Korea

that it would not have happened to North Korea for a very simple reason

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When we talk about isolated and sanctioned states, an enclave usually emerges in the conversation at some point. North Korea has every chance to join that list of nations with dubious qualifications. And yet, after the attack from Washington to Caracasone idea is repeated insistently: this would not have happened to Pyongyang. That uncomfortable idea. Yes, after the attack, a phrase is repeating in the analyzesgatherings and networks:“This would not have happened to North Korea”. It is not an ideological slogan or a gratuitous provocation, but an almost empirical verification that points to the heart of the real international system, not the one taught in manuals. The reason: Venezuela lacks nuclear weapons, and North Korea has intercontinental ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads capable of reaching US territory. That difference, alone, explains much more than decades of resolutions, treaties and solemn declarations on sovereignty, legality and world order. International legality as a story. It happens that the operation against Venezuela has been described by jurists and international organizations as a flagrant violation of international law. However, that sentence has not had (nor does it seem that it will have) practical consequences. It has not stopped the operation, nor reversed its effects nor imposed real costs on the actor who carried it out. From that perspective, it is not an anomaly of the system, it is, rather, its normal functioning. International legality has never been an independent coercive mechanism, but a regulatory framework whose effectiveness ultimately depends on the balance of power. When this balance does not exist, the law is reduced to a moral language that accompanies the facts, but does not condition them. Nuclear deterrence: the frontier. The contrast with North Korea is revealing. We are talking about a nation capable of launching missiles simply because the “neighbor” visits China. Pyongyang is an isolated, sanctioned State, with a violation history of human rights and UN resolutions against them much more extensive than the Venezuelan one. And yet, no one is seriously considering a direct military operation to capture their leader or impose regime change by force. The reason is starkly simple: North Korea may respond with what we call nuclear escalation. In that sense, deterrence does not guarantee peace or justice, of course, but it does guarantee survival. In the real international system, the nuclear weapon functions as the only fully recognized life insurance. Iran and Venezuela. The Iran situation fits the same logic. Tehran has been getting closer for years to the nuclear thresholdaware that Libya, Iraq or Venezuela show the fate of States that renounce (or do not arrive in time) to this type of deterrence. Until Iran definitively crosses that line, it remains exposed to limited attacks, sabotage, targeted assassinations and indirect military pressure. Venezuela, without a nuclear program or credible deterrence umbrella, has proven to be even more vulnerable: not only to sanctions or pressure, but to a direct intervention designed to “extirpate” the political leadership, just as it has happened. The Non-Proliferation Treaty. He Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty It was born with an implicit promise: States that renounced nuclear weapons would obtain collective security and respect for their sovereignty. What’s happening? that the reality has denied that promise over and over again. At least until now, no non-nuclear state has been defended militarily by the international system against a great power determined to act. On the contrary, states that have managed to equip themselves with nuclear deterrents (from North Korea to Pakistan) have ensured their practical inviolability, regardless of their internal or external behavior. The message that other countries draw seems obvious and deeply destabilizing: following the rules does not protect you, but having the damn bomb does. USA and the royal hierarchy. If you also want, the Venezuelan operation It does not inaugurate this logic, but it makes it visible in an almost pedagogical way. The United States has not acted outside the international system, but from its top. It has shown that the global hierarchy remains asymmetrical and that sovereignty is conditional for those who cannot impose an intolerable cost on an aggressor. Seen this way, the comparison with North Korea is not an anti-Western provocation, but rather an a priori, realistic reading of the facts: the law is applied where there is balance, and where there is none, force rules. What we don’t want to say. This being the case, the lesson left by the attack on Venezuela is uncomfortable because it dismantles decades of rhetoric, or almost so. International legality has not disappeared now, perhaps because it has never existed as an autonomous shield. It has always been a reflection of power. and North Korea is not untouchable because he is right, but because he can just destroy. Venezuela was not attacked because it is more illegitimate, of course, but because in that sense it is weaker. That is why Iran is moving towards the nuclear thresholdbecause he has learned that lesson by observing others. That the international system does not reward compliance, but rather the ability to deter. Everything else is story. Image | GoodFon, Gary Todd In Xataka | North Korea is sending its soldiers to the most sinister place in Ukraine: one where drones are not the problem, but where you step In Xataka | The North Koreans are hungry, so they have started hunting tigers. It’s just the tip of the iceberg

