Seoul — South Korea’s overall birth rate hit a record low of 0.72 in 2023, and with that figure projected to fall even further in 2024, some Korean businesses have started offering remarkably generous incentives to convince their workers to become parents.
“The declining fertility rate leads to a decline in the workforce and purchasing power and slowing economic growth, which in turn directly affects the sustainability of corporate management, meaning companies need to actively address the issue,” Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) president Chul Chung said recently at a Korean-Japanese business seminar dedicated to the topic.
Jin Sung Yoo, a senior research fellow at KERI, said the main reason for South Korea’s worryingly low birth rate was the “effect on career progression” associated with having children.
Many solutions were discussed at the seminar, and some eye-opening incentives have been announced in recent weeks.
The Lotte Group, a massive cross-industry conglomerate, said it had found success through “various in-house family-friendly policies.” The company said the existing program had helped push the internal birth rate among employees up to 2.05 during 2022, no small feat when the national average was 0.81.
Ok-keun Cho, head of corporate culture at the Lotte Group, said starting this year, the company would also be offering employees with three or more children a 7-9 seat family vehicle, free of charge.
The most generous parenthood incentive, however, is likely the one for workers at the construction and housing group Booyoung, which has been offering employees a $75,000 bonus for each new child they parent.
So far, the company says 66 employees have taken advantage — at a cost to Booyoung of about $5 million.
Company chairman Lee Joong Keun said he sees it as an investment in the nation’s future, warning that if the birth rate continues to fall, “Korea will face a crisis of national existence 20 years from now, including a decline in the economically productive population and a shortage of defense personnel to ensure national security and maintain order.”
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Under South Korea’s rules, $75,000 is the largest handout a parent can receive without having to pay additional tax on the month. But Booyoung’s boss said he wanted to go even further, announcing that he would work to help provide employees who become the parent of a third child with “housing with no tax burden on tenants and no maintenance responsibilities.”
The construction company chief said he was hoping to get the South Korean government to agree to provide the land necessary for his plans.
Meanwhile, city officials have said that Seoul’s local government plans to invest more than $1.3 billion during 2024 in the Birth Encouragement Project, an upgrade to an existing incentive policy.
The project has been largely focused on helping South Korean’s maintain their careers around family planning, but it’s been expanded to make more people eligible for the benefits, and those benefits now include infertility treatment and more childcare services.
SEOUL (Reuters) – Medical professors in South Korea said they will cut back on the hours they spend in practice starting on Monday to support trainee doctors on strike for more than a month over a government plan to boost medical school admissions.
“It is clear that increasing medical school admissions will not only ruin medical school education but cause our country’s healthcare system to collapse,” Kim Chang-soo, the president of the Medical Professors Association of Korea, told reporters.
He said the professors will start scaling back outpatient treatment to focus on emergency and severely ill patients, while some will submit their resignations.
The strike by the trainee doctors over a plan to increase the number of students admitted each year to medical school from 2025 has forced several hospitals to turn back patients and delay procedures.
The government says the plan is vital to remedy a shortage of doctors in one of the world’s fastest-ageing societies, but critics have said the authorities should focus on improving the working conditions of trainee doctors first.
The trainee doctors have been on strike since Feb 20, and President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has made healthcare reforms one of his signature policy initiatives, has vowed not to back down on implementing the admissions plan.
The government has also threatened to suspend the licences of the doctors who have walked off their jobs but on Sunday, Yoon appeared to seek a more conciliatory approach and urged Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to seek “flexible measures” in dealing with the suspension.
Yoon’s office said he also ordered the prime minister to form a “constructive consultative body” to speak with all medical professionals.
According to a Gallup poll released on March 15, 38% said the government was doing a good job dealing with backlash from doctors and the medical void amid the doctors’ strike while 49% said “not a good job”.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toured the country’s key weapons factories, including those producing artillery systems and launch vehicles for nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, and pledged to speed up efforts to advance his military’s arms and war readiness, state media said Sunday.
Kim’s three-day inspections through Saturday came as the United States and South Korea prepared for their next round of combined military exercises planned for later this month to counter the growing North Korean threat.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest level in years as the pace of North Korea’s missile tests and the joint U.S.-South Korea military drills, which Kim portrays as invasion rehearsals, have both intensified in a tit-for-tat cycle.
