Democratic People Research Articles

Transformation of the currency regulation regime and foreign economic relations of Russia in the context of expanding anti-Russian sanctions

The article discusses the features of currency regulation and foreign economic relations of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as RF, Russia) in the context of the introduction and growth of anti-Russian sanctions by the United States of America, European Union countries and other unfriendly countries, issues related to ensuring the sustainability of the Russian economy and its ability to withstand negative internal and external influences, issues of financial security, which is an important component of the country’s economic security, issues of the current state of the state’s banking system and the Russian economy as a whole. The article also discusses the possible expansion of international economic relations between Russia, China, North Korea and other countries. The purpose of the article is to identify directions for the transformation of the currency regulation regime and foreign economic relations of the RF in the context of the expansion of anti-Russian sanctions. The subject of the study is the currency and foreign economic relations of the RF with friendly and unfriendly countries in the current conditions of growing anti-Russian sanctions and the conduct of a special military operation in Ukraine. In conclusion, the article highlights key changes associated with changes in Russia’s foreign exchange and foreign economic activeities, promising opportunities for further expansion of international economic relations with China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and other friendly countries.

Cave morphology and moonmilk deposits of Ryongmun Cavern, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea: A Study for the Conservation of Natural Heritage

The Ryongmun Cavern, registered on the World Heritage Tentative List, is the largest and most beautiful karst cave on the Korean peninsula. The characteristics of the cave morphology and moonmilk deposits in the Ryongmun Cavern were studied. A cross section of the main direction of the cave shows that the Ryongmun Cavern is made up mainly of four strata and this caused 4 stages of decline in underground waterline in the course of cave formation. The cave is mainly characterized by NW–SE-trending, NWW–SEE-trending and NNE– SSW-trending passages. The horizontal passages usually have large and wide spaces, whereas the inclined ones are relatively small and narrow. The cave minerals in the Ryongmun Cavern are mainly calcite and aragonite. In the cave, stalactites, stalagmites, limestone columns, cave pearls, etc. Are calcite; and, anthodites are aragonite. In the cave, speleothems display a wonderful underground landscape in harmony with the cave bedrock and groundwater (streams, waterfalls and ponds). The main scenes of the underground karst landscape in the cave are stalactites, stalagmites, limestone columns, stone waterfalls anthodites, underground waterfalls, and underground ponds.The deposits that have been formed recently on the surface of speleothems and walls in the cave are mainly moonmilk composed of hydromagnesite (Mg5(CO3)4(OH)2•4H2O) with an average particle size of 0.55 μm and chemical composition of MgO–29.43% and CaO–6.28%. The moonmilk is present in a white, fine powder form, a hand-rubbed smooth, and a moisture content of 42.0%. Also, the pH is 10.09, which is alkaline. In the Ryongmun Cavern, moonmilk was formed at sites with very low supply of karst water and relatively high wind speeds. The unique underground karst features provide sufficient evidence for geoheritage value of the cave and the characteristics of moonmilk provide a significant implication for management and preservation of the cave environment.

Seismic Discrimination Using Regional Distance Coda-Wave Ratios

Abstract This study utilizes regional seismic coda-wave amplitude ratios to distinguish earthquakes and declared nuclear explosions in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). We compute the coda spectral ratios at common stations to isolate source information from propagation and site effects. The resulting frequency-dependent amplitude ratios help identify differences between source types at DPRK. We use parametric models to validate observations, linking them to seismic source parameters. Our method effectively distinguishes the spectral signatures of explosions, nearby earthquakes, and a post-explosion collapse event. The measurements show clear differences between source-type combinations and agree with estimated seismic source models. Notably, the coda spectral ratios between explosions and earthquakes indicate that explosive sources exhibit relatively lower high-frequency S-wave energy and corner frequency compared to P waves. We leverage these spectral differences to develop a Bayesian inference framework for seismic source discrimination at the DPRK test site. This study demonstrates that spectral differences between source types can be exploited in coda spectral ratios to provide critical information for seismic discrimination.

NORTH MACEDONIA TOWARD THE EUROPEAN UNION THROUGH GOOD NEIGHBORLINESS

After declaring independence in January 1991, North Macedonia decided that its future would be in the family of democratic peoples of Europe. North Macedonia has clearly expressed its priority for membership in the European Union as one of its strategic and vital interests. With the realization of this determination, the Republic of North Macedonia was legitimized as a reliable partner and ally of the European Union, but it still went through a series of different stages in the development of relations, rapprochement, and integration in the EU. We all know that reforms are required within the states that seek and want to be members of the European Union. There are several important steps through which the state of North Macedonia, a candidate country, has shown its goodwill in the long path of integration and contribution. The key points and changes necessary to achieve the goal of being part of the European Union that have been realized so far are the following: the Prespa Agreement between North Macedonia and Greece, the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborliness, and the Union of Cooperation, between Macedonia North and Bulgaria. This paper analyzes North Macedonia's approach to the European Union, the transition, its difficulties and challenges on this path, and the Constitution's changes. In the end, conclusions and suggestions are given to make North Macedonia's path towards the European Union a little easier.

