North Korea's Kim Jong Un Tests Strategic Missiles Ahead of U.S. ...

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at North Korean missile tests to counter U.S.-South Korean military drills, progressive election wins in Guatemala and Ecuador, and potential crimes against humanity allegations against Saudi Arabia.

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Missile Diplomacy

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is known for many things, but subtlety isn’t one of them. To coincide with the launch of U.S.-South Korean joint military drills on Monday local time, North Korean state media released a photo of Kim observing the test-firing of strategic cruise missiles off the deck of a patrol boat. The date of the tests is unknown.

State media reported that the missiles—whose description as “strategic” implies they were developed to carry nuclear warheads—hit their targets without any errors. However, South Korean authorities called the report “an exaggeration”; under United Nations Security Council resolutions, Pyongyang is prohibited from launching ballistic missiles, but cruise missiles are not banned.

The report came shortly after U.S. and South Korean forces met in Seoul to kick off Ulchi Freedom Shield, an 11-day annual military exercise. The event will host computer-simulated command post exercises as well as 30 large-scale field training drills. Not only is this the largest number of field training events ever held in the summit’s history, but it is also the largest joint exercise in number of troops. Kim has long objected to such drills, calling them a rehearsal for nuclear war.

Both U.S. and South Korean officials expressed the importance of Ulchi Freedom Shield in combating Pyongyang’s threats. Specifically, they hope to create contingency plans for North Korean cyber warfare, terrorism, drone strikes, and state disinformation campaigns. Even South Korea’s general population will engage in a civilian drill on Wednesday to practice responding to a foreign invasion. “True peace is preserved only by overwhelming force, not by one-sided begging or goodwill,” said South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.

Last Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden hosted Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Camp David to discuss increasing trilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, including against North Korean threats.

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The World This Week

Tuesday, Aug. 22: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan challenges a conviction on the sale of state gifts while in office.

Cambodia holds a vote of approval for incoming Prime Minister Hun Manet.

Tuesday, Aug. 22, to Thursday, Aug. 24: South Africa hosts the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

Wednesday, Aug. 23: India lands a lunar mission on the dark side of the moon.

Zimbabwe holds general elections.

Thursday, Aug. 24: The central banks of Turkey and Indonesia determine their interest rates.

Thursday, Aug. 24, to Friday, Aug. 25: India hosts G-20 trade and investment ministers.

Friday, Aug. 25: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Greece.

Friday, Aug. 25, to Saturday, Aug. 26: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visits Angola.

Saturday, Aug. 26: Gabon holds general elections.

What We’re Following

A progressive wave in Latin America. On Sunday, leftist candidate Bernardo Arévalo won an overwhelming 58 percent of the vote in Guatemala’s presidential election despite institutional attempts to ban his Seed Movement party from running. Arévalo is known for being an anti-corruption crusader who promised to increase investments in education and health care. Former first lady Sandra Torres only secured 37 percent, a devastating loss for the status quo candidate’s third time bidding for the top spot. Electoral experts suspect Torres may contest the results.

Arévalo’s success wasn’t the only leftist win in Latin American politics on Sunday. Luisa González of the Citizen Revolution Movement won 33 percent of Ecuador’s primary election votes, qualifying her for the presidential runoff in October. She now faces businessman Daniel Noboa of the centrist United Ecuadorian Movement. González’s surprise win demonstrates that combating crime caused by drug gangs, reducing unemployment, slowing migration, and boosting the economy are all top priorities for Ecuador’s voters.

Atrocity report. Human Rights Watch released a report on Monday accusing Saudi border guards of regularly shooting hundreds of African migrants entering the kingdom from March 2022 to June of this year. The “widespread and systematic” nature of the killings suggests that the force’s actions may be part of official Saudi government policy, the report said, which could make it a crime against humanity. Riyadh has denied the report’s accuracy.

Among Human Rights Watch’s other allegations, it condemned Saudi Arabia for beating migrants and forcing African men to rape migrant women while Saudi guards watched. Most of the migrants were said to be coming from Ethiopia and passing through Yemen on their way to the kingdom.

Violent wave. An Israeli woman was killed and an Israeli man was injured in a shooting attack near the West Bank city of Hebron on Monday. A spokesperson with Hamas praised the attack, calling it a response to Israel’s ongoing assaults on Palestinian communities.

The attack came two days after two Israelis were killed at a car wash by suspected Palestinian terrorists. That shooting took place near the West Bank town of Hawara, which has been the epicenter of regional conflict in recent months, including an Israeli settler riot that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich applauded by saying the Palestinians in the town should be “wiped out.” Since January, more than 200 Palestinians and around 30 Israelis have been killed in violence between the two sides, said U.N. Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland on Monday.

Odds and Ends

Forget climate change. For one British sunflower farm on Hayling Island, the biggest threat to its business is public nudity. This month, the owners of Stoke Fruit Farm reminded all visitors to refrain from taking naked photos with the sunflowers. “We’ve always had people take risqué pictures, but this is the first year it’s been a problem,” said Sam Wilson, who co-runs the farm. No shirt, no shoes, no service?