Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. RETIRED GEN. GORDON SULLIVAN DIES
2. High-end sex ring in Boston and D.C. areas was 'honeypot' scheme by Russia, China, South Korea or even Israel - to ensnare US officials, intelligence experts believe
3. Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, January 3, 2024
4. Israel–Hamas War (Iran) Update, January 3, 2024
5. US, allies promise larger military response if Red Sea attacks persist
6. Pompeo claims Biden administration has ‘accelerated the rate of decay’ in US deterrence
7. Deadly blast in Iran looks like 'a terrorist attack,' possibly ISIS -senior US official
8. Iran vows revenge after biggest attack since 1979 revolution
9. Taiwan reports China sent 4 suspected spy balloons over the island
10. Russia Moves Forward With Plans to Buy Iranian Ballistic Missiles
11. A Better Cyber Service
12. Learning from Failure: Afghanistan as a Microcosm for Strategic Competition
13. Can the Palestinian Authority Govern Gaza?
14. Defending the Year of Democracy
15. China to play starring role in coming US election chaos
16. Add it to the list: Three more considerations for AUKUS
17. Cut Off the Head of the Snake in the Red Sea | Opinion
18. Hit the Houthis — and Iran — Where It Counts
19. Dealing With the Unprecedented Military Threats Facing the United States
20. A restless Gen Z is reshaping the Chinese Dream
21. Overcoming data analytics inertia in defense to win future wars
22. Voter Beware: Unveiling China's AI Propaganda in the 2024 American Elections

1. ‘Whatever the party orders, we are screwed!’ (north Korea)
2. Press Statement of Vice Department Director of C.C., WPK Kim Yo Jong
3. N. Korea warns of 'highest' risk of clashes in 2024
4. S. Korea, U.S., Japan to hold 1st Indo-Pacific dialogue meeting this week: official
5. Unification ministry to dissolve foundation handling affairs of Kaesong complex
6. South Korea, US conduct week-long firing drills near North Korea border
7. In threatening shift, North Korea moves to redefine relations with South
8. Polish PM flags wrinkle in multibillion-dollar arms buy from SKorea
9. Russia Moves Forward With Plans to Buy Iranian Ballistic Missiles
10. S Korean spy agency sees Kim Jong Un’s daughter as ‘probable successor’
11. N. Korea issues orders to intensify security along border with China
12. New Year’s holiday exposes large gaps between N. Korea’s rich and poor
13. North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong blames S. Korean President for instability
14. Ex-Secretary Pompeo mentions NK while accusing Biden of 'decay of deterrence'
15. Yoon says terrorism is the enemy of liberal democracy
16. Self-reliance and Self-development Is Way to Prosperity: Rodong Sinmun
17. Unification Ministry's NK election interference warning raises concerns
 

Access National Security News HERE.

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National Security News Content:

1. Creating Light at Tunnel’s End: Ukraine’s Post-war Urban Recovery
2. Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis: Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance,’ Explained
3. Hamas Leader Killed in Beirut Was Linchpin of Relations With Iran, Hezbollah
4. Houthi terrorists meet Iranian officials, coordinate Middle East policy
5. The West Badly Needs More Missiles—but the Wait to Buy Them Is Years Long
6. UK special forces could destroy Houthi boats in Red Sea
7. Army to open applications for new recruiting warrant officer field
8. Gen. Jim Slife sworn in as Air Force vice chief of staff
9. US intel confident militant groups used largest Gaza hospital in campaign against Israel: AP source
10. China’s unsafe interceptions of US military aircraft have dropped off, defense officials say
11. US quietly reaches agreement with Qatar to keep operating largest military base in Middle East
12. Military technology is outpacing our diplomatic capacity
13. A Research Visit to Israel: Part 1: Observations on the Lead Up to 7 October by Mick Ryan
14. A Grenade-Armed Ukrainian Drone Spotted Two Russian Soldiers. One Russian Lit A Smoke, And Asked The Drone-Operator To Kill His Comrade First.
15. Ukraine’s special forces adjust HIMARS fire to hit Russian Buk system in Donetsk region
16. Myanmar's 'watermelons': Soldier on the outside, rebel inside
17. Forging Mastery in the Unpredictable Realm of Irregular Warfare
18. Written in Black and Red: Asymmetric Threats and Affordable Unmanned Surface Vessels
19. Artificial Intelligence’s Threat to Democracy
20. The War in Ukraine Is Not a Stalemate
21. Justice Dept. accuses 2 political operatives of hiding foreign lobbying during Trump administration
 

