Newsletter by SAND
2024. 10. 18 Number 37 | publisher Kyong-hui Choi
South And North Development
www. sand.or.kr
Just as Sand means sand in English, the SAND Research Institute will fill the empty space in inter-Korean relations and North Korea research amid the social focus, and communicate with society with a confident attitude and innovative research results. The SAND Research Institute, comprised of researchers from North and South Korea, will play its role as the main material to build a new 'house of unification' and pave the 'path to unification', just as sand is used as a key material for semiconductors in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Opinion
Choi Kyong-hui
President of SAND Institute
Kim Jong-un's 'Two-State Policy' and Its Delayed Legalization
On September 27, Ishiba Shigeru, the former Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), was elected as its new leader. He is set to take office as Japan’s Prime Minister in a special parliamentary session on October 1. Known for being a reformist outsider in the LDP, Ishiba finally secured the party’s top position and the premiership on his fifth attempt. Other strong candidates in this race included Economic Security Minister Takaichi Sanae and former Environment Minister Koizumi Shinjiro.
kim Myong-sung's Inside North Korea
Kim Myong-sung
Secretary General of the SAND Institute
Kim Jong-un’s Anti-Reunification Act: Destruction of About $133 Million in Assets - August 15th...
Featured Articles
Huh Won-young
Research Professor, Institute of Asian Culture Studies, Mokpo National University
Post-2025: Scenarios for Quad 3.0
On September 22, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), comprising the U.S., Japan, India, and Australia, held its fifth summit. As both U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio have announced they won't seek another term, the Quad is expected to shift direction after the upcoming elections. This presents a timely opportunity to assess its achievements, challenges, and implications for South Korea. To understand the Quad's trajectory, it’s important to revisit past analyses and timelines.
Analysis of Issues
Choi Jin-wook
Former President of the Korea Institute for National Unification
Kim Jong-un Shifts Focus to South Korea After Hanoi Summit: Remarks on Nuclear Threats and Potential...
What drives North Korea’s nuclear development? Initially, North Korea claimed its nuclear program was to address power shortages, later justifying it as a defense against U.S. hostility. The regime argued that its nuclear weapons were meant to deter U.S. aggression and protect South Korea. However, North Korea now openly identifies South Korea as the primary target of its nuclear arsenal. When the North Korean nuclear crisis began in the early 1990s, Kim Il-sung claimed North Korea neither needed...
Current Affairs Analysis
Kim Ho-hong
Director of the North Korea Strategy Center, Korea Research Institute for National Strategy
Analysis and Outlook on North Korea's Social and Cultural Control
North Korea remains one of the world’s most closed and repressive states. Despite the prolonged suffering of its people due to severe economic hardships and widespread distrust of the regime, the hereditary dictatorship spanning three generations, from Kim Il-sung to Kim Jong-un, endures. The regime's strict policies of isolation and repression are the key reasons for its survival. North Korea has created a comprehensive social and cultural control system designed to monitor and suppress any grievances or...
NK Focus
Lee Seung-hyun
Research Fellow at SAND Institute
What Was the Purpose of Kim Ju-ae Whispering with the Russian Ambassador?
A recent video shows Kim Ju-ae, daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, whispering with Russian Ambassador Alexander Ivanovich Machegora during the 79th anniversary celebration of North Korea's Party Foundation Day on October 10. The footage captures Kim Ju-ae leaning in to whisper as they greeted each other. This marks the first time she has been seen publicly interacting with a foreign diplomat at an official event.
Kang In-deok's North Korean History
Kang In-deok
Former Minister of Unification of the Republic of Korea
North Korea 30 Years After Kim Il-sung's Death: Past, Present, and Future (7) - Successors Who Inherited Kim Il-sung’s...
We have briefly reviewed Kim Il-sung’s political journey from when he first came to power in October 1945 to his death in July 1994. In summary, he adopted the authoritarian methods of Joseph Stalin, who installed him as a leader. Kim Il-sung used brutal violence to eliminate not only his rivals but also anyone who posed a potential threat. For this reason, Kim Il-sung can be aptly described as a model Stalinist.
Defectors' Podium
Hyun Eun-ha
Sogang University Student
A Female North Korean Defector’s Story of Settling in South Korea:
The Price of Freedom and Choice
Life in South Korea, as a young defector from North Korea, has been filled with a whirlwind of emotions. Adapting to a world so drastically different from what I knew back home was often overwhelming. But in that struggle, I discovered new opportunities and found hope for a brighter future. In North Korea, education was deeply rooted in ideology. From a young age, we were taught loyalty to the Kim family, and all lessons served to reinforce the communist system.
Feature Article Series
Jeon Byung-kil
Senior Consultant of YESInnovation
former of Secretary General of UniKorea Foundation
Marketing In North Korea (9) - Ryugyong Kimchi, A feast of sweet and spicy flavors
'Making Kimchi Battle' and 'Kimchium'
The history of kimchi, the signature dish of the Korean people, dates back to the Three Kingdoms period of Korea. Kimchi has been around since the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties. The history of cabbage kimchi, the most popular type of kimchi, is not as long as you might think. Cabbage kimchi began to be eaten in the late Joseon Dynasty, when chili peppers from Japan became common as a condiment and the exotic vegetable "Cabbage" was cultivated.
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