Some experts say Kim’s tour of the weapons factories could also be related to possible military cooperation with Moscow that may involve North Korean supplies of artillery and other ammunition as Russian President Vladimir Putin reaches out to other countries for support in the war in Ukraine.
Koo Byoungsam, spokesperson of South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said Friday that Kim’s staged visits to the arms factories are possibly aimed at both demonstrating North Korea’s military might in the face of U.S.-South Korean drills and also communicating an intent to export weapons.
“We express deep regret that North Korea continues to develop nuclear weapons and ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) as well as conventional weapons at the expense of the wellbeing of its citizens,” Koo said during a briefing.
During a visit to an unspecified factory producing large-caliber artillery systems, Kim stressed the facility’s “important responsibility and duty” in further boosting his military’s “war preparations,” North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said.
Kim praised the factory’s efforts to employ “scientific and technological measures” to improve the quality of shells, reduce processing times for propellent tubes and increase manufacturing speed. He also urged the factory to move ahead with development and large-scale production of new kinds of ammunition, the KCNA said.
Kim Jong Un speaking to aides in front of military vehicles at an undisclosed location. KCNA / AFP – Getty Images
Kim echoed the message in visits to two other factories, calling the delivery of launcher trucks designed to transport and fire ballistic missiles “a top priority” for the military and urging for the “rapid expansion” of production of more reliable engines for cruise missiles and drones.
North Korean photos showed Kim walking past huge launcher trucks designed for intercontinental ballistic missiles which recent tests indicated they could potentially reach the U.S. mainland. Other photos showed Kim firing scoped rifles during a visit to a small arms factory where he said soldiers’ firearms need to be modernized, according to KCNA.
In the face of deepening confrontations with Washington and Seoul, Kim has been trying boost the visibility of his partnerships with Moscow and Beijing as he tries to break out of diplomatic isolation and insert himself into a united front against the United States.
His tour of the weapons factories comes after a giant military parade last month in North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, where Kim was joined by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and a Chinese ruling party official while rolling out his most powerful missiles designed to target South Korea and the United States.
Shoigu’s presence at the July 27 parade, which came after Kim took him on a tour of a domestic arms exhibition, demonstrated North Korea’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and added to suspicions the North was willing to supply arms to Russia to support its war efforts.
Cheong Seong Chang, an analyst at South Korea’s Sejong Institute, said Kim’s visits to the factories likely had a dual goal of encouraging the modernization of domestically produced weapons and examining artillery and other supplies that can possibly be exported to Russia.
Kim’s comments at the artillery factory about improving the quality of shells and the need to develop new types of ammunition, which he described as key to the country’s “national defense economic work,” clearly communicate an intent for exports to Russia, Cheong said.
When asked whether North Korea has ever used the term “national defense economic work” in government comments before, Koo didn’t answer directly but described it as “very rare.”
“If they meant arms exports with this, then they are openly pledging to violate U.N. Security Council resolutions, and I think that would be deplorable,” Koo said.
North Korea has been aligning with Russia over the war in Ukraine, insisting that the “hegemonic policy” of the U.S.-led West forced Moscow to take military action to protect its security interests. But Pyongyang has denied U.S. accusations that it has been providing arms to Russia to aid its fighting in Ukraine.
Cheong said Kim’s comments at the factory about making missile-launch trucks could indicate that the North is seeing some progress in increasing the production of those vehicles, which would possibly improve the operational range of its ballistic weapons designed to target neighboring rivals and the U.S. mainland.
According to the North Korean government, this is a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile participating in a military parade on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, on July 27, 2023. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image, and it cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
The North Korean government identifed these as attack drones. The Korean language watermark reads
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu; North Korean leader Kim Jong Un; and China’s vice chairman of the standing committee of the country’s National People’s Congress, Li Hongzhong, attend a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the armistice that halted fighting in the Korean War. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
The North Korean government says this is an attack drone, seen during a military parade in the country on July 27, 2023. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, seventh from the right, attends a military parade on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, on July 27, 2023. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shared center stage with senior delegates from Russia and China as he rolled out his most powerful nuclear-capable missiles in a military parade.
