I guess John Bolton hasn’t started his jail sentence yet because he is still out publishing articles attacking Trump:

 Former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton on Tuesday raised the possibility of President Donald Trump meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang for a new summit, while noting the “very high” risk of renewed summitry between them.

Bolton, who served as a top security aide to Trump from 2018-2019, made the remarks during an online forum as Trump has expressed his intention to meet Kim later this year. Trump held three meetings with Kim during his first term: the first in Singapore in June 2018, the second in Hanoi in February 2019 and the third at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom in June 2019.

“I think Trump would look at Pyongyang because … he’s had the first meeting with the North Korean leader (in Singapore). So doing it again breaks no new ground. It’s not a big PR stunt,” he said during the forum hosted by the Institute for Corean-American Studies (ICAS).

“He’s been to the DMZ and walked in North Korea, so he can’t do that again. So what else is there really except to go to Pyongyang?” he added, referring to the Panmunjom meeting inside the Demilitarized Zone where the two leaders briefly crossed the Military Demarcation Line separating the two Koreas.

Bolton assessed that Trump seeks a meeting with Kim as he wants “pictures” and “distraction” from challenging issues at home and abroad.

“(Trump) wants something other than worrying about the war in the Middle East or prices in the United States, or the November election,” he said, referring to the U.S. midterm elections where control of Congress is at stake.

Trump is also looking for the “biggest welcome any North Korean leader has given a foreign leader,” he said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like Trump is going to have a long memory if President Lee looks for any favors from the U.S.:

U.S. President Donald Trump has once again singled out South Korea for not helping with his war on Iran, reiterating criticism he has voiced several times in recent months.

“We got very little help from other countries,” Trump said in a primetime interview with Fox News that aired Sunday, as he complained that the United States spends billions of dollars helping other countries without receiving enough support in return.

Trump then pointed specifically to South Korea.

“We helped them, but when it came to helping us, I didn’t put on a heavy sell, but I just said, ‘Would you like to participate?’ and they all said, ‘No, thank you,’” he said. “And I said, ‘I’m going to remember that to myself.’”

Trump went on to suggest the United States should reconsider spending money to help countries unwilling to reciprocate.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It looks like serious talks to organize a summit are happening behind closed doors right now:

South Korea’s spy agency said Tuesday a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may be held at any time, citing possible signs of dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) made the assessment during a closed-door briefing to the National Assembly’s intelligence committee, according to Rep. Youn Kun-young of the ruling Democratic Party and Rep. Yoo Yeong-ha of the main opposition People Power Party.

“Regarding a North Korea-U.S. summit, we should consider it possible at any time,” the NIS was quoted as saying. “No concrete facts of dialogue between North Korea and the U.S. have been confirmed, but there are signs of dialogue.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

With so many people turning up missing you would think this guy would have become motivated to do his job. Hopefully he ends up spending time in jail for this to send a message to other lazy policemen:

A police officer, center, who was detained on charges including dereliction of duty and forging public electronic records, is transferred to the prosecution at Jeju Dongbu Police Station in Jeju City, Tuesday. Yonhap

The Jeju Provincial Police said Tuesday that an officer who prematurely closed multiple missing person cases on the island admitted to closing them to avoid the extra workload involved in keeping the cases open.

The controversy erupted after it emerged that the officer had closed the missing person case of Jang Mi-ran, a 37-year-old woman missing for months, without confirming her whereabouts. Last week, police said they had removed all four officers in the chain of command at Jeju Seobu Police Station from their duties, pending an investigation.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The Korean defense industry has definitely come a long ways the past 25 years:

Defense News released the list of the top 100 defense firms, including Hanwha, LIG Nex1, Hyundai Rotem and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). Four American firms, Lockheed Martin, RTX, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman, took the top four spots.

Hanwha ranked 16th with its 2025 defense revenue totaling about US$10.44 billion, up from 22nd place in last year’s list.

LIG Nex1 took 52nd place with defense

revenue totalling about US$3.03 billion, up from 53rd place, while Hyundai Rotem ranked 61st, up from 67th place. KAI ranked 74th, down from 62nd place.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This would be an easy initiative that the U.S. has done before to pay Pyongyang to allow recovery of Korean War era remains. However, right now North Korea really doesn’t need the money like before. We will see if this goes anywhere:

The White House has asked a Pentagon agency what it could do should U.S. President Donald Trump be able to reach a deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the agency’s director said Monday, another sign that Trump is looking to resume summitry with Kim.

Kelly McKeague, director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), made the remarks during an online forum, noting that the DPAA has told the White House and the Defense Department that it is “ready” for engagement with Pyongyang for recovering the remains of U.S. troops killed during the 1950-53 Korean War. POW and MIA stand for prisoner of war and missing in action.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Visitors walk around the Songhak-dong Tumuli in Goseong, South Gyeongsang Province. The ancient burial sites of the Gaya Confederacy were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2023. (Korea Times)

To me this is not surprising because not only does Korea have beautiful mountain scenery, but the trail infrastructure is really outstanding:

Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young, left, hikes a trail on Mount Bukhan in Seoul, Sunday, alongside famed mountaineer Um Hong-gil, right, and members of France’s trekking organization Fédération Française de la Randonnée. Courtesy of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

Overseas visitors to Korea are increasingly choosing mountain peaks over historic palaces.

On Sunday, the trend was highlighted when 11 members of France’s Fédération Française de la Randonnée hiked in Bukhansan National Park with Culture Minister Chae Hwi-young and renowned climber Um Hong-gil.

The visit is part of a larger group of about 40 association members currently touring Korea in three separate 11-day trips, hiking not just Mount Bukhan, but also Hahoe Folk Village in Andong, Mount Nam in Gyeongju, Mount Geumjeong in Busan, Suncheon Bay and a temple stay at Hwaeom Temple near Mount Jiri. The Korea Tourism Organization arranged the trip as part of its marketing push for Korean walking tourism.

The timing lines up with a campaign the tourism agency launched in July with the Korea National Park Service, aiming to draw a combined 3 million visitors to national parks by 2028.

Under the initiative, foreign visitors can borrow hiking boots and trekking poles for free and receive a keychain souvenir at participating parks, lowering the barrier for tourists who arrive in Korea without gear or a plan.

That barrier has already been falling on its own. Foreigners accounted for roughly 2.05 million of the visits to Korea’s national parks last year, according to the Korea National Park Service, with Mount Halla on Jeju Island drawing the largest share at more than 270,000, followed by Mount Seorak and Mount Bukhan.

In Seoul specifically, foot traffic data from the Seoul AI Foundation showed foreign visitation climbing fastest not at palaces or shopping streets but at hiking spots, up 11.8 percent at Mount Acha and 10 percent at Mount Gwanak year-on-year.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.