South Korea has designed a rover with wheels that change size to explore them

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The dream of colonizing the Moon has been around since we set foot in it more than five decades ago. Settling on our satellite poses innumerable challenges; from how to get oxygen, what the food should be likeeven of course what is the best place to do it. We already have an answer to the latter: in caves. The problem is that you have to explore them first. A new rover. They count in Futurism that a team of South Korean scientists and researchers have designed a rover specially designed for the exploration of these lunar caves. The work has been published in Science Roboticswhich includes a video showing how the rover is capable of moving through difficult terrain, withstanding extreme temperatures and even being launched from a drone without suffering damage. The key is in the wheels. They are made up of metal sheets assembled to form a type of helix. The peculiar thing is that the wheels are soft and are capable of changing their diameter from 23 to 50 centimeters. This makes it much easier for you to overcome obstacles, enter smaller gaps when necessary, and also cushion falls. It is a very simple design, without hinges or bearings or complex parts; They simply fold or unfold by torsion, as if they were a spring. Moon cavesyes. As we said, there are many, but the main one is that the conditions are extreme. During the day, the temperature can reach 127ºC and at night it drops to -173ºC, which is not feasible. There is also the problem of long-term radiation. This is on the surface, but there is good news and that is that the Moon has a series of pits or caves where the temperature is much more stable, around 17ºC. A lunar tunnel. There is still more. By mid-2024 NASA discovered a huge cave in the Mare Tranquillitiatis crater, near the area where the Apollo 11 mission landed in 1969. It is estimated that the cave (actually a lava tube) measures about 45 meters wide and reaches up to 80 meters long, and the ground is also quite flat, so placing a settlement inside it could be viable. At the moment this cave has not been explored, although Solutions have already been proposed to do so. Artemis Program. Returning to the Moon is one of the most important space projects currently underway. Artemis It not only proposes setting foot on our satellite again, but also establishing our presence on it. The first unmanned mission was launched in 2022 and the plan is that Artemis II takeoff in February 2026. Artemis III will be the first manned mission, although this could still be missing several years. Image | Kaist In Xataka | We are sending cannabis samples to space. They are going to be key to knowing if we can colonize the Moon or Mars

South Korea just turned on AX K1. “An AI for everyone” that puts the country in the race between China and the US

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The race for artificial intelligence It is the new diamond of the economy of many countries. one to whom they are throwing money as if the world were going to end and that it is having serious implications on issues that affect citizens such as energyhe employment and with one last controversy: the exorbitant price of RAM. The great powers they want to be sovereign in this field, and South Korea has just light his first hyperscale artificial intelligence model. His name could be some son of Elon Musk: AX K1. In short. Developed by the giant SK Telecom, AX K1 is a model that has 519 billion total parameters, although during inference, which is the practical use case, it “only” activates about 33 billion. It’s still accurate (as accurate as an AI can be) but consumes far fewer resources. That 519B – A33B mode is based on the ‘architecture’mixture of experts‘ that selects in real time and dynamically the optimal parameter subsets for each task. These parameters are like the neural connections that allow the model to “learn” during training, and the fact that South Korea already has a hyperscale model is a huge leap in the country’s position within the global picture of AI. Master Model. The design of this model allows stable performance in tasks such as advanced reasoning, mathematics and multilingual comprehension, but there is also an interesting concept: it works as a “Master Model”. These models are the ones that transfer knowledge to smaller models. While the master knows everything, the lighter model is specialized in a specific task. And, although the large model consumes an enormous amount of resources, the “student” that inherits complex capabilities without having to manage so many parameters can run on devices and environments with more limited resources. For example, the AX K1 with those 512B can “transfer its knowledge” to those below the 70B scale, much more specialized and cheaper. “As Korea’s leading AI company, we will continue to push forward our efforts to deliver AI for everyone” – Tae Yoon Kim “AI for everyone”. In less words: the master model allows the expansion of AI to be accelerated because the hyperscale is used for research, but the lower scale is used for more everyday products. And, precisely, that is what SK Telecom seeks: for its IOA to be the basis on which the country operates. In collaboration with different universities, associations and thanks to the memory manufacturer SK Hynix –one of the giants of the sector and part of SK Telecom-, the company hopes it will be the foundation of an “AI for all.” This implies that they will deploy it in their services and, as it is open source, its API can be the basis of other models in university, business and even national ecosystems. In fact, there is already talk of very specific solutions, such as access to AI through text messages and even phone calls, but also multilingual search services and even a boost for AI in video games. And, of course, for humanoid robotics either for education. The great advantage that the consortium that owns AX K1 has is that it is one of the largest groups in the world, with a presence in the semiconductor, telephone, transportation, construction, energy and video game industries. Therefore, you can easily scale this technology. Third in contention. SK Telecom has confirmed that it plans to continue expanding its model with agent-based execution and those 519Bs allow Korea to become “one of the top three artificial intelligence nations in the world,” in the words of Tae Yoon Kimone of those responsible for the model. The group’s intention is to help “consolidate South Korea as one of the world’s top three artificial intelligence nations,” a race that is taking place resources difficult to contextualize in both the United States and China and which is crushing markets like RAM for consumers. Image | SK Telecom In Xataka | The exorbitant deployment of data centers for AI has a new problem: salt caverns