Korean News Content:

1. N. Korean leader's sister raps Yoon over his New Year's Day speech
2. Sister of North Korean leader derides South Korea's president but praises his predecessor
3. Kim Jong Un orders end to communist diplomacy to reunify Korean Peninsula
4. Ex-US envoy stresses need to step up allied drills against NK threats
5. Army stages live-fire drills amid NK threats
6. N. Korea likely aims to raise military tensions to secure nuclear power status: expert
7. Korea to encourage new defense research with revised evaluation system
8. North Korea: The Problem Joe Biden Wants to Avoid?
9. K2 Black Panther: The Most Expensive Tank on Earth
10. Nicaraguan ambassador to N. Korea to take up post amid signs of Pyongyang resuming diplomacy with selected countries
11. Editorial: Political terrorism in Korea must end
12. N Korea vows military strength expansion in message to S Korean President
13. YouTube on verge of becoming most-used mobile platform in S. Korea: data
14. North Korea’s Kim calls for ‘radical improvement’ in farm machine sector

Small Wars Journal–El Centro Top 10 Articles for 2023

These articles represent the best of SWJ–El Centro for 2023. These articles were selected by the SWJ–El Centro Senior Fellows. This list includes nine peer reviewed research articles and one strategic research note. All SWJ–El Centro content is available at https://smallwarsjournal.com/elcentro.

Tire Shop Sign. Photo by Tomás Andres Michael Carvallo

1. Raúl Benítez Manaut and Josué González, “The Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación: The Most Significant Security Challenge in the Mexico-United States Relationship,” Small Wars Journal, 30 September 2023.[1]
2. Tomás Andres Michael Carvahlo, “Why Tire Repair Workshops Are the Target of a Wave of Violence in Guanajuato, Mexico,” Small Wars Journal, 19 January 2023.
3. Sean Fiorella, Tony Payan, Daniel Potter, and Rodrigo Montes de Oca Arboleya. “Crime and COVID-19 in Mexico: Some Counterintuitive Results,” Small Wars Journal, 23 July 2023.
4. Howard Campbell, “Changing Faces of Immigrants Crossing through Ciudad Juárez and into the United States: Reflections on Migrants, Culture, and Crime,” Small Wars Journal, 24 March 2023.
5. Russell W. Glenn, “Monterrey, 1846: Still Offering Urban Combat Lessons after All These Years,” Small Wars Journal, 6 March 2023.
6. Pamela Ruiz, “Security at the Expense of Constitutional Guarantees: The Case of Honduras,” Small Wars Journal, 6 February 2023.
7. Mahmut Cengiz and Camilo Pardo-Herrera, “Hezbollah’s Global Networks and Latin American Cocaine Trade,” Small Wars Journal, 25 April 2023.
8. Diego Ramírez Sánchez, “Organized Crime in Chile: The Challenge Ahead,” Small Wars Journal, 4 May 2023.
9. Girisanker SB, “Demystifying the Synthetic Drug Menace: India’s Struggles and Strategies,” Small Wars Journal, 11 September 2023.
10. Daniel Weisz Argomedo, John P. Sullivan, and Robert J. Bunker. “Mexican Cartel Strategic Note No. 35: Mexican Security Forces Arrest Ovidio Guzmán,” Small Wars Journal, 17 January 2023.[2] 

The SWJ–El Centro Senior Fellows thank all of our contributors and peer reviewers for their support in contributing to the literature needed to build a comprehensive understanding of crime wars, criminal insurgency, criminal governance, corruption, conflict, and state transition. We look forward to next year’s articles.

Endnotes

[1] This article is also available in the original Spanish Version, “El Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación: El mayor reto de seguridad en la relación México-Estados Unidos,” Small Wars Journal, 30 September 2023. 

