Too many people think missile defense is a magic force field when the fact is that it buys commanders time to disperse assets and go on the offense. Just the disparity in the number of interceptors compared to enemy missiles is evidence enough of this fact:

Seth Jones, president of the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), made the remarks in an op-ed released by The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, following reports that the United States is running low on key missile defense interceptors amid the Middle East war.

Noting that advancements in drone and missile warfare have pushed Ukraine and Russia to take extensive steps to protect their bases since their full-scale war began in 2022, Jones argued that the U.S. has been “too slow” to learn from the war and protect its bases and other infrastructure in the Middle East.

“The challenge in the Pacific is much greater. China presents a more serious threat than Iran with a larger and more capable stockpile of drones and cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missiles,” he said.

“U.S. military bases and other infrastructure across the Pacific — from Japan and the Philippines to Guam and South Korea — are highly vulnerable to Chinese and North Korean missiles and drones,” he added.

The expert called on the U.S. to get serious about protecting its critical infrastructure, stressing the need to take an array of steps, including increasing “active defenses,” such as air defense systems that can identify, shoot down or otherwise disrupt incoming missiles and drones.

He also called for the U.S. to ramp up “passive defenses,” such as digging underground facilities for vital infrastructure; increase its use of camouflage, concealment and deception; and disperse its military facilities to make it more difficult for potential adversaries to attack.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but hardening buildings and digging underground facilities is very expensive and Congressmen and Generals would rather buy shiny new F-35s and naval destroyers.

Some people are beginning to connect the dots in regards to referee massage parlor scandal:

Some foreign media outlets, especially those in Japan, which co-hosted the 2002 World Cup with Korea, have been reporting on the latest allegations, which were made public last week and were revealed through a 2016 Korean government audit. The audit showed the KFA’s corporate credit cards were allegedly used to pay for sex services for visiting foreign referees at massage parlors and sexual entertainment facilities in Seoul and other cities that hosted international matches between March 2011 and March 2012.

These reports revived allegations that Korean officials bribed referees during the 2002 World Cup. 

“During the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, dubious referee calls in the knockout matches against Italy and Spain sparked referee bribery allegations from Western media outlets, including The Guardian and The New York Times,” Zak II, an online outlet by Sankei Shimbun, reported on Friday.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Zelenskyy is probably in competition with the Arab countries to purchase Korean-made air defense systems. It seems his strategy is to scare the ROK with the North Korean threat in order to prioritize Ukraine for selling the systems to:

North Korea appears set to deploy an additional 30,000 to 50,000 troops to support Russia in its war with Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday.

Zelenskyy made the remarks in a post on X, quoting comments he made in an interview with the United News telethon. 

“North Koreans appear on the territory of the Russian Federation from time to time … At first, we were talking about hundreds, then thousands, and now a decision has been made for 30,000 to 50,000 North Koreans to be deployed on the territory of Russia,” Zelenskyy said.

North Korea will certainly gain experience in modern warfare under Russia, the Ukrainian president also said, adding that Pyongyang will continue to build its experience in modern warfare, receive licenses from Russia and acquire various military tools.

Zelenskyy, in particular, said South Korea should have closer cooperation with Ukraine under such circumstances, adding that Ukraine seeks Seoul’s support for air defense systems, drones and other areas.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Modern eating habits are definitely changing in South Korea:

Koreans are consuming significantly less kimchi than in the past despite the surge in global popularity of the country’s signature side dish, data showed Sunday.

According to a joint study by researchers from Chung-Ang University, Jeju National University, and the World Institute of Kimchi, the proportion of Koreans who reported eating no kimchi within the past 24 hours jumped from 11.7 percent in 2010 to 22.7 percent in 2024.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This makes me wonder if there are other instances of this going on and this is just the one time it was caught:

The national football association apologized Saturday over allegations that it provided sexual entertainment to foreign referees before and after international matches held in the country between 2011 and 2012.

The apology came after a 2016 government audit showed that the Korea Football Association (KFA) used corporate credit cards to pay for sexual entertainment for visiting referees at massage parlors and other adult establishments in Seoul and other cities that hosted international matches between March 2011 and March 2012.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.