That Chinese and Russian bombers patrol together is not surprising. That they do it against Japan and South Korea has had an immediate response

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The growing synchronicity between China and Russia in the airspace of Northeast Asia has ceased to be an anomaly and has become an increasingly calculated strategic pattern. The problem is that the last joint patrol between both nations once again demonstrated how the airspace has been transformed into an area of ​​maximum tension. Strategic pressure. The last patrol joint Sino-Russian has certified that the airspace around Japan and South Korea has been transformed into a zone of permanent friction. Russian Tu-95 and Chinese H-6 bombers, escorted by J-16, made a circuit that forced Tokyo and Seoul to deploy fighters as the formation traversed corridors where any mistake can escalate quickly. The flight, although it fits in annual exercises between both countries, occurred just after Chinese J-15 fighters launched from the Liaoning aircraft carrier They will activate their radars of fire against Japanese F-15s, an act considered equivalent to announcing an imminent attack. For Japanthese maneuvers are no longer simple demonstrations of force: they symbolize coordinated pressure in response to its increasingly declared involvement in the defense of Taiwan, a stance that China considers a direct provocation. “It is a serious concern for national security,” has settled the Japanese minister. South Korea and a pattern. In parallel, South Korea had to mobilize your aviation when seven Russian and two Chinese aircraft entered the KADIZ without warning, a practice recurring since 2019. Although the zone does not constitute sovereign space, its systematic violation allows Beijing and Moscow to measure reaction times, saturate surveillance and normalize incursions that, in other circumstances, would have been interpreted as signs of crisis. The aircraft remained about an hour before withdrawing, on a route that overlaps both the Chinese defense zone and disputed areas between Tokyo and Seoul. This routine erodes stability: forces South Korea to invest resources, exposes regulatory divergences (Russia does not even legally recognize the existence of KADIZ) and builds an environment where the exception becomes an operating habit. japanese fighter The Japanese doubt. The background of this escalation we have been counting and started with the comments from the Japanese prime minister, who stated that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be an existential threat to Japan. The message, aligned with the doctrine of collective self-defense, meant for Beijing a crossing of red lines that unleashed diplomatic and economic reprisalsaccompanied by a notable increase of his military activity near Okinawa and especially Yonaguni, the closest Japanese point to Taiwan. So, Tokyo plans to deploy electronic warfare units and air defense systems, reinforcing an island whose location makes it both a shield and a priority objective. For Japan, this militarization is a necessary response. For China, it is an indicator that Tokyo is willing to integrate more actively in an eventual scenario of support for Taiwan. Wear tool. China-Russia joint patrols are no longer isolated exercises, but expressions of increasing coordination spanning from Alaska to the Sea of ​​Japan. They integrate bombers, fighters, early warning aircraft and synchronized maneuvers that show a willingness to project power and generate a constant cost to the region’s defensive systems. In addition to their military value, these missions have a clear political objective: underline that the airspace over Japan and South Korea is not a monopoly of their Western allies, but rather an environment in which Moscow and Beijing can operate freely and predictability. At a time when China responds With every Japanese gesture on Taiwan, this cooperation acts as a pressure amplifier and a reminder that Tokyo could be confronted with two powers at the same time. Fragile balance. The combination radar-locksflights in identification zones, maneuvers without warning and diplomatic tensions accumulated has created a climate where an unforeseen incident could escalate quickly. Japan reinforces its military presence, South Korea adjusts its protocols and China and Russia intensify their joint missions, raising the level of structural friction. As Taiwan establishes itself as a strategic epicenter, nearby air routes become permanent contact lines and every approach, every response, every silence on a radio frequency can be interpreted as a signal. In other words, a wrong calculation can transform an annual patrol in the trigger of a broader regional crisis. Image | CHINESE GOVERNMENT, US Air Force In Xataka | If the question is how far the tension between China and Japan has escalated, the answer is disturbing: they are targeting each other. In Xataka | China has just shown Japan a diplomatic dart that it had been keeping for decades: World War II

Korea created 10 m2 micro-flats for students. Rising rents are filling them with more than just students