[2] For an in-depth treatment of this subject see:  Daniel Weisz Argomedo, Nathan P. Jones, and John P. Sullivan, “Virtual Urban Siege: Modern Urban Siege and Swarming in Culiacán 2019 & 2023,” Journal of Strategic Security. Vol. 16, no. 3 (Fall 2023): pp. 30–52, https://doi.org/10.5038/1944-0472.16.3.2172.

Access National Security News HERE.

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National Security News Content:

1. The Military’s Phantom ‘Extremists’
2. Confusion, uneven reporting hurting Pentagon effort to combat extremism
3. How Hamas Built an Army
4. Strengthen the Military-Rhetorical Complex
5. China Is Pressing Women to Have More Babies. Many Are Saying No.
6. Israel is pulling thousands of troops from Gaza in a possible precursor to a scaled-back offensive
7.India Is Chasing China’s Economy. But Something Is Holding It Back.
8. The Problem With De-Risking
9. Russia’s War on Woke
10. The West must abandon weakness and commit to Ukraine’s victory
11. More Americans Think Foreign Policy Should Be a Top U.S. Priority for 2024
12. Suspicious of China, Philippines Expands US Military Presence
13. Inside the tunnels of Gaza
14. The Wages of Neglect in Syria
15. China’s Taiwan Nightmare Has Come True
16. Unmasking Digital Deception – OpEd
17. Wartime Command & Control
18. Asian American Officials Cite Unfair Scrutiny and Lost Jobs in China Spy Tensions
19. Taiwan president says ties with China must be decided by will of the people
20. The world should fear 2024
21. Analysis | Two Gaza Wars: Why the Gulf Between Israelis and Outsiders Is So Vast, and Jarring

Korean News Content:

1. Head of South Korean Opposition Party Is Stabbed
2. What Kim Jong Un’s Changing Outfits Reveal About North Korea
3. US Overtakes China as South Korea’s Top Export Market
4. The Politics of North Korea’s ICBM Program
5.  S. Korea lodges protest against Japan's claims to Dokdo in tsunami alert
6. Unification minister vows stronger deterrence against N.K. provocations
7. N. Korea apparently aims to use its animosity against S. Korea to boost military capability: Seoul
8. Unification ministry launches early warning system for defectors at risk
9. N. Korea's Kim attends student performance on New Year's Day
10. Attacked opposition leader Lee's surgery completed, progress closely monitored
11. North Korea’s Kim Jong-un is thinking the unthinkable
12. New OS update for N. Korean phones prevents sharing of photos, lengthy videos
13. North Korean-Russian Military Cooperation Could Threaten Global Security
14. North Korea’s Kim vows to sharpen ‘treasured sword’ against US and South, 2024 will be ‘new heyday’ for war preparations
15. 'Beyond Utopia' tracks desperate North Koreans trying to escape to freedom
 

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. The Lands Ukraine Must Liberate
2. Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, December 31, 2023
3. Israel–Hamas War (Iran) Update, December 31, 2023
4. Israel Plans to Withdraw Some Troops From Gaza
5. Half of Gazans Are at Risk of Starving, U.N. Warns
6. The U.S. and Israel: An Embrace Shows Signs of Strain After Oct. 7
7. China’s Xi Is Resurrecting Mao’s ‘Continuous Revolution’ With a Twist
8. China's military purge deepens
9. U.S. oil production hit a record under Biden. He seldom mentions it.
10. Liberals say the country has moved to the right; conservatives say it's moved to the left
11.  Xi Jinping rings in 2024 with rare admission that China’s economy is in trouble
12. Homicides in U.S. set to drop by record numbers this year
13. Why Gaza Matters
14. New Spin on a Revolving Door: Pentagon Officials Turned Venture Capitalists
15. America’s rising rates and neo-protectionism
16. Israeli Army Discovers 'Massive' Amount of Chinese-Made Weapons in Gaza: Report
17. The Elon Musk industrial complex
18. Analysis: Perception vs. Reality – Russia Is Losing, Not Winning

Korean News Content:

