Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. How False Beliefs Propel Cultural Conflict
2. Partisans claim responsibility for setting fire to Russian base in occupied Crimea
3. Washington's Conventional War Strategy May Not Succeed If It Does Not Consider New Irregular Warfare Tactics.
4. Officials: Lockerbie bomb suspect is in US custody
5. Free for a month, Kherson still toils to clear Russian traps
6. In competition for talent, DOD needs to learn, adapt or be left behind
7. Taiwan pledges deeper Japan security cooperation as senior lawmaker visits
8. Rise of Open-Source Intelligence Tests U.S. Spies
9. Fierce claims to Crimea highlight slim chance of Russia-Ukraine peace deal
10. Taiwan mulls banning TikTok, accuses it of eroding public's confidence in government
11. US Army intel office plots AI development with Project Linchpin
12. China’s alliance with Saudi Arabia signals a shift in the global order
13. Rejection of plan for super-embassy a 'setback' for China's overseas operations
14. Opinion | Don’t Tell Your Non-Work Friends About the Decapitations
15. The Secret Washington Museum That Tourists Can’t Visit
16. America’s Allies Should Fear Abandonment
17. Washington's Conventional War Strategy May Not Succeed If It Does Not Consider New Irregular Warfare Tactics.
18. Jack McCain: Congress should keep our promises to our allies by passing the Afghan Adjustment Act
 

Korean News Content:

1. North Korea Wants Dollars. It’s a Sign of Trouble.
2. Crypto Hitting ‘Mother Of All Economic Crises’ Threatens North Korea
3. North Korea’s Tactical Nuclear Threshold Is Frighteningly Low
4. On South Korean border island Baekryeong, tanks, guns and ‘dragon’s teeth’ guard front line
5. Kim Jong-un's ban on foreign media defied as USBs in bottles sent into North Korea
6. North Korean tech freelancers' earnings fund nukes, missiles
7. The North Korean Threat: A Thorn In Seoul’s Side – Analysis
8. Top nuclear envoy leaves for Indonesia for meetings with U.S., Japanese counterparts
9. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kritenbrink to visit Seoul this week
10. 18 foreign residents receive honorary Seoul citizenship
11. North Korea forces youth to join grueling pilgrimage to sacred Paektu mountain
 

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. With tension rising in the Pacific, US special operators have a new goal: Creating 'multiple dilemmas' for China
2. Meet the next Sergeant Major of the Army
3. IntelBrief: U.S. Continues to Closely Assess Chinese Military Modernization
4. IntelBrief: Arrests in Germany Target Far-Right and Anti-Government Extremists
5. HASC and SASC Release Text of FY23 NDAA Agreement
6. War has tamed Ukraine’s oligarchs, creating space for democratic change
7. B-21 Raider Stealth Bomber: Everything We Know Right Now
8. Botnets, Battlefields, and Blurred Lines: Optimizing an Information Strategy for Modern War
9. Making Joint All Demand Command and Control a Reality
10. House passes defense bill with more Taiwan, Ukraine security aid
11. Adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister talks post-war forces, industry
12. Ukraine Says Western Allies Shouldn’t Fear Russia Falling Apart
13. Army football alums make general more often than other officers — why?
14. Democrats ask consulting firms for information on retired military officers advising foreign governments
15.  What’s in and out of the House defense bill
16. Is the ‘axis of evil’ beginning to implode?
17. Why modern wars cannot escape the trenches

Korean News Content:

1. S. Korea discusses policy blueprint to improve N. Korea's human rights situation
2. U.S. envoy for N. Korea holds rare talks with Chinese counterpart over recent provocations
3. N. Korean nuclear threat poses serious challenge to U.S. extended deterrence: Campbell
4. Kim Jong-un reshuffles top officials more often to secure loyalty, tighten power grip: ministry
5. Ex-national security adviser indicted over slain official case
6. U.S. Commits to Keeping Troop Strength in Korea
7. N.Korean Workers Party Vows to Stay in Power for 8,000 Years
8. Workers’ Party school staffer arrested for anti-socialist activity
9. South Korea Passes New Law Making Everyone a Little Younger
10. Polish president personally welcomes delivery of Korean weapons
11. North hackers used Itaewon tragedy as Trojan Horse
12. Unification ministry seeks power to investigate North Korean defectors

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, DECEMBER 7
2. A Better Understanding of Chinese Covert Operations (Book Review)
3. The Pentagon Marches Off to Climate War
4. IntelBrief: How Counterterrorism and Great Power Competition Coexist
5. Compromise NDAA released with $857.9 billion topline
6. Military sources: Ukraine missiles used US guidance
7. U.S.-French Commitment to Secure Space Assets Shines a Light on Cyber Vulnerability
8. How Biden, Congress can stop the UN from legitimizing antisemitism
9. US building a missile wall in the Pacific
10. Japanese warplanes in Philippines for first time since WW2
11. NATO's Nordic Enlargement: Contingency Planning and Learning Lessons
12. How ‘MacGyver’ magic can get Taiwan its Harpoon defenses faster
13. Germany arrests 25 accused of plotting coup
14. Are We Sleepwalking Through a ‘Decisive Decade’?
15. US military’s National Media Exploitation Center to refocus on China
16. China's looser anti-COVID measures met with relief, caution

Korean News Content:

1. U.S. will continue holding joint exercises against N. Korean provocations: Kirby
2. Russia continues to look to N. Korea for weapons for use in Ukraine: State Dept.
3.  N. Korea revises laws on agriculture, grain distribution amid food shortages
4. S. Korea issues advisory against hiring N.K. IT workers with disguised nationalities
5. North Korea's Olympic suspension to end on Dec. 31
6. North Korea looks for attention with missile diplomacy
7. South Korea to amend laws to prevent forced repatriation of North Koreans
8. U.S. Greenlights Sale of Chinook Helicopters to Korea
9. UN Security Council plans ‘closed-door’ discussion on NK human rights despite calls
10. Increasing number of N. Korean students cut class as winter begins
11. December is bribery season in North Korea as public enterprises seek 2023 funding

A Small Wars Journal−El Centro team just published a research article, "A Social Network Analysis of Mexico’s Dark Network Alliance Structure" at the Journal of Strategic Security. The team included SWJ−El Centro Senior Fellows Nathan P. Jones and John P. Sullivan, along with Fellow Irina A. Chindea, and Associate Daniel Weisz Agromedo. The article looks at the organizational structures of the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) and its rival Sinaloa Cartel. 

Network Main Component with Community Detection (Figure 10 ion the text. Authors' elaboration based on UCINEt analysis of Lantia Consltres data used with permission). 

Abstract: "A Social Network Analysis of Mexico’s Dark Network Alliance Structure" assesses Mexico’s organized crime alliance and subgroup network structures. Through social network analysis (SNA) of data from Lantia Consultores, a consulting firm in Mexico that specializes in the analysis of public policies, it demonstrates differential alliance structures within Mexico’s bipolar illicit network system. The Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación’s (CJNG) alliance structure is top-down and hierarchical, while the Sinaloa Cartel is denser, particularly in the broader Tierra Caliente region. Additionally, our analysis found a sparse overall network with many isolates (groups with no relations to other groups) and disconnected components. Further, we identified organized crime networks that might fill future power vacuums based on their network positions, following state or rival high-value targeting of major cartels. The implications of these findings are discussed, and policy recommendations are provided.

A previous, non-refereed version of this manuscript was published as part of a working paper series by Rice University's Baker Institute. The authors have undertaken a significant revision to allow for peer review to qualify for publication in the Journal of Strategic Security. The Baker Institute supports the publication of this revised manuscript without any restrictions. The previous version may be read on the Baker Institute website: https://doi.org/10.25613/KMGB-NC83.

Source: Nathan P. Jones, Irina A. Chindea, Daniel Weisz Agromedo, and John P. Sullivan, "A Social Network Analysis of Mexico’s Dark Network Alliance Structure." Journal of Strategic Security. Vol. 15, no. 4, December 2022. 

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. Russia-Ukraine live updates: Ukrainian special forces were in Russia during strike

2. RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, DECEMBER 6

3. Looking the People’s Daily in the Eye

4. TikTok National-Security Deal Faces More Delays as Worry Grows Over Risks

5. Three questions following the Army's FLRAA decision

6. Hawley presses Blinken to prioritize arming Taiwan over Ukraine

7. In Ukraine, a new approach to modern conflict is emerging

8. China Protests: Xi Jinping’s Greatest Challenge Will Be His Country’s Rising Middle Class

9. Irregular Warfare Center (IWC) | SOF News

10. Ukraine leader defiant as drone strikes hit Russia again

11. Explosions at Russian Air Bases May Change Several Nations’ Calculations

12. Authorize State Department programs so we can truly lead with diplomacy

13. North Carolina attack underscores vulnerability of power grid

14. Ukraine Situation Report: Russia Ran Out Of Iranian Shahed-136 Drones Says Kyiv

15. Russia’s playbook to gain influence

16. China’s Communist ruler Xi not playing games with U.S.

17. Biden Must Act to Prevent a Turkish Attack on US Partners in Northern Syria

18. China lends billions to poor countries. Is that a burden ... or a blessing?

19. Marine Corps' elite MARSOC operators have been getting ready for the future

20. Disentangling The Digital Battlefield: How the Internet Has Changed War

Korean News Content:

1.  U.S., Australia urge N. Korea to engage in dialogue, address human rights issues

2. Joint Statement on Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) 2022

3. Secretary Antony J. Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles at a Joint Press Availability

4. Yoon says S. Korea must perfectly overwhelm N. Korea in conventional military strength

5. N.Korea Is Officially the Enemy Again

6. Former N. Korean diplomat working at S. Korea's state-run think tank: lawmaker

7. Keeping Calm in the Face of North Korean Provocations

8. Koreans' Life Expectancy Keeps Rising

9.  N. Korea to hold parliamentary meeting on Jan. 17: KCNA

10. S. Korea to hold policy meeting on N. Korea's human rights this week

11. Some in N. Korea believe that a seventh nuclear test “is not urgent”

12. Dozens arrested in narcotics crackdown in Hoeryong

13. Defense White Paper explicitly states N. Korea is an enemy

14.  [Column] The symbolism of Kim’s daughter

15. NK's strong interest in climate change offers opportunity for cooperation

16. IAEA chief to visit South Korea next week to discuss North Korean nuclear, other issues

17. Fingers crossed for unification of two Koreas

18. [INTERVIEW] 'If youth get excited about unification, things will happen very quickly'