The ROK government has been wanting to get a new US-ROK cost sharing agreement in place before the U.S. presidential election. This is because they know the potential acrimony that could happen if Donald Trump is elected President and they have to negotiate a new agreement with his administration:
This photo, captured from the State Department’s website, shows Linda Specht, a senior adviser and lead negotiator for security agreements at the department.
South Korea and the United States outlined their respective visions for a new bilateral defense cost-sharing deal during their first round of negotiations in Honolulu this week, the top U.S. negotiator said Friday.
Linda Specht, senior advisor and U.S. lead negotiator for security agreements at the State Department, made the remarks after the initial round of talks over the deal, named the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) took place from Tuesday through Thursday.
The talks are aimed at determining how much Seoul should pay for the stationing of U.S. Forces Korea. The current six-year SMA is set to end at the end of next year.
“The United States and Republic of Korea outlined their respective visions for the 12th SMA,” she said in a statement. She did not elaborate on the visions.
“Our commitment to reinforcing the readiness of our combined defense posture underlines the enduring vitality of the U.S.-ROK alliance. We will continue to consult whenever necessary to further strengthen and sustain the Alliance under the 12th SMA,” she added.
Shortly before the talks, Specht said that the U.S. seeks a “fair” and “equitable” outcome in the SMA talks.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
It wasn’t that long ago actions like this was not taken seriously by Korean courts. It is good to see the progress made holding these weirdos accountable:
The court sentenced a pastor in his 40s to prison and arrested him in court for forcibly harassing a woman in her 20s who was a believer and related to a heterogeneous cousin.
According to the legal community on the 28th, the Chuncheon District Court’s Wonju Branch 1 (Chief Judge Lee Soo-woong) sentenced A (41) to three years in prison and arrested him without detention on charges of violating the Special Act on Sexual Violence Crimes Punishment.
The court also ordered the completion of a 40-hour sexual violence treatment program and restrictions on employment for five years at facilities related to children, adolescents, and the disabled, respectively.
A, a church pastor, was indicted on charges of hugging B and touching her body by putting her hand inside her clothes while talking to B (25, female), a member and heterogeneous cousin, at 2 p.m. on June 23 last year.
At the time, the victim refused, saying to A, “What’s wrong with you, I’ll report it,” but “There are times when I can’t control myself because there are many male hormones.” It was revealed through the indictment that he continued to molest, saying, “I wanted to touch it normally.”
Maeil Kyeongchae
You can read more at the link.
Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.
Green tea fields
Visitors take a stroll through green tea fields producing premium tea brand Osulloc on South Korea’s largest island of Jeju on April 25, 2024. (Yonhap)
Another sector of the Korean defense industry could be receiving some work in the near future in the United States:
The world’s largest shipbuilder, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. of Ulsan, South Korea, has signed a deal to seek U.S. government shipbuilding and maintenance contacts in alliance with Philly Shipyard Inc., which employs around 1,000 at the former Philadelphia Navy Yard site in South Philadelphia.
An agreement to “explore a potential business relationship” for government work was signed April 12 by Won ho Joo, chief executive of HD Hyundai’s naval and special ships unit, and Steinar Nerbovik, who has run the Philly yard since 2014 on behalf of its owner, Norway-based Aker ASA. The deal announced this week follows a February visit by U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro to Korean shipyards where he invited owners to invest in U.S. shipyards to build for military and civilian clients.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
It looks like Hyundai is understanding that the vast majority of consumers do not want to drive an EV. I have always said the focus should be on plug in hybrid because the range anxiety is a real thing when it comes to EVs:
Hyundai Motor will boost sales of its hybrid cars and SUVs as part of its key strategy to ensure profitable growth amid falling sentiment for electric vehicles (EV), the company said Thursday during a conference call.
The decision came as demand for hybrid vehicles is on the gradual rise, after the global EV industry entered a chasm this year. The company displayed the vision after disclosing a slight fall in its first-quarter operating profit.
In a regulatory filing, the carmaker reported an operating profit of 3.55 trillion won ($2.58 billion) in the first quarter, down 2.3 percent from the previous year, hit by an overall sales fall. The company, however, generated robust sales of 40.65 trillion won, up 7.6 percent during the same period.
The company said it will place its management focus on defending its profitability by widening sales for hybrid vehicles and SUVs, at a critical juncture when the global EV industry shows no immediate signs of a rebound.
Korea Times
You can read more at the link.