The event Thursday evening marked a major war anniversary with a show of defiance against the United States and deepening ties with Moscow as tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years.
State media said Kim attended the parade with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chinese ruling party official Li Hongzhong.
The streets and stands were packed with tens of thousands of spectators, who roared in approval as waves of goose-stepping soldiers, tanks and intercontinental ballistic missiles filled up the main road.
Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Edith Lederer in New York contributed to the report.
A new underwater drone, widely presumed to function much like a nuclear-armed torpedo, was revealed at North Korea’s latest military parade, in the capital Pyongyang yesterday. While new unmanned aerial vehicles were also among the highlights of the parade, the underwater drone suggests that North Korea is continuing to look at novel means of delivering nuclear warheads as it expands its strategic weapons ambitions.
North Korea State Media
The underwater drones were transported on flatbed trucks through Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square yesterday evening, as part of the military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.
The mysterious uncrewed underwater vehicle has been variously identified as a ‘nuclear attack drone,’ ‘uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV),’ or ‘long-range/long-endurance nuclear torpedo.’ While it remains unclear how best to describe it, most observers agree that it is intended to carry a nuclear warhead. In this sense, it is broadly similar in concept to Russia’s Poseidon ultra-long-endurance torpedo, and also has a strategic mission.
In common with the Poseidon, the new North Korean drone has an apparent pump-jet propulsor at the rear and a similar arrangement of cruciform control surfaces, each of which incorporates a folding mechanism.
However, while the Poseidon features nuclear propulsion as well as a nuclear warhead, the North Korean underwater drone almost certainly relies on battery propulsion. There is no evidence, at this point, that North Korea is working on the kinds of nuclear technologies that would provide a small enough reactor to power such a vehicle. Regardless, the ranges involved with North Korea deploying such a weapon against the South, or even Japan, and even if it were to loiter for some period before attacking, are vastly less than what Poseidon was built to overcome.
North Korea state media
The new North Korean drone is also smaller than the Poseidon which is estimated to be around 65 feet long, with a diameter of around 6.5 feet.
Another major point of difference with the Poseidon is that the Russian weapon is designed to be launched by the shadowy Project 09852 Belgorod submarine — the world’s longest — while North Korea doesn’t operate any submarine large enough to serve as a mother ship. This suggests that the underwater drone would have to be launched from a dockside pier or jetty, some kind of floating platform, or perhaps a suitably modified surface vessel.
Multiple reports have identified the underwater drone as the Haeil, although this remains unconfirmed for now.
The Haeil-2 name applies to a similar but smaller underwater drone, which appeared earlier this year. At the time, it was also described by analysts as “North Korea’s answer to Poseidon.”
Based on imagery released at the time, the Haeil-2 is significantly smaller than the Poseidon and is also not nuclear-powered. H. I. Sutton, an author and an expert on submarine warfare, described it as “more like a long-ranged nuclear-armed (potentially!) torpedo. Or rather, a torpedo with uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) characteristics.”
Estimated data attributed the Haeil-2 with a range of up to 540 nautical miles and an average speed of 4.6 knots, notably slower than a torpedo. An operating depth of 260-300 feet was reported, too, although imagery showed it operating on the surface.
The new underwater drone that appeared in Pyongyang yesterday shares a number of attributes with the Haeil-2 and may well be closely related. However, the earlier vehicle has a different rear section, with no obvious control fins, and is smaller than the new drone.
It’s possible that the two designs represent changes introduced during the development phase of the weapon and that the newer one represents the final configuration, or simply the latest iteration before the design is finalized.
Making matters more confusing is the fact that another Haeil-type underwater drone was also shown at the Weapons and Equipment Exhibition 2023, which took place earlier this week and was attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu. The only image available so far suggests a vehicle that looks a lot like those seen in yesterday’s parade, although it appears to be smaller.
Either way, it’s clear that North Korea is actively working on a long-range underwater drone that is very likely intended to deliver a nuclear warhead.
With battery propulsion, North Korea’s new underwater drone will not have anything approaching the range of the Poseidon — which is effectively almost unlimited. However, its size suggests it will have a range in excess of the 540 nautical miles attributed to the Haeil-2. The kinds of targets that it can threaten will also depend heavily on exactly how it’s intended to be launched.