1. north Korea: Talking Points on Private Foreign Investment and Special Economic Zones
2. Full text of Yoon's New Year address
3. Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un's Congratulatory Speech
4. Kim Jong Un and Xi Xinping exchange New Year's messages
5. [New Year Planning] 1. The path forward for the US-Korea alliance “Expanding global cooperation based on security”
6. S. Korea vows responsibility as elected UNSC member as 2-year term begins
7. N. Korea begins discussions on dismantling agencies handling inter-Korean affairs
8. Kim Jong Un’s 2024 Wish List: More Nuclear Bombs, Spy-Satellite Launches
9. S. Korea's economy forecast to grow 2 pct next year.
10. Small tsunamis hit S. Korea after earthquake in Japan
11. Yoon says S. Korea, U.S. will complete strengthened extended deterrence regime in first half of 2024
12. N.K. leader says Korean Peninsula inching closer to armed conflict
13. When Dealing with North Korea, Go Big or Go Home
14. Kim Tells Army To 'Annihilate' S. Korea, US If They Initiate Conflict
15. South Korea staging ‘decapitation drills’ for possible assassination of Kim Jong Un

Access National Security News HERE.

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National Security News Content:

1. Opinion: ‘Action This Day’ – Churchill’s Lessons for the West
2. War Books: The Best Books We Read in 2023 - Modern War Institute
3. Why China is winning the new espionage Cold War
4. Women Bear the Brunt of Asia’s Climate Failures
5. US Navy sinks three Houthi militant boats in the Red Sea
6. NATO, U.S. Consult With Warsaw After Apparent Intrusion Of Russian Missile Into Polish Airspace
7. ANALYSIS-Sweeping Chinese military purge exposes weakness, could widen
8. Why is the Gaza war different?
9. China Confronts a New Political Reality in Taiwan: No Friends
10. Opinion: New York Times Editorial Board Very Wrong
11. How Columbia’s President Has Avoided Fallout Over Israel-Gaza Protests
12. Where Was the Israeli Military?
13. NATO needs Russia "ruined" in Ukraine for future peace: Official
14. Retired Flag Officers and Public Political Criticism by Robert L. Caslen
15. Chinese ex-Navy chief, with South China Sea background, named defence minister
16. ‘Screams Without Words’: How Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence on Oct. 7
17. Israel’s ‘Black Sabbath’: Murder, Sexual Violence and Torture on Oct. 7
18. How ‘Antiracism’ Becomes Antisemitism
19. Ukraine, Stalled on the Front, Steps Up Sabotage, Targeting Trains
. 

Korean News Content:

1. North Korea says it will no longer seek reunification with South Korea, will launch new spy satellites in 2024 
2. N. Korea to launch 3 more military spy satellites, build more nukes next year: state media
3. Sacked N. Korean military official returns to No. 2 post of military
4. U.S. warns N. Korea's space rocket launches flout U.N. Security Council resolutions
5. Yoon to give live New Year's address
6. S. Korean shipbuilders rank 2nd in new global orders in 2023: data
7. N.K. leader says 2 Koreas are 'hostile nations at war' with no chance of unification
8. North Korea's Kim vows to launch 3 more spy satellites and produce more nuclear materials in 2024
9. South Korea's capital records heaviest single-day snowfall in December for 40 years
10. More turbulent inter-Korean relations expected in 2024
 

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National Security News Content:

1. Army’s elite special forces unit to be overhauled in major revamp
2. Russia’s Mass Air Attack: The Objectives and Implications of the 29 December Attacks by Mick Ryan
3. New in SpyWeek: That Mysterious CIA School and More
4. Statement from President Joe Biden on Russia’s Aerial Assault on Ukraine | The White House
5. How Surprise Attack is Possible
6. The fight for the Marine Corps continues.
7. Why China’s rulers fear Genghis Khan
8. America is unprepared to fight a war on three fronts
9. Who’s Hu, the New PLAN Commander
10. Are China’s actions in the South China Sea a harbinger of things to come for Taiwan as election looms?
11. Israel at war: What you need to know – day 85
12. Theories of Victory: Israel, Hamas, and the Meaning of Victory in Irregular Warfare
13. Biden warns US military may get pulled into direct conflict with Russia
14. Patriot missile exports don't make Japan serious
15. When Killing the Enemy Wasn't Enough
 

Korean News Content:

