With North Korea’s persistent violation of international sanctions, there is no sign of improvement in the ongoing tension on the Korean Peninsula. Meanwhile, the international community is increasing diplomatic pressure against the DPRK regime.

Key Updates

1) The G7 Hiroshima Summit, held from May 19-21, dealt with nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to North Korea’s complete abandonment of nuclear weapons and emphasized the implementation of sanctions.

2) The U.S. and South Korea imposed sanctions on entities involved in North Korea’s illicit revenue generated by cyber-attacks and fraud.

3) North Korea announced its plan to launch a military reconnaissance satellite, prompting Japan to issue instructions to ensure the safety of its citizens.

G7 Hiroshima Summit 2023

The 2023 G7 Summit took place in Hiroshima, Japan, reminding the world of the unparalleled devastation that nuclear weapons induce. At this occasion, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio expressed his strong determination to achieve “a World without Nuclear Weapons.” One of the main agenda items was nuclear disarmament and achieving nuclear non-proliferation. In this vein, the leaders of the advanced democracies reiterated their “unwavering commitment to the goal of North Korea’s complete, verifiable, and irreversible abandonment of its nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs, and any other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs in accordance with relevant UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs)” (The White House 2023a). They further reconfirmed that North Korea can “never have the status a nuclear-weapon State under the NPT” (The White House 2023a) and emphasized the implementation of sanctions against North Korea’s weapons programs. Likewise, the Leaders’ Communiqué urged that North Korea refrain from further destabilizing actions, including nuclear tests and missile launches, and called for a swift international response (The White House 2023b). The subsequent Quad Leaders’ Joint Statement also reaffirmed the commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the implementation of relevant UNSCRs by all countries (The White House 2023c).

For South Korea, this event marked not only its fourth invitation to the G7 Summit as an observer, but also a platform to reiterate the significance of an intimate alliance among like-minded countries. On the sidelines of the G7, ROK President Yoon Suk Yeol on May 21 held a summit with PM Kishida and agreed to strengthen bilateral and trilateral cooperation in addressing the challenges on the Korean Peninsula (Prime Minister of Japan 2023a). This summit had followed PM Kishida’s visit to Korea from May 7-8 and President Yoon’s visit to Japan from March 16-17.

In addition to the ROK-Japan summit, President Yoon, Biden, and PM Kishida shared a brief exchange on May 21 to discuss measures to advance military cooperation and strengthen deterrence against North Korean threat. The three chief executives concurred on implementing trilateral security mechanisms such as “real-time sharing of warning data of North Korean missiles” (MOFA Japan 2023).

Against this backdrop, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) slammed the prospect of a U.S.-ROK-Japan tripartite information-sharing system, attributing the current crisis on the Peninsula to the U.S.’s pursuit of hegemony and its divisive military and foreign policy that formed military blocs in the Asia-Pacific region. DPRK asserted that the U.S. has been invested in establishing an “Asian-version of NATO” that targets North Korea. It warned that the tripartite information sharing system will end up as a crisis sharing mechanism (KCNA 2023b).

North Korea’s Illicit Revenue Generation

The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken strongly criticized North Korea’s illicit activities, which involve generating revenue through malicious cyber operations, embezzlement, and money laundering. In response, the U.S. Department of the Treasury on May 23 imposed independent sanctions on four entities and one individual involved in financing the DPRK regime’s weapons programs (Blinken 2023). Meanwhile, Yoon Suk Yeol administration on the same day added three organizations and seven individuals on its sanctions list, marking ROK’s seventh unilateral sanctions against the DPRK since Yoon’s inauguration. The series of actions reflect the U.S. and ROK’s “strong commitment to completely block off North Korea’s illegal effort to earn foreign currency” (MOFA 2023).

Additionally, as part of the U.S. and ROK’s collaborative effort, on May 24, the U.S. Department of State and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea co-hosted a joint symposium on May 24 in San Francisco to address North Korea’s sanctions evasion in the IT work industry and raise awareness of DPRK workers’ rights (Office of the Spokesperson 2023). The event explored North Korean IT workers’ exploitation of the global demand for specific IT skills by engaging in freelance contracts worldwide, using their positions to carry out malicious cyber activities. The symposium brought together government officials and industry experts to discuss and devise action plans for protecting business and national security interests from DPRK’s sanctions evasion tactics.

North Korea’s Notification of “Satellite Launch”

On May 17th, KCNA announced that its non-permanent satellite-launching preparatory committee has reached the final stages of launching the first military reconnaissance satellite as part of its effort to “bolster self-defence capabilities” and “develop the space military, science and technology.” Kim Jong Un reportedly expressed “appreciation” for the committee’s diligence and reaffirmed their commitment to sovereignty and self-defense. Notably, Kim approved the committee’s future action plan (KCNA 2023a).

