Konstantin Asmolov

Throughout 2021, Pyongyang and Beijing continued to actively demonstrate their long-standing traditional friendship by exchanging messages and holding ceremonial events. On February 19, it was reported that Pyongyang appointed Ri Ryong-nam, a former vice-premier in charge of trade…

On October 26, in the 89th year of his life, the former President of South Korea Roh Tae-woo passed away, leaving an ambivalent mark in the history of South Korea.  He was, on the one hand, Chun Doo-hwan’s first associate in the 1979 military coup, later convicted of corruption and other crimes; on the other, the first president who was elected through democratic elections…

Not too long ago, there was an interesting review on the NEO website about women in the armies of the Middle East.  Continuing with this theme, the author will talk about women in the military in South Korea outside the Sex and Violence theme. It’s about two pieces of information. First, in 2021 the idea of women’s conscription in the context of a chronically low birth rate…

On October 24, 2021, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service stated that media reports about the North Korean leader’s sister committing a coup against her brother were fundamentally untrue. The primary source of the ‘hype’ is the October 23 report of the American tabloid magazine Globe about the coup d’etat in North Korea.  It turns out that Kim’s “ruthless…

While the world was discussing the DPRK’s SLBM, a lot was going on south of the 38th parallel. On September 15, South Korea successfully launched a locally produced ballistic missile (SLBM) from a submarine, becoming the seventh country in the world to do so. On September 28, Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Ulsan…

In September 2021, North Korea surprised military experts by showcasing new technologies, while the fact that every single one of those techs exists even in the experimental form makes the US and their allies’ victory over Pyongyang increasingly difficult. First of all, the DPRK has developed its own cruise missile. Secondly…

The scandal over alleged corruption related to land development in the satellite city of Seoul, Seongnam, is gaining momentum: its main protagonist is Lee Jae-myung, now the leading presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party, who initiated the project when he was mayor of Seongnam. Hwacheon Daeyu, a small company with a combined capital of 350 million won, was…

On October 15, 2021, the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) reported that four members of an unnamed money laundering organization, including its leader, were detained in a joint investigation that involved Ukrainian police, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Interpol. Three Ukrainians and another foreigner are accused…

In our previous piece on inter-Korean relations, we touched on Kim Yoo-jung’s remark that in case of “maintaining impartiality and respect for each other”, both the restoration of the North-South bureau and the inter-Korean summit could be discussed constructively. “The end of the war will also be proclaimed in due course.” During this time…

On September 29, 2021, former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida was elected chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan. In the second round of voting, he won a landslide victory over the Minister for Administrative Reform Taro Kono by gaining 257 votes against 170. The election of a new chairman took place due to the expiration…

In September 2021, the President of the ROK visited the USA once again to participate in the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, where he made a speech separately addressing the issue of peace on the Korean Peninsula. The South Korean President speaking at the UN had previously proposed…

Kim Jong-un keeps his word: the moratorium on nuclear tests and ICBM launches was a verbal statement. That never became a legal document, but it continues to be enforced. The same goes for promises to increase military capabilities: the leader’s speech on the subject set a number of ambitious targets. According to the Proceedings of the 8th Congress of the Korean Workers’ Party…