-china-chips-face-the-nation/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&amp;linkId=225351471" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Sunday.

SKOREA-NKOREA-US-MILITARY

American In North Korean Custody After Crossing DMZ During Tour

China’s top diplomat urged South Korea and Japan to form a race-based alliance with Beijing to “revitalize East Asia.”
Wang Yi, the head of the Chinese Communist Party’s Foreign Affairs Commission and former foreign minister, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/04/china/wang-yi-china-japan-south-korea-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Japanese and South Korean guests at the 2023 International Forum for Trilateral Cooperation that Americans can’t tell the three countries apart.
“Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans are all viewed as &#8216;Asians&#8217; by Americans. They cannot tell the differences between us, and it’s the same in Europe,” Wang <a href="https://twitter.com/statecraftdaily/status/1676502046164516864" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “No matter how you dye your hair blonde, or if you lift your nose tip, you can never become a Westerner.”
“We need to remember where we came from,” Wang continued, calling for China, Japan, and South Korea to “prosper together, revitalize East Asia, revitalize Asia and benefit the world.” 
Wang then appeared to take a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-japan-korea-race-controversy-b1fb99824d31b3f88a0893cacf6f54f0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">swipe</a> at the United States, stating that “some major countries outside the region deliberately exaggerate ideological differences, weave various exclusive small circles, and try to replace cooperation with confrontation and unity with division.”
The racialized comments might have been brushed aside in Seoul and Tokyo, given their troubled relationship with Beijing and close military partnership with Washington. 
Both countries’ partnerships with the U.S. center on countering China’s rising influence and the security threat posed by North Korea. Japan, South Korea, and the U.S. have conducted several trilateral military operations, and the U.S. <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-270" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stations</a> more than 80,000 military personnel between the two countries.
“Both have made it clear they feel safer with the US around, and have no interest in abandoning their alliances to instead rely on Beijing’s goodwill,” said Joel Atkinson, a professor of international politics at Hankuk University in Seoul.
Japan and South Korea moved to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/15/asia/south-korea-yoon-japan-visit-regional-security-int-hnk/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mend</a> their troubled relationship with each other earlier this year after North Korea <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/26/world/north-korea-launches-ballistic-missile/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fired</a> two long-range ballistic missiles into the sea between the two American allies. The two countries have also released joint statements emphasizing their major security interests in the Taiwan Strait, drawing ire from China.
Experts criticized Wang’s statement, noting the major differences China has between the two countries and the fact that Japanese and South Koreans regularly become American citizens.
“The irony of &#8230; Wang Yi telling Japanese and Koreans ‘you can never become an American,’ is that Japanese and Koreans become Americans every day,” <a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-japan-korea-race-controversy-b1fb99824d31b3f88a0893cacf6f54f0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> Jeff M. Smith, director of the Asian Studies Center at The Heritage Foundation, “They’re part of the fabric of America. What they can’t become is Chinese. Tone deaf.”
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Bonnie Glaser, Asia Director of the George Marshall Fund of the United States, <a href="https://twitter.com/BonnieGlaser/status/1676265570986074130" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>, “This message will not land well with Japan and South Korea. Does Wang Yi really think that national interests are less important than appearance?”
One person from South Korea <a href="https://twitter.com/Joel_P_Atkinson/status/1676461568220090368" target="_blank" rel="noopener">responded</a> to Wang on Twitter by tweeting, “If aliens invade, we will join hands with the aliens and attack you.”
According to the Associated Press, Wang brushed over several historical differences between the three Asian countries that exacerbate tensions to this day, including China’s involvement in the Korean War and Japan’s harsh occupation of China during World War II.