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If Kim wanted to walk around her house in Seoul from one corner to another, it would take less time than it took you to read this sentence. It’s not that it’s exceptionally fast. It is that he lives in a goshiwonthe quintessence of micro(micro)flats South Koreans, tiny dwellings that in theory were not planned as homes but that necessity turns into the residence of more and more young people in the country. Kim herself is a barbaric example. Despite being 31 years old, having a job as an office worker and having lived in Seoul for five years, he has had to abandon his one-room studio to move to a goshiwonthe same type of accommodation he resorted to when he settled in the capital in 2017. He is not enthusiastic about the idea, but given the rent escalation He doesn’t have many other options left. What is a goshiwon? Microhomes. And micro can be understood in this case in the most literal sense of the word. The goshiwon (either gosiwon) are mini studios that can be rented to affordable prices and they gather the essentials to survive: a bed, wardrobes and some space to install a desk and (perhaps) a shower cabin. Of course, not all goshiwon They are the same and the characteristics can change a lot from one apartment to another. On the Korea.net platform they point out that the rooms are usually around 10 square metersalthough there are those who speak of cabins of barely 3 m2 and on TikTok you can see people showing gosiwons of less than 7 m2. There are also broader options, which exceed the 30 m2. It is not strange that they are located in buildings with common services and its tenants must share bathroom and kitchen. Another thing they don’t always guarantee is a window to receive natural light. Are they that cheap? Yes. The first thing to keep in mind is that the goshiwon They were not designed to serve as stable and permanent domiciles. Korea Herald account that initially, back in the 70s, were designed with students focused on passing their exams and who only needed a space in which to spend the nights between visits to classrooms and libraries. So clear was his approach that the name gosiwon can be literally translated as “examination room”. Hence, among the little furniture they include there is a bed and a small desk. Everything else was superfluous. The undeniable thing is that it is a much more economical accommodation option than other rental formats. Herald explains that one of those micro apartments in Jongno-gru, in the heart of Seoul, it can cost between 400,00 and 500,000 won per month, about 270-340 dollars. In university areas there are even for 150 dollars. Its management is also simple and does not require large deposits. Nothing to do with almost 7,000 dollars deposit and 500 per month that the most conventional studies require on average, according to Danabg; or of course the very high disbursements of the insurance system jeonse rental. Why are they news? The goshiwon They have existed for decades, but it takes a look at the South Korean press to see that have become in news. The reason? Little by little they are making their way among a new audience, different from the one that demanded them decades ago. The format seems to be triumphing among foreign students who spend a few months in Seoul and young South Koreans who, like kimhave been suffocated by the rise in housing prices. That is precisely what just reported the newspaper Korea Times. And do you provide data? Beyond Kim’s testimony, the newspaper provides a series of data which show a clear trend: although the use of goshiwon by young South Koreans is not yet widespread, it is becoming more frequent. In 2024, 5.3% of households headed by people between 19 and 34 years old were registered in homes that are not legally classified as such, which includes from goshiwons to houses made from ship containers. It is a low percentage, but it stands out for two reasons. The first is that if we talk about South Korean households in general, the ratio drops to 2.2%. The second is that this 5.3% represents the highest figure in the last five years, only surpassed by 2017, when it reached 5.4%. In 2020 the rate was actually 3.2%. “This trend coincides with a continued influx of young Koreans to Seoul and the capital metropolitan area and an increase in the costs of their primary housing options,” comments Kang Mi-naexperts from the Korea Research Institute of Human Settlements (KRIHS). Are there more factors at play? Yes. The goshiwons have become a good option for university students who come to South Korea to study, but the Seoul residential market is facing a scenario of rising costs that is not unknown to us in Spain. a few weeks ago The Chosun Daily published that housing prices in the capital had reached their highest values ​​in the last seven years, with monthly rents also experiencing record increases. To that is added the increase in price of leases through the jeonse system, which requires a large initial deposit. Images| TikTok 1 and 2 In Xataka | South Korea has found the formula to improve its birth rate: companies pay fortunes to their employees to have children

South Korea launched an AI textbook program for schools. It has lasted four months