If, as expected, fitted with a nuclear warhead, it also seems likely that the new underwater drone is primarily intended to strike similar kinds of targets as the Poseidon, namely coastal installations, which it could hit with little to no warning. In such a way, it could be used to deliver a knockout blow to elements of South Korea’s expanding naval fleet before they get a chance to go to sea.
A screen capture from a Russian Ministry of Defense video showing a Poseidon during production:
POSEIDON TORPEDO production
Alternatively, the underwater drone could be used to attack South Korean coastal cities, especially if fitted with the same kind of ‘dirty’ warhead that has been repeatedly suggested is a feature of the Poseidon. This would ensure not only the usual thermonuclear destruction but would also spread radioactive contamination over a wide area, including potentially via the creation of large radioactive waves.
With the much smaller distances involved in a confrontation on the Korean peninsula, the more limited range of the North Korean underwater drone would be much less of an issue. At the same time, it would offer many of the same benefits as the Poseidon, being hard to detect and defend against, and, above all else, providing a strategic nuclear warhead delivery option that avoids existing missile defense systems.
An official Russian Ministry of Defense video highlighting the capabilities of the Poseidon:
Depending on how the underwater drone is launched, it could possibly also provide North Korea with a ‘second strike’ capability to complement its submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). This would come into play if Seoul were to try and paralyze North Korea’s strategic nuclear forces in a first-strike scenario. At the same time, it’s worth noting that Pyongyang seems to have struggled with fielding a workable SLBM, hampered to a significant degree by the lack of a genuinely suitable submarine to launch it from. It may be that case that the underwater drone is seen as a more practical and achievable alternative to SLBMs.
A test launch of a North Korean SLBM from a submerged launcher in a lake:
Again, if intended to be nuclear-armed as predicted, the new underwater drone also provides further evidence of North Korea exploring new ways of delivering its strategic weapons, which will not only provide more strike options and a greater number of delivery systems in total but also increase the resilience of its nuclear forces in general, making them significantly less vulnerable to preemptive or counterattacks.
As well as increasingly large and longer-ranged intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) plus shorter-range ballistic missiles, and the aforementioned SLBMs, in recent years Pyongyang has also demonstrated a ground-launched cruise missile, a hypersonic boost-glide vehicle, and a railcar-based missile launcher.
Aside from this nuclear role, it’s also possible that the underwater will help North Korea expand its UUV knowledge. Other missions for these types of vehicles could one day follow. The U.S. Navy, for example, is currently exploring the use of UUVs for sowing sea mines, which could also be of interest to North Korea, with its extensive mine warfare program. While some other roles may be beyond North Korean technological prowess at this time, the new drone could also eventually pave the way to experiments with UUVs able to perform missions like underwater surveillance or even being capable of executing cruise missile launches.
It’s also worth noting that North Korea captured an American UUV back when the technology was still largely clandestine and highly experimental. That vehicle was captured over 17 years ago, near the city of Hamhung. Sutton writes:
“North Korea claimed that it was a US Navy device. At the time it was reported that the US dismissed the reports. The vehicle closely resembles the US Navy’s NMRS (Near-term Mine Reconnaissance System)
The near-term mine reconnaissance system (NMRS) was an interim system until a long term system was available. The project started in the mid-1990s when covert mine reconnaissance was identified as a top priority.
Missions included remote surveillance in shallow and deep water, including precise location and classification of mine-like objects. It could also be used for detection of gaps in minefields that could be exploited by covert and amphibious forces. And surveillance of coastal environments preceding an amphibious assault. A typical system had two torpedo-shaped, tethered unmanned uncrewed vehicles (UUVs). These were launched / recovered from Los Angeles class submarines via the torpedo tubes.”
The fully intact vehicle is now displayed as a trophy next to the USS Pueblo in Pyongyang. It isn’t clear exactly what North Korea gleaned from this system or if it influenced the design and technology used in the their new large UUV-torpedo.
At this stage, the new underwater drone remains highly mysterious. While we await further details of this weapon with interest, it’s safe to say that it points, once again, to North Korea continuing to accelerate the development of its strategic systems as well as expand them into new modes of delivery.