2023 Munich Security Conference

China’s Top Diplomat Urges Race-Based Alliance With Japan, South Korea

China's Top Diplomat Urges Race-Based Alliance With Japan, South Korea

Chinese Communist Party

Race

Yeonmi Park&#8217;s story is one of courage, endurance, and resolve. Since escaping from North Korea&#8217;s brutal communist dictatorship, she has dedicated her life to speaking out against the atrocities committed by Kim Jong Un&#8217;s regime. Once she made her way to South Korea and eventually over to the United States, she was feted by the elites, including Hillary Clinton, as a paragon of resilience in the face of unrelenting cruelty and oppression.
That is, until she began to make uncomfortable comparisons between North Korea&#8217;s Orwellian totalitarianism and the woke ideology permeating the country, especially on college campuses. All of sudden, in the eyes of the mainstream media, Park was no longer a hero. Instead, she was a willing pawn of the right — hoodwinked into becoming a soldier in America&#8217;s culture wars.
A <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/22/us/politics/yeonmi-park-north-korea-republicans.html?partner=slack&amp;smid=sl-share" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent profile</a> from The New York Times titled &#8220;A North Korean Dissident Defects to the American Right,&#8221; propagates this new angle. It does so even in the headline, with the negative connotation of the word &#8220;defects&#8221; suggesting that she has committed an act of betrayal by associating with conservatives and speaking out about leftist ideology in the United States.
Further on in the article, she is framed as an outlier, an aberration. Other escapees from the Hermit Kingdom, the Times notes, tend to live tranquil lives in their new safe havens. They don&#8217;t rock the boat. They&#8217;re grateful.
They also subtly jab at the sincerity of her advocacy by featuring experts who believe that Park may be motivated by a desire for fame and fortune. A Korean studies professor from the University of Melbourne pointedly described her as an &#8220;amazing entertainer&#8221; who&#8217;s &#8220;always picking up on keywords.&#8221;
“It’s a shame, because she has important things to say about what life is like in North Korea,” Jean Lee, a journalist for the Associated Press who has reported from both North and South Korea, told the outlet. “But I think it’s been clouded by a desire for attention or a platform.”
But Park&#8217;s story is more complicated than that.
Yeonmi Park was born in Hyesan, North Korea, a city on the border with China. Her father was a civil servant and later worked at a foundry, but he also supplemented the family&#8217;s income by smuggling in goods from China. Park has said that watching a VHS tape of James Cameron&#8217;s 1997 film &#8220;Titanic&#8221; was a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/26/sunday-review/the-worlds-dissidents-have-their-say.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">turning point</a> for how she viewed the North Korean regime, with the film providing her a glimpse to the outside world since all media is strictly controlled by the government. Her father was eventually arrested in 2002 for his smuggling operations and sent t0 one of the country&#8217;s infamous reeducation camps in 2004.
During her father&#8217;s imprisonment, the family struggled and was often forced to consume insects for food. Yeonmi and her sister were forced to quit school, which she said did little but propagate the personality cult surrounding the nation&#8217;s ruling Kim family. “I thought Kim Jong Il was a god who could read my mind,&#8221; she said of her school lessons, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/north-korea/yeonmi-park-s-long-journey-north-korea-chicago-n849516" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to NBC News in 2018. &#8220;I thought his spirit never dies, and I never thought he was a normal human being.&#8221;
Her father orchestrated the family&#8217;s escape to China in 2007, when Yeonmi was only 13, after he was released from the camp. He died of colon cancer the next year, and Yeonmi and her mother — they had been separated from Yeonmi&#8217;s sister during the escape from North Korea — eked out a living in China before meeting a group of Chinese and Korean missionaries in 2009 who agreed to help them get out of China by smuggling them through Mongolia.
After being stopped by Mongolian border guards and threatened with deportation, Yeonmi and her mother were flown to South Korea. Upon reaching South Korea, she was immediately given citizenship and received an education. She also began appearing on a South Korean variety show that often featured North Korean defectors as guests.
She first visited the U.S. in 2013 and moved to New York City in 2014 as she completed her memoir of her experiences in North Korea and China. In 2014, Yeonmi learned that her sister had been able to make her way to South Korea via China and Thailand. She enrolled in Columbia University in 2016 and graduated in 2020 with a major in economics.
Practically as soon as she landed in South Korea, Park began speaking out about her experiences in North Korea. Her harrowing tale soon received considerable attention, with numerous mainstream media outlets <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/yeonmi-park-reveals-the-horrors-of-life-in-north-korea-and-her-escape-to-china-a6678156.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crediting</a> her with revealing the &#8220;horrifying&#8221; realities of life under Kim Jong Un and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/20/north-korean-defector-yeonmi-parks-lessons-on-perseverance.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">praising</a> her resilience. She appeared at both the Oslo Freedom Forum and the One Young World Summit in 2014, as well as the Women of the World Summit in 2015, which also featured former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Park also made an appearance at the Met Gala in 2017. A Times piece <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/04/fashion/joe-gebbia-yeonmi-park-met-gala.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">written</a> after her appearance at the event, titled &#8220;Activism at the Met Gala,&#8221; declared, &#8220;It is worth pausing to consider a red carpet moment most people missed&#8221; and noted that Park is &#8220;highly regarded by activists.&#8221; This piece does not suggest in any way that Park attended the gala for any reason other than raising awareness about the North Korean regime.
The establishment&#8217;s fondness for Park soured once she started to speak about her experiences at Columbia and about wokeness in U.S. society.
“Going to Columbia, the first thing I learned was ‘safe space,’” she <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/06/14/north-korean-defector-slams-woke-us-schools/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the New York Post in 2021. “Every problem, they explained us, is because of white men.” She said that the emphasis on white privilege in her classes reminded her of the practice in North Korea of judging citizens based on how loyal their family has been to the communist party in the past.
She compared her classmates to &#8220;giant adult babies&#8221; due to their obsession with safe spaces, trigger warnings, and pronouns.
“I thought North Koreans were the only people who hated Americans, but turns out there are a lot of people hating this country in this country,” she added.
During an <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/north-korean-defector-ivy-league-nuts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Fox News, Park warned that universities do not teach students to think critically but instead blindly accept certain leftist dogmas about race and gender. She said that North Korea&#8217;s education system brainwashed people into accepting blatant lies as absolute truth.
“In North Korea I literally believed that my Dear Leader was starving,” she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/north-korean-defector-after-attending-ivy-league-school-even-north-korea-was-not-this-nuts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “He’s the fattest guy – how can anyone believe that? And then somebody showed me a photo and said ‘Look at him, he’s the fattest guy. Other people are all thin.’ And I was like, ‘Oh my God, why did I not notice that he was fat?’ Because I never learned how to think critically.”
“That is what is happening in America,” she added. “People see things but they’ve just completely lost the ability to think critically.”
Speaking about the issues of gender and pronouns on Columbia&#8217;s campus, Park argued, &#8220;Even North Korea is not this nuts. North Korea was pretty crazy, but not this crazy.&#8221;
&#8220;These kids keep saying how they’re oppressed, how much injustice they&#8217;ve experienced. They don&#8217;t know how hard it is to be free,&#8221; she added.
She noted that while information and the media are strictly controlled by the North Korean government and its citizens have almost no knowledge of the outside world, Americans have access to an almost unlimited amount of information but &#8220;choose to be brainwashed.&#8221;
&#8220;Where are we going from here?&#8221; she wondered.
Park has given expansive interviews with Daily Wire host Candace Owens and DailyWire+&#8217;s Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, during which she speaks more on her <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua00hjZpY6E" target="_blank" rel="noopener">escape</a> from North Korea and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yqa-SdJtT4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">her time</a> at Columbia. He newest book, &#8220;While Time Remains,&#8221; thoroughly <a href="https://www.amazon.com/While-Time-Remains-Defectors-Freedom/dp/1668003317" target="_blank" rel="noopener">chronicles</a> her experiences with wokeness in the U.S. and calls for Americans to push back against it, lest it become a collective-obsessed dictatorship like North Korea.
The media&#8217;s heel-turn on Park after she began critiquing American society has been rather stunning. Once lauded as a champion for human rights who shared a stage with Hillary Clinton, she is now framed as a conservative activist looking to cash in on her personal trauma. But the critiques of her account and her sincerity from the mainstream media may inadvertently vindicate some of her comparisons between the American Left and North Korea as both try to silence and discredit opposing viewpoints.