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The South Korean government bet heavily on artificial intelligence in classrooms with a million-dollar investment in digital textbooks. They promised more personalized learning, a reduction in teaching load and, generally speaking, fewer school dropouts. The reality It has been very different: after a single semester they stopped being mandatory and became complementary material, allowing each school to decide whether to use them or not. Few have continued using them. A experiment that does not has worked. In March of this year a special program started educational promoted by then-president Yoon Suk Yeol: textbooks with artificial intelligence for mathematics, English and computer science. The government invested more than 1.2 trillion won (726 million euros at the exchange rate) in equipment and teacher training, while the publishers allocated another 800,000 million won (484 million euros) to the development of the material. Barely four months later, in August, parliament stopped considering them official texts after an avalanche of criticism. They are now optional supplementary material. Problems that came from day one. Ko Ho-dam, a high school student on Jeju Island, explains it to Rest of World: “All of our classes were delayed due to technical problems. I didn’t know how to use them well either. Working only with my laptop, I had a hard time staying focused. The books didn’t offer lessons adapted to my level.” Complaints spread throughout the country. Students, teachers and families reported errors in the content, risks to data privacy, increased screen time and, paradoxically, a greater workload for both teachers and students, especially if at the beginning it was necessary to add time to adapt to the new system. In a hurry. Representative Kang Kyung-sook, an opponent of the program, he questioned deadlines in parliament: “Traditional textbooks take 18 months to develop, nine to revise and six to prepare. But AI books took only 12, three and three months respectively. Why the rush?” Lee Bohm, researcher at the University of Cambridge, points out “AI should be tested first in homework or practice before being carefully introduced in class. The focus should be on how to integrate it into the school curriculum.” Digitized classrooms and addiction. South Korea has been dealing with another technological problem for years: digital addiction among young people. According to psychiatrist Lee Hae-kook, professor at the Catholic University of Korea, “almost one in two young people is at risk of smartphone addiction,” a figure that, according to Le Monde, increased between 30% and 40% after the pandemic. The country has had digital detox centers since 2002 and will ban mobile phones in schools starting March 2026. In this context, introducing more screens in classrooms has generated greater rejection. Jang Ha-na of the Political Mamas organization, which advocates for the well-being of women and children, expressed to the medium that “textbooks (with AI) worsen the effectiveness of learning. Once digital devices become central in classrooms, exposure to screens increases, weakening literacy and communication skills.” Legal and political battle. According to the medium, even before the launch, teachers unions and civil groups They sued the then minister of education for abuse of authority, arguing that the program was “problematic” by making the use of AI mandatory, ignored risks to minors, and lacked data protection measures. The government moved from mandatory adoption to a voluntary test one year in January. Yoon was ousted in April following his attempt to impose martial law, and new President Lee Jae Myung, who promised to reverse the policy, kept his word. According to explains Rest of World, the publishers that developed the texts announced lawsuits for financial damages. Hwang Geun-sik, president of the committee that represents them, explains that “companies that trusted the government saw the market suddenly disappear. Our business is reduced and staff cuts are inevitable.” The figures say it all. The adoption rate collapsed from 37% in the first semester to 19% in the current one. Only 2,095 schools use them now, half of the number at the beginning of the school year. Among teachers, opinions are divided. Lee Hyun-joon, a mathematics teacher in Pyeongtaek, admits that “monitoring students’ progress was a challenge. The overall quality was poor.” In contrast, Kim Cha-myung, a primary school teacher near Seoul, recognize to the means that “they were convenient, helped save time and supported students with difficulties. But he also added that “the program failed because everything was rushed. It should have been implemented gradually after proving its effectiveness.” llearned action. Kim Jong-hee, digital director of Dong-A Publishing, one of the developer publishers, defend that books “did not cause addiction to screens” and that they can reduce educational inequalities. But he acknowledges that “a key reason for the setbacks is that the issue became overly politicized.” “We no longer trust the government, and that is the biggest problem,” he added. Cover image | Korea Times (Yonhap) In Xataka | There is a national symbol that Japan has kept unchanged for generations: a very expensive school backpack

In his mission to follow the movements of North Korea, South Korea has decided to bet on an advanced steering wheel

