President Xi is on a diplomatic flurry after first hosting Trump, then Putin, and now he is going to meet with Kim Jong-un:

Chinese President Xi Jinping will likely visit North Korea as early as next week, sources said Wednesday.

“We have obtained intelligence indicating that President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea soon,” a high-ranking government official told Yonhap News Agency.

Another government official also said there is a high possibility of Xi visiting North Korea later this month or early next month, noting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Pyongyang last month and the recent trips by Xi’s security guards and ceremonial staff to the North Korean capital.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The long awaited nuclear submarine project for South Korea is finally moving forward:

The military has initiated the formal process to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, a Navy document showed Wednesday, amid little progress in security talks with the United States over Seoul’s push for the project.

The Navy recently submitted the document to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) outlining the need for the program and specifying requirements, such as desired capabilities, the number of systems needed and projected deployment schedules, according to the document provided to Rep. Kang Dae-sik of the main opposition People Power Party.

The U.S. gave approval for South Korea to build nuclear-powered attack submarines and committed to working with Seoul to advance requirements for the project, including avenues to source fuel, under a joint fact sheet released after a summit of the allies’ leaders.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the ROK is planning to build 4 nuclear submarines that should be complete by the mid-to-late 20230’s.

I will be surprised if the Japanese court believes this defense. If this holds up every rapist will be claiming they were sleepwalking to justify their crimes:

A U.S. Marine accused of sexually assaulting a Japanese woman and injuring another will rely on a defense of insanity due to a sleep disorder when his case comes to trial in June, his attorney said Wednesday. Pfc. Austin Wedington, 28, of California, should not be held responsible for an incident prosecutors allege occurred on March 18, 2025, according to a Feb. 12 filing by attorney Tetsu Amakata in Naha District Court.

Amakata’s pleading was partially read in court by Presiding Judge Tomohiko Shinomiya on Wednesday. The defendant was showing symptoms of parasomnia and was in a state of insanity during every act he is accused of in the indictment, according to Amakata’s filing. Parasomnia is an umbrella term for disruptive sleep disorders that include sleepwalking, sleep terrors, sleep talking and sleep paralysis, according to the National Library of Medicine.

Article 39 of Japan’s penal code states that “actions due to insanity are not subject to punishment.” Wedington pleaded not guilty Nov. 18 to forcible sexual intercourse and guilty to injuring the second woman before a three-judge panel presided over by Judge Kazuhiko Obata.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Here is the latest virtue signaling over the Gwangju Uprising:

The Army said Tuesday it has revoked 33 commendations that were awarded to soldiers in the name of an Army chief for their roles in a bloody crackdown during the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju.

The move is the latest in a series of military efforts to address past wrongdoing by the troops during the brutal crackdown on civilians who rose up against the military junta, led by then Army Gen. Chun Doo-hwan, in the nine-day revolt.

Chun seized power through a coup on Dec. 12, 1979, and ultimately became president in August 1980.

After a review of the commendations related to the Gwangju crackdown operations, the Army found a total of 33 troops had received commendations, Bae Seok-jin, the Army spokesperson, said in a press briefing. 

“The Army decided to revoke the 33 commendations at a merit review committee on April 28,” Bae said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It is interesting that according to the article that Samsung employees have seen their average pay rise by 25% since last year and want to go on strike now for even more pay:

Samsung Electronics headquarters in Seocho District, southern Seoul / Yonhap

The estimated average monthly pay for Samsung Electronics employees reached 12 million won ($7,966) in the first quarter of this year, analysis showed Tuesday, as the company’s unionized workers moved closer to a possible strike over performance bonuses.

The Korea CXO Institute released its report, titled “Analysis of Estimated Average Employee Pay at Samsung Electronics in the First Quarter of 2026,” on Tuesday, estimating the average first-quarter compensation per employee at roughly 36 million won.

This figure amounts to about 12 million won per month for the tech giant’s 125,000 domestic employees, representing a more than 25 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Everything seems to have gone well during the Lee-Takaichi summit. Hopefully the positive direction of Korea-Japan relations continues:

President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi agreed to strengthen cooperation on supply chains, including crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), during a bilateral summit in Lee’s hometown of Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday.

The agreement was reached as the two neighbors are deepening bilateral ties through continued summit diplomacy, amid heightened global energy security risks stemming from the U.S. war on Iran.

“We agreed that close bilateral cooperation is needed more than ever amid the instability in supply chains and energy markets arising from the recent situation in the Middle East,” Lee said in a joint press statement after the summit.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.