Automating Power: Cybernetics and Sovereignty in Cold War North Korea.

This study challenges the conventional Cold War narrative that portrays cybernetics as inherently opposed to communist authoritarianism and the perception of cybernetic control as a mechanism of liberal governmentality. It analyzes the introduction of cybernetics into the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) during the Cold War. Previous studies about cybernetics in the socialist world have described how the discipline's emphasis on objectivity and decentralization clashed with orthodox political economists and Stalinist science and led to liberal reforms. Yet in the DPRK, the introduction of cybernetics was followed by an increase in authoritarianism.

The middle Miocene Hamjin flora and preliminary palaeoclimatic analysis of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

The Hamjin flora was discovered from the Miocene Hamjin Formation of Hamjin-ri, Myonggan County, North Hamgyong Province. Taxodiaceae, Fagaceae, Betulaceae and Aceraceae are dominated and there are also plant fossils that are extinct in our country, such as dozens of extant species, and Liriodendron, Cercidiphyllum, Saysfras, Nyssa and so on. The Hamjin flora show that the climate at that time was warm and temperate. The plant fossils found in Hamjin area are of great importance for studying the evolution of flora and climate change from the Middle Miocene to the present.

Assessing Environmental Sustainability in the Transnational Basin of the Tumen River Based on Remote Sensing Data and a Geographical Detector

Evaluating environmental sustainability in the transnational basin of the Tumen River (TBTR) is of great significance for promoting sustainable development in Northeast Asia. However, past research has mostly concentrated on a particular environmental element, making it impossible to thoroughly and effectively show the environmental sustainability dynamics in this transnational area. In this study, we attempted to reveal environmental sustainability trends in the TBTR from 2000 to 2021 using the Environmental Degradation Index (EDI) and analyze the driving forces using a geographical detector. It was found that the TBTR’s environmental sustainability decreased significantly, with a degraded region (13,174.75 km2) accounting for 31.01% of the whole area from 2000 to 2021. The dynamics of environmental sustainability on the three sides of China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and Russia have shown significant differences, with the most significantly improved in environmental sustainability being the subregion of China. On the Chinese side, the area that significantly improved in environmental sustainability accounted for 26.19% of the area on the Chinese side, which was 1.17 times higher than that of the DPRK’s side and 1.24 times higher than that of the Russian side. Land use intensity (LUI), land use and land cover (LULC), and population density (PD) were the most dominant driving forces for environmental sustainability dynamics on the three sides of China, the DPRK, and Russia. China, the DPRK, and Russia can improve international environmental cooperation to promote sustainable development in the TBTR and Northeast Asia.

Inventory and Quantitative Assessment of Mountainous Geoheritage Sites in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

Inventory and Quantitative Assessment of Mountainous Geoheritage Sites in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

Development of an Electronic Voting System using Blockchain Technology and Deep Hybrid Learning

Democratic people cannot function properly in today's sophisticated societies (where voting is a prominent issue) without electronic voting technologies. This study explores the use of hybrid learning algorithms for biometric authentication of voters, and blockchain technology for secure electronic voting. The thorough analysis includes a collection of more than 50,000 fingerprint samples using custom Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), VGG16, VGG19, Xception, and Inception. The algorithms are evaluated using F1-score, recall, accuracy, and precision. By combining Random Forest with a specially designed CNN, a novel hybrid learning algorithm is developed for authentication purposes. This blended model provides the best outcome in terms of accuracy (99.32%) and precision (99.32%). In addition, a web application was developed. This application integrates blockchain technology for electronic voting using Flask, HTML, and Solidity. By using blockchain, tampering and unauthorized access are prevented. It also ensures impartial voting and secure storage. The tabular presentation of the results provides a clear summary of each candidate's total votes.