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In South Korea, the surveillance of heaven It is a constant task that is never terminated. Missile tests and the use of low flight drones The need to strengthen detection systems has highlighted by the north. Radars on land, conditioned by the country’s geography, do not always offer the necessary coverage against threats that seek to go unnoticed. To respond to that challenge, Seoul has decided to bet on a new generation of Early alert planescapable of expanding surveillance and ensuring more stable control of your airspace. It is not just about incorporating technology, but ensuring that the country has sufficient means to anticipate any scenario. The search for a new early alert plane It started in 2020when the Defense Procurement Agency (DAPA) approved the second phase of its AEW & C program. By then, South Korea already had four E-737 Peace Eye acquired from Boeing in 2006 and delivered in 2012, but the experience had made it clear that they were not enough. Parliamentary documents revealed in 2019 indicated Availability problems and technical failuress that prevented maintaining the planned patrol rate. To that limitation was added the pressure of an increasingly complex strategic environment, marked by the expansion of North Korean arsenal. A jump in the air surveillance strategy Seoul has opted for an unusual combination until a few years ago: an executive reactor Bombardier Global 6500 equipped with radar The/W-2085 developed by Elta. This system, with active electronic exploration antennas on the sides and additional sensors in the nose and tailallows to monitor in all directions promising a much greater scope than that of conventional radars. With this model, the country is looking for a more compact platform and with operational costs contained compared to larger solutions. The contest was marked by a struggle between two proposals that started from the same base plane, the 6500 global. L3Harris offered to integrate it with the radar the/W-2085, while the European Saab presented its globaleye solution, equipped with the radar Erieye Extended Range. Dapa’s evaluation concluded that there were no major differences in technical performance, but in other aspects. As the agency explainedthe American proposal received more points in operability, maintenance costs and contribution to the local industry, while the Swedish firm stood out in price and contractual conditions. Conceptual Image of Global 6500 for South Korea According to Dapa, the approved budget amounts to 3.87 billion wones, about 2,820 million dollarsand contemplates the incorporation of four planes until 2032. The goal is to have permanent patrols capable of monitoring the national airspace without interruption and coordinating the response in case of crisis. Deliver planning up to that horizon will progressively integrate aircraft in the operations of the Air Force. An E-737 Peace Eye in the United States The industrial component presumably had a relevant weight in the decision. L3harris has been supplying equipment to the South Korean armed forces, from electro-optical and infrared surveillance systems to safe communications and night vision devices. The company has an authorized service center in the country, which reduces maintenance times and simplifies logistics in case of breakdowns. The 6500 global is expected to reinforce the air defense of the Asian country. These devices will be integrated into the grid national Istarconnecting combat sensors and units to generate a complete image of airspace. Its main mission will be to detect intrusions and coordinate the immediate reaction, but its regular use is also contemplated in periods of calm to maintain training and preparation of crews. Images | L3harris (1, 2) | United States Air Force In Xataka | The F-47 will not only be the most advanced hunt in the United States: the filtration of its badge has revealed what country it aims

The lowest birth rate forced South Korea to a desperate measure: hire foreign nanny

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Of all the problems in South Korea, one was certainly shocking in September last year (things have changed a little Since then): they had the lowest birth rate in the world, of 0.72 children per woman. In recent years, governments and administrations have been passing, but no one managed to stop the descent, nor the super checksnor the rocambolesque idea that Girls begin the school before. The next measure was a symptom of the crisis: they are being forced to Hire foreign nanny. Nannies and visas. As part of the Government’s strategy, the hiring of 100 Philippine nannies that could work in the country since then. The measure was just the beginning, since approximately 1,200 foreign nannies for the first half of 2025and a “more affordable” program Last March. A problem without solution. Despite government efforts during the last 17 years, including An expense of 380 billion wones (Around 284,000 million dollars) In various incentives to increase fertility, the birth rate has continued to plumn. The desperate situation that in Seoul was warned that the country could be the first of the world to disappear due to this demographic decline is such. Moreover, the administration of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol recognized that drastic measures are needed to reverse this trend, and that was the first of the ideas: the introduction of foreign nannies with the aim of relieving the load of the care of children of parents who work, especially in households with double income, and ultimately increase the birth rate. The new policy. As The Government reportedthe entrance was formed between 24 and 38 years old who have the national level II certificate of care certification of the Filipino Government and who have received wide training. Their skills, according to the government, include the care of children, domestic tasks and the basic domain of the Korean language. In addition, the workers do it with an E-9 visa, which allows employment in non-professional sectors in the country, and will be part of a pilot program restricted to Seoul residents. This six -month program aims to provide affordable child care services with homes with children under 12, single -parent families and those with several children. Who pays the party. The lack of affordable nurseries is one of the main concerns among the parents who work, hence the question is more pertinent than ever, who paid the babysitters? According to the Seoul government, hire a foreign nanny for eight hours a day I could cost households around 2.38 million wones per monthalmost half of the average monthly income of Korean households. This generated many doubts about the affordability of the program for average Korean families. “We are seeing complaints about the cost burden of foreign domestic employees,” You Hye-Mi saidmain secretary of the president, in an interview. “Therefore, we are trying to explore ways to mitigate the burden it supposes for an individual home to hire them.” The controversy of the minimum wage. In addition, the program also faced criticism from work activists and immigrant rights groups. It happened in 2023, when the mayor of Seoul, Oh Se-Hoon, proposed to hire foreign nanny to A monthly cost of approximately 1 million woneswhich is significantly lower than the minimum wage in South Korea. Not just that. Deputy Cho Jung-Hun also proposed a bill that would exclude immigrant domestic employees from the requirement of the minimum wage law, arguing that the salaries of these workers should be in line with those of their countries of origin, a proposal highly criticized by human rights organizations, which argue that it violates the rights of foreign workers and violates the norms of the International Labor Organization (ILO). And birth rate? As we said at the beginning, the introduction of foreign nannies is part of a broader government effort to boost female participation in the workforce, which is considered essential to improve the country’s birth rate. The number of households with double income in South Korea has increased constantly, reaching 5.82 million in 2021. The problem is that many women end up abandoning the workforce due to the responsibilities of child care. Therefore, by offering more affordable child care options, the government expects to create a more conducive environment for young couples to have children, thus addressing, in theory, the worrying birth rate in descent. A version of this article is PUblicó in 2024 Image | Pexels, Pexels In Xataka | South Korea has taken the rivalry in the classrooms to the extreme: 84% of its children go to academies to be even more competitive In Xataka | Seoul lives an unprecedented birth crisis. The idea of ​​its mayor: set up a municipal dating program