On May 29th, the Japan Coast Guard announced that it received a notification from North Korea of its plan to launch a satellite sometime between May 31 and June 11 and that the launch may impact waters in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and east of the Philippines’ Luzon Island (Yamaguchi and Kim 2023). Subsequently, PM Kishida issued ”Instructions by the Prime Minister in Response to Notification that North Korea Plans to Launch a Ballistic Missile, Referred to as a ‘Satellite,’” which included gathering and analyzing information, providing updates to the public, urging North Korea to show restraint, coordinating with relevant countries, and ensuring the safety of Japanese citizens through preparation for contingencies (Prime Minister of Japan 2023b).

Meanwhile, the PRC Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning maintained a rather nuanced and ambiguous tone in addressing the news. While Mao did not explicitly mention whether PRC received prior notice from North Korea as Japan did, the Foreign Ministry called for a “political settlement” that “address[es] each other’s legitimate concerns … through meaningful dialogue” (MFA 2023).

Conclusion

As reiterated during the G7 Summit, North Korea’s nuclear buildup critically threatens the principles of nuclear nonproliferation and nuclear disarmament. In response, the South Korean government has bolstered its military cooperation with the United States and Japan, including the implementation of a real-time information sharing system. Additionally, South Korea and the U.S. imposed sanctions on North Korea for its illicit revenue generation through cyber activities.

In light of the escalating regional insecurities, the South Korean government must further refine the Audacious Initiative and develop it into a comprehensive roadmap for negotiations with North Korea. South Korea must also leverage its position as a newly-elected non-permanent member of the UN Security Council to actively participate in decisions concerning North Korean sanctions and to provide more accurate insights on the Korean Peninsula issue.

Reference

Blinken, Antony J. 2023. “Taking Joint Action with the Republic of Korea to Combat the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s Illicit Revenue Generation.” U.S. Department of State. Press Statement. May 23. https://www.state.gov/taking-joint-action-with-the-republic-of-korea-to-combat-the-democratic-peoples-republic-of-koreas-illicit-revenue-generation/

Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). 2023a. “Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un Inspects Preparatory Committee for Launching Reconnaissance Satellite.” The Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies. May 17. https://oananews.org/content/news/respected-comrade-kim-jong-un-inspects-preparatory-committee-launching-reconnaissance

_________________________________. 2023b. “U.S.-Japan-South Korea Information Sharing under Fire.” The Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies. May 25. https://oananews.org/content/news/us-japan-south-korea-information-sharing-under-fire

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA Japan). 2023. “Exchange of Views among Japan-U.S.-ROK Leaders.” May 21. https://www.mofa.go.jp/a_o/na2/page1e_000702.html

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China (MFA). 2023. “Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning’s Regular Press Conference on May 29, 2023.” May 29. https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/202305/t20230529_11085429.html

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea (MOFA). 2023. “ROK and U.S. Impose Joint Measures Against North Korean IT Workforce to Cut Off the DPRK’s Source of Funds for Missile and Nuclear Weapons Program (한미, 북한 핵·미사일 자금줄 차단을 위해 북한 IT 인력에 대한 연쇄적 공동 조치 단행).” Press Release. May 23. https://www.mofa.go.kr/www/brd/m_4080/view.do?seq=373689&page=1

Office of the Spokesperson. 2023. “Joint U.S.-ROK Symposium on Countering DPRK Sanctions Evasion Involving DPRK IT Workers.” U.S. Department of State. May 23. https://www.state.gov/joint-u-s-rok-symposium-on-countering-dprk-sanctions-evasion-involving-dprk-it-workers/

Prime Minister of Japan. 2023a. “Japan-ROK Summit Meeting (Summary).” Prime Minister’s Office of Japan. May 21. https://japan.kantei.go.jp/101_kishida/diplomatic/202305/21rok.html

_______________________. 2023b. “Instructions by the Prime Minister in Response to Notification that North Korea Plans to Launch a Ballistic Missile, Referred to as a ‘Satellite’ (3:15).” Prime Minister’s Office of Japan. May 29. https://japan.kantei.go.jp/101_kishida/decisions/2023/0529_shiji_00001.html

The White House. 2023a. “G7 Leaders’ Hiroshima Vision on Nuclear Disarmament.” Briefing Room. May 19. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/05/19/g7-leaders-hiroshima-vision-on-nuclear-disarmament/

_______________. 2023b. “G7 Hiroshima Leaders’ Communiqué.” Briefing Room. May 20. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/05/20/g7-hiroshima-leaders-communique/

_______________. 2023c. “Quad Leaders’ Joint Statement.” Briefing Room. May 20. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/05/20/quad-leaders-joint-statement/

Yamaguchi, Mari and Hyung-jin Kim. 2023. “North Korea Notifies Neighboring Japan It Plans to Launch Satellite in Coming Days.” AP News. May 29. https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-satellite-missile-launch-502a8e17e7f46456d847e366191c2289

■ Minah Kang is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University.

■ Typeset by Jisoo Park, Research Associate
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