Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.
These slap on the hand sentences will do nothing to deter future illegal protests. These people should be jailed to send a message:
A court on Thursday found 34 student activists guilty of trespassing on the then presidential compound and a U.S. military base between 2022 and 2024.
The Seoul Western District Court sentenced a senior leader of the Korean Progressive University Student Union (KPUSU) to a suspended four-month prison term and ordered 32 other members to pay fines ranging from 1 million won (US$756) to 6 million won. One other member received a deferred sentence of a 1 million-won fine.
Two others were indicted but acquitted.
The students faced multiple charges, including trespassing on a U.S. military installation in South Korea in August 2022 and March 2023 to stage rallies against joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States.
In January and October 2024, they attempted to illegally enter what was then the presidential compound in Seoul’s Yongsan Ward to demand the resignation of then President Yoon Suk Yeol and a special counsel investigation into then first lady Kim Keon Hee.
You can read more at the link.
This will go no where because China and Russia will do nothing in response:
South Korea has sent a letter to the president of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) over last month’s land mine explosion incident near the inter-Korean border that injured three South Korean soldiers, calling for North Korea to apologize and take responsibility for the incident, according to officials Thursday.
South Korean Ambassador to the United Nations Cha Ji-hoon sent the roughly two-page letter to his Greek counterpart, who holds the rotating Security Council presidency, outlining the findings of an investigation into the Sept. 21 explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), according to the South Korean mission to the U.N.
The letter is said to emphasize that the explosion was caused by a land mine planted by North Korean troops and constituted a violation of the Korean War Armistice Agreement.
It also called on Pyongyang to take responsible measures and engage in dialogue to prevent further escalation and restore trust.
A South Korean government official said the letter was expected to be circulated among Security Council members following approval by the council president. It is expected to be posted on the UNSC website.
You can read more at the link, but a strongly worded letter on a UN website will do nothing to deter North Korea on this issue.
I agree with this retired admiral that Japan should be the country that takes the lead in defending their own homeland from China’s gray zone tactics:
“The fact that Japan and the U.S. — the U.S. military and the Japan Self-Defense Force are frequently holding joint exercises, joint drills — is something that China will be watching,” Yamamoto said. “This is something that is a strong deterrence, especially on the level of the military practitioners.” However, Japan should take the lead responding to Chinese gray zone activities, Yamamoto said. “It needs to be a Japanese response,” he told reporters. “You can have the U.S. as supporting the Japanese response, but … I don’t think we need something where the U.S. is on the front line.”
You can read more at the link about the gray zone tactics being used by China around Japan’s southwest islands, including Okinawa. Another interesting recommendation the admiral makes is that Japan should mobilize not only its military to counter these tactics, but also its government and civilian sectors. He discusses how the Chinese use fishing boats as part of a maritime militia, and it appears the Japanese admiral thinks Japan should do the same thing in response.
Kim Yo-jong’s comments make it pretty clear that North Korea will continue to fortify what they believe is the North Korean side of the MDL despite the threats from Seoul:
Pak Jong-chon (C), vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea and an adviser to the North Korean defense ministry, Kim Yo-jong (in front of Pak), the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and others inspect fortification work on the border with South Korea at an unspecified location on Oct. 20, 2026, in this photo released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency the next day.
Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, warned Thursday of “new counter means” at her country’s border with South Korea.
“Our new counter means will get into the alert for duty at all the southern border line and the loudspeakers against the ROK will be on standby in a matter of days,” the leader’s sister said in a statement carried by the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The remarks came a day after she warned in a separate statement that Pyongyang would resume propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts toward South Korea later this month.
Kim also defended North Korea’s projects to fortify its border.
“Within the territory where our sovereignty is exercised, the permanent project for the southern border will be surely and successfully continued according to our purposes,” she said.
“If the permanent project for the southern border is carried out, the danger of military conflict between the DPRK and the ROK will be considerably lowered and many complicated problems will be solved,” she added.
You can read more at the link, but this MDL issue is very similar to the the NLL issue over in the Yellow Sea. North Korea nevery fully agreed with the setting of these lines and has been using them as way to flare up tensions when needed and keep their military busy. Just like the NLL, this MDL issue is unsolvable and has to be carefully managed through military deterrence and readiness.
It looks like President Trump is trying to decrease expectations that a meeting with Kim Jong-un will happen next month:
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday expressed uncertainty about the possibility of meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in China next month, saying he was not sure whether anyone had requested such a meeting.
Trump made the remarks when asked by a reporter whether he expected to secure a meeting with Kim on the occasion of his planned visit to China next month.
“Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know,” Trump said at the White House. “I’m not sure that anybody’s asking for a meeting.”
You can read more at the link.