The last to get to the China parade was Kim Jong Un. Because in North Korea the leaders do not fly, but they travel armored

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Where is Kim Yong Un? The question shortly before the beginning of the Military Parade in Beijing For the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, it began to circulate among the attendees. The answer would come shortly after. Just because The missiles that North Korea He had shown hours before they fly at a vertiginous speed, the nation leaders do it slow and on land, but completely safe. A trip loaded with symbolism. The displacement of Kim Jong-un a Beijing represented much more than a simple transfer: it was his reappearance in the multilateral scene accompanied by an emblem of dynastic power, the known armored train as “the sun” (Taeyangcho). This convoy, painted green off and armored in each of its wagons, has been the means of favorite transport of the Kim family from the Foundation of North Korea, linked to both the personal security of the leader and the propaganda staging of the dynasty. Its use reinforced the continuity narrativetradition and strength in an event where state leaders of more than 20 countries coincided, including strategic allies such as Russia and Iran. The rail legacy. The train predilection comes from afar. Kim Il-Sung used it as Modernity symbol and closeness to the people, and Kim Jong-il made him Your exclusive vehicle for fear of flying, reaching a journey of thousands of kilometers Until Moscow in 2001. His trips were long expeditions in which the train became a residence, command room and meeting space with foreign leaders. After his death in 2011, occurred precisely on this train, one of his wagons was converted in exposed relic In his mausoleum in Pyongyang, consolidating the image of the railroad as an essential part of the cult of personality. Kim Jong-UN has continued tradition, although it combines the train with rented aircraft when travel demands to cross oceans, as happened at its summit With Donald Trump in Singapore In 2018. A armored office. Beyond tradition, the train is today an authentic Mobile Command Center. Their wagons have offices, meeting rooms, sofas, satellite communication systems, televisions and computers, in addition to a permanent bodyguard and medical staff. Security measures include Comprehensive armor and weapons Heavy on board, in addition to space to transport the leader’s own car. This infrastructure makes it an Rself -sufficient and safe efugiobut also in an extremely slow medium: its maximum round speed 60 km/hwhich, together with the precarious state of the North Korean roads, prolongs any journey for days. Thus, in 2019 he needed almost three days to reach Hanói from Pyongyang in his meeting with Trump. Luxury and ostentation. The train not only guarantees protection and functionality, it is also the scene of the excesses associated with the dynasty. For example, during the trips of Kim Jong-il, I They served live lobsters and delicacies of various international kitchens, while French wines arrived in air cargoes along the journey. They even organized shows on board with singers and actors to liven up displacements. Although similar anecdotes have not been documented in the era of Kim Jong-UN, South Korean intelligence services believe that the leader has inherited his father’s inclination by the Refined gastronomy and the ostentation. The train as a metaphor. So, “The Sun” It is much more than a vehicle: it symbolizes the rigidity of power that moves slowly, but with Absolute armorwrapped in luxury for the leader and sacrifice for the people. In each international trip, the image of the green convoy touring borders becomes a metaphor for the survival of an isolated regime, which combines tradition, ostentation and fear in equal doses. Kim Jong’s arrival a Beijing in this kind of strength about Raíles not only evoked his father and grandfather’s legacy, but sent the world a continuity message: The dynasty remains firm, armored against external threats and determined to maintain its rituals even in the era of hypersonic missiles and autonomous drones. Image | Heute In Xataka | China has just told the world the place it wants to occupy. And he has done it with a parade of weapons that seem like science fiction In Xataka | In 2021 North Korea drew a stage as a power. Russia and a secret base have turned the plan in four years

