
N. Korea's Kim pays tribute to prominent military figure
Kim visited the Patriotic Martyrs Cemetery in Sinmi-ri the previous day and laid a flower to mark the third anniversary of Hyon's death, the Korean Central News Agency said.
Hyon, marshal of the Korean People's Army, died at 87 on May 19, 2022. He is known to have played a key role in assisting Kim Jong-il, the father of the current leader, in consolidating control over the military and in preparing Kim Jong-un as his successor.
In 2022, North Korea held a state funeral for Hyon, chaired by Kim Jong-un. Kim also visited Hyon's tomb on the first and second anniversaries of his death.
"Still vivid in my memory is Comrade Hyon Chol-hae, who was always with General Kim Jong-il. He was a shadow of the great General," Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA.
"He will live forever in our minds, always reminding us of the era of Kim Jong-il and encouraging us in our sacred struggle for a great victory." (Yonhap)

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Korea Herald
21 hours ago
- Korea Herald
US takes flurry of steps to disrupt N. Korea's illicit revenue generation
The United States announced a package of actions Thursday to disrupt North Korea's illicit schemes to generate revenue for its nuclear and missile programs, including offering rewards for North Koreans involved in the schemes, and sanctioning a North Korean firm and associated people. The move came although US President Donald Trump has signaled his openness to reengaging with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, raising speculation that he could seek to resume his personal diplomacy, which led to three in-person meetings between him and Kim during his first term. The Trump administration described the move as a "whole-of-government" effort that involved an array of organizations, including the Department of State, Justice and the Treasury. The State Department said its Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program is offering rewards totaling up to $15 million for information leading to arrests or convictions of seven North Koreans -- Sim Hyon-sop and six co-conspirators. Sim and the others were charged for their role in illicit activities to buy and sell tobacco from North Korea to gain access to US dollars, according to the department. The reward offers include an increase of up to $7 million for Sim, up to $3 million each for Myong Chol-min and Kim Se-un, and up to $500,000 each for Kim Yong-bok, Kim Chol-min, Ri Tong-min and Ri Won-ho. Sim and some of his co-conspirators, including Kim Se-un, have also been involved in illicit information technology IT worker schemes. The North is thought to have sent thousands of IT workers abroad to orchestrate fraudulent IT work, often to Russia and China, the department said. The department stressed that the North's revenue generation schemes, including cryptocurrency theft, trafficking in counterfeit goods, oil smuggling, and other transnational criminal activities, often target US companies and US citizens to raise funds for Pyongyang's weapons programs that threaten the US homeland and stand in breach of UN and US sanctions. "Today's actions illustrate the US government's commitment to mitigating such threats posed by North Korea to protect US companies, the US financial system, and American citizens," the department said. "The United States will not stand idly by while North Korea profits from criminal activity to fund its destabilizing actions." In a coordinated move, the Treasury Department sanctioned the North's Korea Sobaeksu Trading Company and three associated individuals -- Kim Se-un, Jo Kyong-hun and Myong -- for their involvement in the evasion of US and UN sanctions and efforts to generate revenue clandestinely for Pyongyang, including through IT worker schemes. "The DPRK relies on front companies like Korea Sobaesku Trading Company and key facilitators to procure materials and generate revenue for the regime's illegal nuclear and ballistic missile programs," Bradley Smith, the director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, said. "Our commitment is clear: Treasury, as part of a whole-of-government effort, will continue to hold accountable those who seek to infiltrate global supply chains and enable the sanctions evasion activities that further the Kim regime's destabilizing agenda." Alongside the Treasury and State Departments, the Justice Department unsealed indictments against seven North Koreans for it called the criminal avoidance of sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act involving the illicit trafficking of counterfeit cigarettes. Asked if Thursday's actions signaled that diplomacy with Pyongyang would be difficult for the time being, a State Department spokesperson pointed out the recalcitrant regime's advancing military threats to the US and its allies, and reaffirmed the US' commitment to the "complete denuclearization" of the North. "North Korea continues to advance its destabilizing weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions. These programs pose a threat to America, our allies, and partners, and undermine security in the region," the spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency via email. "We continue to consult closely with the Republic of Korea, Japan, and other allies and partners to deter North Korean aggression. Our commitments to the defense of the Republic of Korea and Japan are ironclad," the official added, referring to South Korea by its official name. The spokesperson also recalled attention to Trump's diplomacy with the North during his first term, saying it resulted in the first leader-level commitment from the North to denuclearize. (Yonhap)
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Korea Herald
2 days ago
- Korea Herald
[Contribution] Names we must never forget
By Jeong Ji-hyun In June 1950, the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War turned the entire peninsula into a battlefield. Yet in that desperate momeant, Korea was not alone. Young soldiers, from 16 combatant nations and six countries who sent medical support, united under the United Nations flag, answered the call to defend a distant land in the name of freedom. Despite differences in language and culture, their noble sacrifice laid the foundation for the peace and freedom we cherish today. To honor their noble service and sacrifice, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs of Republic of Korea has designated July 27 — the day the Korean War armistice agreement was signed in 1953 — as UN Forces Participation Day since 2010. Every year, an official ceremony is held to commemorate and honor UN troops who fought fearlessly by our side, ensuring that that their names are not forgotten, but remembered with dignity and gratitude and to remind us that freedom is not something we given freely but something we secured at great cost. The ministry spares no effort to assure