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Yeonmi Park Escaped North Korea’s Brutal Communist Regime. Now, She’s Being Attacked By The American Left.

Yeonmi Park Escaped North Korea's Brutal Communist Regime. Now, She's Being Attacked By The American Left.

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Ford will receive the largest government check for an automaker since the 2009 bailouts thanks to a $9.2 billion loan intended to help construct three electric vehicle battery plants in the U.S. 
The loan from the Biden administration is aimed at boosting U.S. automakers in their race against China for green technologies and helping the auto industry reach Biden’s bold <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/04/12/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-proposes-new-standards-to-protect-public-health-that-will-save-consumers-money-and-increase-energy-security/">goal</a> of electrifying 67% of all commercial passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2032, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2023-ford-ev-battery-plant-funding-biden-green-technology/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Ford is partnering with South Korean battery company SK On Co. in a venture called BlueOval to build three battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky. 
&#8220;Major technology transitions have always been accelerated by collaboration between the public and private sectors,&#8221; said Ford Treasurer Dave Webb, <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ford-sk-joint-venture-set-122417770.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Reuters.
Biden’s commitment to Ford comes from a department within the EPA known as the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program. It will be the single largest loan in the history of the program. Ford and SK have already started building the battery manufacturing facilities that will produce more than 120 gigawatt hours annually, the Energy Department said. BlueOval was awarded subsidies by both the Tennessee and Kentucky state governments before receiving the massive loan from the federal government, meaning taxpayers will fund almost all of the cost, according to Bloomberg. 
The multi-billion-dollar loan met criticism from some who are troubled by the federal government’s interference with the free market to promote EVs. Steven Milloy, a lawyer and senior policy fellow with the Energy &amp; Environment Legal Institute who served on former President Donald Trump’s transition team, wondered why the EV sector needed so much help from the government. 
“If EVs are so great why does Ford and its South Korean partner need a $9.2 billion loan from taxpayers to build battery plants?” Milloy <a href="https://twitter.com/JunkScience/status/1671884647033352192" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>. “Why doesn&#8217;t the ESG cartel finance them?”
Ford wants to produce up to two million EVs by 2026. It produced 132,000 EVs last year, and the company projected the EV push would cost Ford $3 billion in 2023. The company is chasing Elon Musk’s Tesla for EV sales in the U.S. and remains far behind the electric car giant. Tesla, which started in 2003, lost money for ten years before finally turning a profit in 2013. Musk’s company made $12.6 billion in 2022, an impressive jump from $5.5 billion in 2021.
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Along with the unprecedented push for EV sales, the Biden administration is expected to crack down on tailpipe emissions for cars made between 2027-2032. In March, the White House released a fact sheet announcing investments for the car industry to get EV sales to make up half of all new vehicle sales by 2030. As part of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which seeks “to bring a clean, safe, affordable, and reliable transportation future to Americans,” certain buyers receive tax credits for purchasing new and used EVs.

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Ford Gets $9.2 Billion Loan From Biden Admin For EV Battery Factories

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