A Study of Cooperation of Port-Related Departments for Implementation of UN Safety Commuttie Sanction against Democratic People’s Repubilic of Korea

A Study of Cooperation of Port-Related Departments for Implementation of UN Safety Commuttie Sanction against Democratic People’s Repubilic of Korea

The “Two Koreas” Problem in U.S. Policy, 1974–1980

In this article, the author charts the evolution of US Korea policy after the failed attempts to establish a unification dialogue between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the reduction of the US military presence on the peninsula in 1974–1980. In 1973, The United Nations Commission for the Unification and Rehabilitation of Korea (UNCURK), which the Americans had supported for decades, ceased operations. The question of the fate of the United Nations Command loomed large. On the whole, in 1974–1980, the Americans did not reduce their military presence in Korea. At the same time, diplomatic support for negotiations on this topic and participation in maintaining the inter-Korean dialogue on the status of the ROK and DPRK in the UN and scenarios for possible unification of the country were quite effective. The Americans managed to prevent destabilisation in South Korea even in the face of a sudden change of power following the assassination of Park Chung-Hee. Simultaneously, the necessary international structures, such as the ROK/US Joint Forces Command, were put in place. Moreover, US diplomats managed to preserve even such a relic of the Korean War as the UN Command. At the same time, the issue of Korean unification had by this time become an instrument of political manipulation by all countries concerned. Under these circumstances, unification could not be achieved by diplomatic means alone.

Numerical simulations of the heavy rain event in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea during 9–10 August 2020

Accurate forecasting of heavy rainfalls and understanding of their dynamics are important to minimize the damage caused by them in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPR Korea). This study is conducted on a heavy rainfall event (452 mm) on 9–10 August 2020 over Pankyo region located on the midlands of the Korean peninsula. To verify the proper configuration of convection-permitting simulations, sensitivity experiments were performed with five microphysical schemes (Lin, Goddard, Thompson, Morrison and WDM6) of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. The results suggested that all high-resolution simulations reflect the main characteristics of observed precipitation pattern well, but the location and intensity of maximum precipitation from scheme to scheme. Among the considered all the microphysics, the Lin scheme showed the best agreement with observed precipitation. Results also showed that the Lin scheme reproduced the vertical distribution and time variation of several hydrometeors, as well as dynamic and thermodynamic parameters associated with heavy rainfall well. These outcomes suggest that the suitable selection of microphysics schemes with WRF model is important to predict and understand heavy rainfall events over the DPR Korea.

Pest categorisation of Monema flavescens.

The EFSA Panel on Plant Health performed a pest categorisation of Monema flavescens (Lepidoptera, Limacodidae), following the commodity risk assessment of Acer palmatum plants grafted on A. davidii from China, in which M. flavescens was identified as a pest of possible concern to the European Union. This species can be identified by morphological taxonomic keys and by barcoding. The adults of the overwintering generation emerge from late June to late August. The eggs are laid in groups on the underside of the host-plant leaves, on which the larvae feed throughout their six to eight larval instars. Pupation occurs in ovoid cocoons at the junction between twigs and branches, or on the trunk. Overwintering occurs as fully grown larvae or prepupae in their cocoon. There are one or two generations per year. M. flavescens is polyphagous and feeds on broadleaves; it has been reported on 51 plant species belonging to 24 families. It mainly occurs in Asia (Bhutan, China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Japan, Nepal, the Republic of Korea), Russia (Eastern Siberia) and Taiwan. It is also present in the USA (Massachusetts). The pest's flight capacities are unknown. The main pathway for entry and spread is plants for planting with cocoons attached. This is partially closed by prohibition of some hosts. In several EU member states climatic conditions are conducive for establishment and many host plants are widespread. Introduction of M. flavescens may result in defoliations influencing tree health and forest diversity. The caterpillars also have urticating spines affecting human health. Phytosanitary measures are available to reduce the likelihood of entry, establishment and spread, and there is a definite potential for classical biological control. Recognising that natural enemies prevent M. flavescens being regarded as a pest in Asia, there is uncertainty regarding the magnitude of potential impact in EU depending on the influence of natural enemies. All criteria assessed by EFSA for consideration as a potential quarantine pest are met.