1. The Economics of a Korean Unification: Thinking The Unthinkable?
2. As North Korea Escalates Rhetoric, Washington and Seoul Debate Whether the South Should Go Nuclear
3. Defense chief says N. Korea's light-water reactor likely to be in full operation next summer
4. Two abducted Koreans freed in Nigeria
5. Kim accuses U.S. of 'unprecedented' acts against North
6. South Korea’s military has a new enemy: Population math
7. South Korea's so-called artificial sun to burn at 100M degrees Celsius for half a minute
8. Japan protests reported South Korean drill at disputed islets
9. Pro-North Korea videos are spreading on TikTok
10. Remembering Gapyeong's $2 miracle
11. Young N. Koreans flaunt government laws aimed at stamping out foreign culture
12. Call to empathy: exhibition on North Korean refugees
 

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. Matti Friedman: The Wisdom of Hamas
2. Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, December 28, 2023
3. Israel–Hamas War (Iran) Update, December 28, 2023
4. China-Taiwan Weekly Update, December 28, 2023
5. How Librarian Spies Helped Win World War II
6. In One Brutal Tank Battle Outside Avdiivka, The Russians Lost As Many As 21 Tanks. The Ukrainians Lost Two.
7. The Ghost of GWOT Haunting the Military Recruiting Crisis
8. Small Drones Are Helping Israel Navigate the Urban Battlefield in Gaza
9. World's Largest Reserve Of REE Lithium Discovered Beneath California's Salton Sea: $540 Billion Motherlode Could Meet America's Supply Demands For Decades
10. The New Star on the Political Scene: The Chip Industry
11. Locked out of local government: Residents decry increased secrecy among towns, counties, schools
12. Peering Into the Crystal Ball: 10 National Security Predictions for 2024
13. Mongolia’s mining partnerships extract foreign policy gold
14. The U.S. and Israel Need to Take Iran On Directly
15. Iran Threatens to Take Red Sea Disruption to New Waters
16. Officials say the Chinese spy balloon used a US internet provider
17. Twelve Days of WEX-mas: New round of nuclear proliferation looms over unstable world order
18. Sexual assault prosecutions officially out of the chain of command
19. Billion-dollar scam: A sophisticated, criminal network is using modern day slaves to con thousands of Americans out of their life savings
20. IDF’s Subterranean Challenge: Profiling Gaza Metro, Hamas’s Centre Of Gravity – Analysis
21. Best way to avoid war is to not be phased by Xi
22. From force structure to lethality, Army poised to unveil key decisions: 2024 preview
23. Army numbers smallest since WWII — what units face cuts in 2024?
24. How Israel Could Lose America
25. In 2024, will the Navy again reassess increasing demands on the surface force?
26. New planes, budget constraints and great power competition: 2024 air preview

Korean News Content:

1. VOA: [Interview: Schaeffer, former German Ambassador to Pyongyang] “The goal of the North Korean leadership is to ‘weaken U.S.-ROK relations’… “I witnessed a conflict over the route.”
2. U.S. reaffirms 'no hostile intent' to N. Korea after Kim calls for stronger war preparations
3. N. Korea discusses light industry, state budget at party meeting
4. Former Trump aide says S. Korea's proposed tech rules would be 'gift' to China
5. Defense chief apologizes over Dokdo's description as disputed territory in education material
6. N.K. leader invites contributors in economic sector to New Year's celebrations
7. N.K.'s total fertility rate estimated at 1.38, far lower than U.N. estimate: BOK report
8. The New Star on the Political Scene: The Chip Industry
9.  Peering Into the Crystal Ball: 10 National Security Predictions for 2024
10. Twelve Days of WEX-mas: New round of nuclear proliferation looms over unstable world order
11. India, South Korea explore joint projects in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh
12. Yoon, ex-President Park meet over lunch at presidential residence
13. N. Korea begins accepting subscribers to 4G cellular network
14. Pyongyang installs decorative lighting on city streets for new year celebrations
15. Russian FM on Korean peninsula: ‘knots of conflict’ in 2024
16. ＜Interview＞ How was the public execution in Hyesan carried out?…In just four months, three executions have occurred in the city… “We were lined up at our places of work and marched to the execution site”
17. Kim Jong Un encourages finding ways to create waves in S. Korea
18. N. Korean human rights bill unlikely to pass Congress this year again