It does seem to make sense you want the alternative airfield built before closing Gwangju Airbase, but with the current timeline for closure being 2028 I don’t see how a new base could be built in time:

“Airpower is what North Korea fears most and Gwangju is a base the U.S. military actively uses. It is concerning that the plan is moving ahead on schedule without a clear alternative prepared,” Yang said.

He questioned the timing, suggesting the decision appeared aimed at shoring up political support in the region rather than addressing a defense need. “With Korea-U.S. alliance issues piling up, designating Gwangju specifically suggests the goal is political — holding onto support in that region,” Yang said, adding that pursuing the plan for political reasons is not inherently wrong, but that it becomes a problem when it interferes with matters of security importance.

Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University, noted the base holds significance beyond the immediate peninsula context.

“Sites like the Gwangju base feature hardened aircraft shelters designed to protect fighter jets from preemptive strikes, preserving combat power for counterattacks in a potential U.S.–China conflict. The same logic applies to deterring North Korea, where overwhelming airpower is essential … Joint bilateral consultations are essential to determine the strategic risks,” Park said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This seems like common sense to let people know you plan to launch projectile into airspace, but as we have seen recently certain countries could care less:

South Korea, the United States, Japan and 37 other countries issued a joint statement Tuesday calling on countries to provide sufficient advance notification of launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and space launch vehicles (SLVs).

The statement came after China carried out a surprise launch of an SLBM into the open waters of the Pacific on July 6, drawing criticism from the U.S. and other countries. The countries did not mention China by name in the statement.

In the statement, the countries called on all nations, particularly nuclear-weapon states, to provide notification of ICBM, SLBM and SLV launches no less than 24 hours in advance, noting that nuclear-capable missile tests without sufficient advance notice are “dangerous” and disrupt the peace of nations close to these tests.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Just think these are just two spies they caught, there are likely many more that have not been detected yet:

Two former Chinese military officers have been arrested for allegedly eavesdropping on communications from fighter jets near a South Korean military base and leaking classified material related to South Korea-U.S. military exercises, police said Tuesday.

One of the suspects, a Chinese national in his 60s, was arrested on suspicions of benefiting the enemy and violating a law on the protection of communications secrets after allegedly making multiple visits to South Korea on a tourist visa and tapping communications between fighter jets and air traffic control towers from a hotel near an airport in the southwestern city of Gunsan, according to the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police. (……….)

Meanwhile, the second suspect, a 45-year-old ethnic Korean with Chinese nationality, was arrested on suspicions of benefiting the enemy and violating a law on the protection of military bases after allegedly recruiting a South Korean woman working at Camp Humphreys, a key U.S. base in Pyeongtaek, some 60 kilometers south of Seoul, to obtain classified material related to allied exercises.

The man allegedly concealed his identity while running a U.S. military supplies store near the base and engaged in the acts from November 2021 until last May as a retired PLA officer.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this shows that even the friendly Korean guy in the Ville may actually be a Chinese intelligence agent.

My assumption would be is that there is some new tech that North Korea must be trying out on these recent launches. The more capable missiles they can manufacture would likely mean more money from the Russians:

North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, marking the second such launch in less than a week in an apparent protest against an upcoming combined military exercise between the South and the United States. 

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the missile launched from the Wonsan area on the east coast at around 6 a.m. 

The missile flew more than 700 kilometers, with a detailed analysis on its specifications under way by South Korean and U.S. authorities, according to the JCS.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

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.