that these valiant heroes are not left behind in history; strengthening ties with UN allies, maintaining national cemeteries and memorials across the country and expanding support for veterans so that our gratitude and respect reaches them in meaningful ways. Especially, in 2023, to mark the 70th anniversary of the armistice, the ministry produced and distributed specially designed symbolic uniforms for Korean War Veterans. These uniforms served as a visible expression of nationwide respect and gratitude so that our veterans are remembered not only in official ceremonies, but in the everlyday lives of our people. Yet no matter how well-prepared these policies or programs may be, the true meaning of honoring patriotic heroes carries on only through the remembrance and gratitude of our people. A single flower placed at a memorial, a respectful bow to veterans, a sincere word of thanks: These small gestures keep alive the names and stories of these heroes and sustain the spirit of the nation. As July 27 — UN Forces Participation Day — approaches, I hope we all take a moment to remember that peace we cherish today is never given freely. Across the country, numerous memorials and cemeteries have been established to honor the service and sacrifice of UN forces who fought during the Korean War. These sacred sites — including the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan — stand as lasting tributes to the heroes who gave their lives for a country not their own. These sites offer a space to reflect, remember and give thanks. A visit to these UN forces related places is more than a symbolic gesture. It is an act of remembrance that reaffirms our gratitude. Let us strive to be a country that remembers its veterans not as anonymous figures, but as individuals with names, stories and everlasting legacies. This is the path we must walk together to make a true culture of honoring and the promise we must uphold together. Jeong Ji-hyun is an assistant director of the veterans affairs division at the Seoul Regional Office of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. The Seoul Regional Office of Patriots and Veterans Affairs is affiliated with the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and is responsible for veterans affairs in 12 districts in Seoul. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own. — Ed.


Korea Herald
2 days ago
- Korea Herald
Israel denies Gaza 'mass starvation' accusations
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israel hit back on Wednesday at growing international criticism that it was behind chronic food shortages in Gaza, instead accusing Hamas of deliberately creating a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory. More than 100 aid and human rights groups said earlier Wednesday that "mass starvation" was spreading in the Gaza Strip, while France warned of a growing "risk of famine" caused by "the blockade imposed by Israel." The head of the World Health Organization also weighed in, saying that a "large proportion of the population of Gaza is starving." "I don't know what you would call it other than mass starvation -- and it's man-made," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. But an Israeli government spokesperson, David Mencer, said there was "no famine caused by Israel. There is a man-made shortage engineered by Hamas." President Isaac Herzog, visiting troops in Gaza, maintained that Israel was acting "according to international law," while Hamas was "trying to sabotage" aid distribution in a bid to obstruct the Israeli military campaign that began more than 21 months ago. An organisation backed by the US and Israel, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, began distributing aid in Gaza in May as Israel eased a two-month total blockade, effectively sidelining the longstanding UN-led system. Aid agencies have said permissions from Israel were still limited, and coordination to safely move trucks to where they are needed was a major challenge in an active war zone. Mencer accused Hamas, whose attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 sparked the war, of preventing supplies from being distributed and looting aid for themselves or to sell at inflated prices. "Aid has been flowing into Gaza," he said, blaming the UN and its associates for failing to pick up truckloads of foodstuffs and other essentials that were cleared and waiting on the Gaza side of the border. The US, meanwhile, said its top Middle East envoy was heading to Europe for talks on a possible Gaza ceasefire and an aid corridor, raising hopes of a breakthrough after more than two weeks of negotiations. With no let-up in deadly Israeli strikes across the territory, getting aid to the more than two million people who need it has become a key issue in the conflict, and doctors and aid agencies have reported increasing cases of malnutrition and starvation. The humanitarian organizations said in a joint statement that warehouses with tonnes of supplies were sitting untouched, while people were "trapped in a cycle of hope and heartbreak, waiting for assistance and ceasefires." "It is not just physical torment but psychological. Survival is dangled like a mirage," they added. The 111 signatories, including Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children and Oxfam, called for an immediate negotiated ceasefire, the opening of all land crossings and the free flow of aid through UN-led mechanisms. In New York, the Committee to Protect Journalists added its voice to the appeal, accusing Israel of "starving Gazan journalists into silence," after Agence France-Presse reporters in Gaza said they were all affected by the lack of food. In Khan Younis, in Gaza's south, residents told AFP how they battled to get food aid, with one man calling it "a catastrophic scene and a real famine." The UN said on Tuesday that Israeli forces had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get aid since late May, most near GHF sites. GHF and Israel have accused Hamas of firing on civilians. Even after Israel began easing its aid blockade in late May, Gaza's population is still suffering extreme scarcities. GHF said the UN, which refuses to work with it over neutrality concerns, had "a capacity and operational problem" and called for "more collaboration" to deliver life-saving aid. COGAT, an Israeli Defense Ministry body overseeing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said the "main obstacle to maintaining a consistent flow of humanitarian aid" was a "collection bottleneck" that it blamed on international organizations. Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 59,219 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Hamas' October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Mediators have been shuttling between Israeli and Hamas negotiators in Doha since July 6 in search of an elusive truce, with each side blaming the other for refusing to budge on their key demands.