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.”

Stars and Stripes

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.

Yonhap

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.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Some how I doubt the Kim regime is itinmidated by this threat from the ROK:

This file photo, captured from video footage released by South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, shows a military mine-clearing operation south of the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, on Oct. 5, 2026. (Yonhap)

South Korea vowed Tuesday to take decisive action if North Korea launches any further provocations, pushing back after Pyongyang threatened military escalation over warning shots fired by the South along the fortified border. 

The defense ministry issued such a statement a day after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, threatened to resume propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts against Seoul and deploy more tactical strike assets along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, saying the border situation has become “very unstable.”

“The Ministry of National Defense expresses grave concern over Director Kim Yo-jong’s criticism of our military’s legitimate operations conducted under the Armistice Agreement, as well as her escalation of tensions through military threats,” the released statement said.

“We will retaliate decisively should North Korea engage in further provocations using our legitimate measures as a pretext,” it added. 

The ministry urged Pyongyang to cease its far-fetched claims and repeated incursions south of the military demarcation line (MDL), and respond to Seoul’s calls for efforts to resolve issues related to the border line.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but what can the ROK do to really deter North Korea’s provocations along the DMZ?

Some in the South Korean government think it is time to consider it due to the low birth rate:

South Korea’s decade-old debate over female conscription resurfaced during a National Assembly audit this month, amid growing concerns that a shrinking draft-eligible population could undermine military readiness.

During a National Assembly defense committee audit on Oct. 12, opposition lawmakers raised the issue, arguing that the time has come for a public discussion as the eligible male population continues to fall. Defense ministry data shows the pool of 20-year-old men eligible for service dropped from 332,000 in 2019 to 257,000 in 2022, and is projected to fall further to 228,000 by 2035 and 120,000 by 2043.

Rep. Yoo Yeong-ha of the main opposition People Power Party said, “Now, we must officially put female conscription on the table. This will also require broad societal consensus.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Has there ever been a national leader that has died as many times as Kim Jong-un? He is apparently dead yet again:

Unverified claims that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had died after suffering a brain hemorrhage have spread on overseas social media, while North Korean state media reported his visit to a public exhibition.

The rumors were reported Tuesday by the British tabloid The Sun, the New York Post and India’s Economic Times, which cited social media posts that had claimed Kim suffered a severe brain hemorrhage, fell into a coma and was rushed to a hospital in Beijing.

The claims reportedly originated from a post on X by Wanjun Xie, a Chinese dissident based in the United States.

In a post Monday, Xie claimed that Kim had suffered a severe brain hemorrhage, lost consciousness and been transferred to Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing because of North Korea’s poor medical facilities but died. 

He also claimed Kim’s body had been secretly returned to North Korea and his death was being kept under wraps.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but I guess we will see if he is resurrected again in time to meet with President Trump next month in China.