What North Korea is a global threat by land, sea and air

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It happened a few hours ago. Kim Jong Un revealed A plan to develop a new intercontinental ballistic missile of solid fuelthus showing the advances of your arms program just before traveling to Beijing to meet with Xi Jinping and Putin in the framework of the celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Because North Korea has gone from being a possible threat To confirm as a challenge to international order. The new axis and an impulse. The weekend, The Washington Post dissected the latest advances by Pyongyang. Since 2021, when Kim Jong a presented a five -year plan to develop nuclear capabilities of great powers, North Korea has made unexpected advances thanks to a favorable international context and the direct support of Russia. We have gone counting. The war in Ukraine opened a Cooperation channel Strategic: Pyongyang He provided artillery and troops to a moscow eager for ammunition, I have already received Technological transfermilitary assistance and economic support. This turn reduces North Korean dependence of the United States as an interlocutor and reinforces Kim’s ability to challenge the West with a more diverse and modern arsenal. Progress in eyelets and deterrence. One of the recent milestones has been the presentation of the HWASAN-31a miniaturized tactical eye that reflects progress in the adaptation of nuclear weapons to missiles. Although it has not yet been tested in detonation or atmospheric reentry, its mere existence suggests that Pyongyang advances towards a more flexible and difficult arsenal to neutralize. At the same time, Kim maintains the ambition of completing the development of a bomb high -power hydrogensupported by continued production of highly enriched uranium, which reinforces the threat of an increasingly varied repertoire of weapons. Missiles, satellites and saturation. In the last four years North Korea has tried Intercontinental Balistic missiles with reach to American continental territory, in addition to tactical missiles for Japan and South Korea. After several failed attempts, he managed to put a Military Recognition Satellitea long -distance strategic objective. The current challenge lies in the development of multiple reentry vehicles (MIRV), which would allow a single missile transport several heads nuclear towards different targets, complicating the American antimile defense. An essay in 2024, although failed in its propulsion phase, confirms the seriousness of the project and anticipates more evidence in the immediate future. Nuclear and hypersonic submarines. It We also count. The regime has shown the structure of what it states will be its first submarine of nuclear propulsiona technology reserved for a small world club. Although experts believe that it is far from operability, the Russian experience in this field could accelerate the deadlines, as already happened with India in the 1980s. At the same time, Pyongyang has tried hypersonic missiles and a new generation planning vehicle, The Hwasong-16bwith an alleged flight of 930 miles at speeds superior to Mach 12. Although doubts persist about the veracity of this data, the continuous effort suggests that North Korea wants to enter the most advanced technological career of contemporary weapons. Drones and the lesson of Ukraine. The use of drones has become A plan pillar North Korean. Pyongyang has deployed recognition models and is producing armed devices capable of launching GPS guided bombs. His direct learning of war in Ukraine, together With Russian cooperation In manufacturing of geran drones (Derivatives of the Iranians Shahed), has allowed a qualitative leap. Russian instructors They train to North Korean pilots, consolidating a new dimension of the Technological Alliance. The slowness of Seoul to develop an equivalent strategy reinforces The tactical advantage of Kim in the Korean Peninsula. Satellite image that shows the Operational Base of SinPung Dong missiles in North Korea on August 12 The magnitude of the program. Had a few hours ago The CNN that the discovery of the secret missile base of Sinpung-Donglocated just 27 kilometers from the border with China, confirms the existence of strategic facilities that Pyongyang has never declared and that are part of a hidden network of between 15 and 20 complexes of storage and deployment of ballistic missiles. The report The Center for Strategic and International Studies warns that from there they could deploy to nine intercontinental nuclear capacity missiles with their respective mobile pitchers, configuring a direct threat not only for East Asia, but also for much of the United States continental territory. Location and base size. Raised in a mountainous valley and crossed by a stream, the base occupies an area of 22 square kilometerswhich makes it more extensive than, for example, the JFK International Airport in New York. The first evidence of its construction date back to 2004, and satellite images point out that it has been fully operational since 2014. Since then, it has remained in good condition, with continuous extensions that reflect the modernization of North Korean Arsenal. The site also gives a Geopolitical advantage: By being so close to the Chinese territory, any military operation against the base entails the risk of triggering an incident with Beijing, a strategic calculation that reinforces the deterrent value of the complex. So that. Although it is not known with certainty what type of missiles are stored in Sinpung-Dong, analysts consider it likely to be The Hwasong-15 or Hwasong-18both intercontinental and with nuclear capacity. The complex would also be equipped with Mobile transport units And launch, capable of leaving the enclosure in crisis situations, meeting with nuclear eyelets and executing shots from previously prepared scattered positions. This operation scheme increases the survival of arsenal and the difficulty of neutralizing it with a preventive attack. Camouflaged infrastructure. There are more, since The study details The existence of control stalls, warehouses, command buildings and small homes inside the complex, some of them camouflaged under thick trees and thickets, invisible in most satellite images except in winter. In other words, this degree of concealment seems to reveal a dispersion and deception strategy that seeks to guarantee the operational continuity of the program. The base fits what experts call The “missile … Read more

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