Top NK Headlines - September 2022

September 26, 2022 Michael Chang

(THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-James Manning/Pool Photo via AP)

NORTH KOREA AMONG THE 1,000 INVITEES TO ATTEND QUEEN ELIZABETH’S FUNERAL

The UK has invited a representative from North Korea, which has an embassy in West London, to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral on September 19, 2022.
Foreign office officials have handwritten around 1,000 invitations to world leaders and other dignitaries to attend the funeral as well as a reception with King Charles, but Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Russia, Myanmar and Belarus were not invited.
The invitation is at an ambassadorial level, meaning Pyongyang’s leader, Kim Jong-un, would not attend.
South Korean president, Yoon Suk-yeol, has accepted the invitation to attend the funeral in London before his visit to meet Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, in Canada.

Covid-19 vaccinations have commenced in some parts of North Korea after Kim Jong-un briefly mentioned vaccines during his speech at the Supreme People’s Assembly on September 8, 2022, and recommended that the public wear masks starting in November.
Authorities have yet to announce when a nationwide vaccination campaign would begin.
The vaccination vials have no labels and health officials administrating the shots have circulated rumors that they are from China.
Authorities avoided officially disclosing that the vaccines were for Covid-19 and people were told that the shots were to “prevent the flu and fevers” that originated abroad.

North Korea put their “Nuclear Forces Policy Act” into effect on September 8, 2022 to legitimize the right to use pre-emptive nuclear strikes, which is described by Kim Jong-un, to turn the country’s nuclear status “irreversible” and thereby bars denuclearization talks.
The country has since forced citizens to attend a week of propaganda lectures to promote the new law and highlight its passage as an example of Kim’s greatness.
Article 1 of the law stipulates that nuclear forces shall be a main force of national defense to deter war.
Article 3 of the law stipulates that the president of the State Affairs of the DPRK shall have all decisive powers concerning nuclear weapons and that in case the command and control system over the state nuclear forces is placed in danger owing to an attack by hostile forces, a nuclear strike shall be launched automatically and immediately to destroy the hostile forces.
Article 6 of the law stipulates that the DPRK can use nuclear weapons:-

in case an attack is launched or the like is judged to be on the horizon (i) by nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction; (ii) by hostile forces on the state leadership and the command of the state’s nuclear forces; or (iii) against important strategic objects of the state; or
in case the operation for preventing the expansion and protraction of a war and taking the initiative in the war is in the opinion of the DPRK to be “inevitably needed”; or
in case the DPRK decides it to be an “inevitable situation” in which it is compelled to respond by nuclear weapons to protect the state and its people.

Article 7 of the law stipulates the readiness of nuclear forces to be immediately executed in any conditions and circumstances upon issuance of an order by the state.
Article 9 of the law stipulates that the DPRK shall constantly assess and upgrade its nuclear forces in accordance with international nuclear threats.
In response to the passing of the new nuclear law, South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense issued a warning that “Should North Korea attempt to use nuclear arms, it would face the overwhelming response from the South Korea-U.S. alliance, and its regime would enter a path of self-destruction.”

According to U.S. intelligence, North Korea intends to sell millions of rockets and artillery shells to Russia.
Since Russia is running low in ammunition supply since its invasion of Ukraine, its former ally, North Korea, which keeps a significant stockpile of Soviet-era-copied shells, is said to be an ideal candidate.
Due to international sanctions and export controls, North Korea “may represent the single biggest source of compatible legacy artillery ammunition outside of Russia, including domestic production facilities to further supplies”, said Joseph Dempsey, research associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
In return, North Korea will likely want food, fuel and other materials from Russia due to U.N. sanctions imposed over its nuclear program.