Integrating local ecological knowledge and remote sensing reveals patterns and drivers of forest cover change: North Korea as a case study

Satellite-based remote sensing approaches provide a cost-efficient means to collect information on the world’s forests and to repeatedly survey large, or inaccessible, forest areas. However, it may not always be possible to ground truth–associated findings using direct ecological field surveys conducted by trained forest scientists. Local ecological knowledge (LEK) is an alternative form of data which could be used to complement, interpret and verify information from satellite data. Using a case study on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), we evaluate the potential for integrating remote sensing and LEK data, gathered with non-specialist former residents, to understand patterns and drivers of forest cover change. LEK reports often concurred with, or provided key information to enable interpretation of, satellite data. This revealed that between 1986 and 2021, North Korea experienced high, but uneven, rates of deforestation. There was a pronounced northwards deforestation shift in the mid-1990s, coinciding with a period of extreme hardship and famine (the “Arduous March”), and associated with clearance of trees in more forested northern provinces as an economic and fuel resource, and conversion of forest to agricultural cropland. Loss of forest cover in North Korea has continued and recently accelerated, to a rate of > 200 km2 per annum between 2019 and 2021. This increases the vulnerability of North Korean socio-ecological systems to future environmental change and is an obstacle to the recovery of threatened species across the Korean Peninsula. We recommend that LEK- and remote sensing–based approaches are considered within a suite of complementary techniques to analyse forest changes where ecological field surveys cannot be conducted.

Single-Station Back-Azimuth Determination with the Receiver Function Rotation Technique Validated by the Locations of Earthquakes, Impacts, and Explosions

Abstract The success of seismometer installations on the ocean floor, polar regions, remote continental areas, and even other planets’ surfaces has sparked renewed interest in determining the location via the azimuthal direction of a seismic event recorded by a single station, also known as the back azimuth (BAZ). However, classical algorithms for the BAZ estimate, like principal component and polarization analyses based on P-wave particle motions, are prone to ambiguities of 180°. Motivated by the sensor orientation correction techniques used for ocean-bottom seismometers and land stations for known event locations, we explore a receiver function rotation (RFR) method to determine the BAZ for events recorded by a single station. It is a parameter search over a range of horizontal component rotation angles from 0° to 360°. The fundamental feature of the method is that the direct P wave in the radial receiver function (RF) will have the maximum amplitude when the rotation from the ZNE system (vertical, north–south, and east–west) to ZRT (vertical, radial, and tangential) is aligned with the BAZ of the incoming P wave. Hence, the largest amplitude at zero time of the ensemble of RFs computed for different horizontal component rotations shows the optimal BAZ, which is consequently free of the 180° ambiguities. The technique’s performance is validated using the well-documented location of the 2017 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea nuclear explosion and over 1200 cataloged earthquakes on the two permanent stations in Australia. We further benchmark the RFR algorithm by the locations of two ground-truth Martian impact events documented by the orbital camera and recorded by InSight’s seismometer. Our method helps enhance the reliability of BAZ estimation as a complementary scheme to other methods. It can be used in remote areas on Earth and on the future missions to the Moon and other planets.

Методика оценки состояния геоэкономической составляющей экономического суверенитета РФ

The assessment of economic sovereignty in the context of modern geopolitical challenges is essential for understanding the dynamics of international relations. Sanctions have become the primary tool of coercion against competitors within the framework of the established policy of neo-protectionism in the XX–XXI centuries. In the face of escalating sanction pressure on the Russian Federation in 2022–2023, studying international experience in counter-sanction policies becomes relevant. This study examines the main vectors for enhancing the resistance of the economic system in the practices of Iran, the People’s Republic of China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and the Republic of South Africa. A possible way to counteract sanctions pressure is to initiate a policy aimed at increasing the country’s economic resilience. The author’s methodology for assessing the state of the three political economic sovereignties of the Russian Federation is proposed. The methodology is applied in the article to the example of the geo-economic component over the period of 2015–2021. It is demonstrated that the initial resistance for the geo-economic component of economic sovereignty has not been achieved. Moreover, specific directions for increasing the level of sustainability in the context of the geo-economic component are proposed. By adapting lessons from international experiences, the Russian Federation can strengthen its economic sovereignty and navigate global challenges more effectively.

Биохимический состав семян сои Дальневосточного региона

The purpose of the study is to analyze seeds of cultivated and wild soybeans in the Far Eastern Region according to a number of indicators of biochemical composition. The object of the study is seeds of 18 varieties and 4 forms of wild soybeans grown in the Amur Region (Alena, Lidiya, Kitrossa, Sonata, Garmoniya, KBL-29, KA-1413, KZ-6337), Khabarovsk (Marinata, Batya, VAZ-100, Ivan Karamanov, Saltus, wild soybean HK), Primorsky Regions (Musson, Primorskaya -96, Primorskaya-4, Primorskaya-86, Sfera) and the the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (black, yellow, green). The content of transgenes in seeds was determined by PCR with hybridization-fluorescent detection in real time (Real Time PCR); concentration of protein, oil and VVC – by the method of diffuse reflection in the near infrared region. The graphs obtained as a result of amplification indicate that during the PCR analysis, no gene-tically modified construct (35S promoter and NOS terminator) was detected in any of the soybean varieties studied. The studied soybean varieties from the Far Eastern Region are not transgenic. According to biochemical indicators, the Kitrossa variety of Amur selection should be distinguished, which is characterized by a high content of protein (46.80 ± 0.02 %), oleic (27.53 ± 0.01) and linolenic acids (11.79 ± 0.01 %), as well as the DPRK soybean varieties (from 41.43 ± 0.03 to 43.46 ± 0.01 %), which had an increased protein content with an optimal linoleic-linolenic ratio (ω-6: ω-3). Wild soybeans have been shown to contain high amounts of protein. For the KZ-6337 form, the maximum amount of protein was identified (50.06 ± 0.10 %), therefore it is recommended to use it as a source of dominant genes when breeding high-protein soybean varieties. The results of a study of the biochemical composition of soybeans in the Far Eastern Region indicate the varietal specificity of the region of growth in protein, oilseed and fatty acid composition.

Joint Inversion of Regional Waveform, First-Motion Polarity, and Synthetic Aperture Radar Surface Displacement for the Fourth and Sixth North Korean Declared Nuclear Explosions

ABSTRACT This study analyzed the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) fourth (DPRK4, 6 January 2016 Mw 4.49) and sixth (DPRK6, 7 September 2017 Mw 5.2) declared nuclear tests, employing a joint seismic and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) inversion to improve understanding of these events and enhance moment tensor (MT) inversion capabilities. The recent efforts have focused on employing seismic waveform and InSAR geodetic deformation data separately to analyze these and the previous nuclear tests (e.g., Chiang et al., 2018; Myers et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2018). Building upon our previous work (Chi-Durán et al., 2021), we performed a joint regional waveform, first-motion (FM) polarity, and surface displacement inversion, which demonstrated improved source-type discrimination, a revised MT solution with reduced scalar moment uncertainty, and an independently constrained location. In this article, we build on the previous results for DPRK6 by including an analysis using a four-layered velocity model with free-surface topography to compute the near-source static deformation Green’s functions. The model consists of a 50 m basalt layer (VP=2.07 km/s, VS=1.2 km/s), a 250 m stratified volcanic deposit layer (VP=1.73 km/s, VS=1.0 km/s), a 700 m weathered granodiorite layer (VP=2.5 km/s, VS=1.3 km/s), and a granodiorite half-space (VP=5.35 km/s, VS=3.09 km/s). The half-space shares the velocity of the regional MDJ2 velocity model (Ford et al., 2010), which has proven effective for waveform inversion in the region. This model considers the range of reported values for various lithologies and weathering effects. Our findings show that using the layered velocity model enhances the recovery of source location and depth for both the explosions by improving fits and reducing uncertainties. The joint inversion also improves source-type discrimination and better constrains the scalar seismic moment necessary for downstream yield estimation.

Building partnerships for sustainable development: case study of Laos, the BRI, and the SDGs

This study examines sustainable development cooperation and the effectiveness of sustainable development partnerships in supporting national development in meeting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study focuses on SDG 17, “Building Partnerships for Sustainable Development” and takes the Lao Democratic People’s Republic (Laos) as its case study. The study assesses Laos’s socio-economic condition, development trajectory and SDGs. It evaluates Laos’s development partnerships with China and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and wider development diplomacy. The study adopts a political economy perspective, drawing in global major power competition. The paper argues that development partnerships are pivotal to success in achieving national and global development goals. Laos holds the ASEAN Chair through 2024, whilst experiencing severe economic challenges domestically. Moving between these two domains, Laos will seek to achieve balance and even-handedness between regional and global interests. Laos’s long-standing development partnership with China and the BRI brings tangible results. However, the study concludes that greater diversification in building partnerships for development will provide additional support to Laos’s development strategy.

Disinformation As A Threat To Society And Efforts To Eliminate Them

With the development of a wide range of modern technologies, the rapid spread and wide availability of the Internet, as well as the extensive use of various information and communication tools and devices, a new range of possibilities have emerged for people, such as information retrieval, processing, and dissemination. However, at the same time, a new range of opportunities has emerged for the spread of misleading, deceptive and false information – disinformation –spread by state and non-state actors with the aim of influencing the functioning of democratic society and people's behaviour. The spread of disinformation thus currently represents an extremely dangerous threat that can have very negative consequences for individuals, organisations, and the entire society. For this reason, as part of the conducted security research, the author of this paper, deals with the issue of disinformation, points out the danger of its spread, defines the concept of disinformation and at the same time, discusses the possibilities of eliminating the consequences of the spread of disinformation.