It took a bit longer than the Kim regime expected, but their new destroyer has finally been fielded:

North Korea has commissioned its new naval destroyer Kang Kon, state media said Monday, as the country pushes to modernize its naval assets and sharpen its combat readiness at sea with nuclear-capable vessels.

Leader Kim Jong-un attended the commissioning ceremony held a day earlier at the eastern port city of Wonsan, where he called the new 5,000-ton destroyer “essentially an offensive destroyer” and part of “the state nuclear counteraction system,” according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

“The new-generation destroyer should deal a deadly retaliatory blow at the enemies as it is a force involved in the state nuclear counteraction system,” the KCNA reported Kim as saying.

Yonhap

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Iran is making threats to attack South Korean assets in the Middle East when they have already attacked South Korean assets in the Middle East. Let’s also not forget the hostage taking of a South Korean ship and the attack the Iranians did on UAE while former President Moon was visiting in the past as well. Let’s also not forget when the Iranians torpedoed another South Korean tanker. The Thugs of Tehran have shown over the years they are no friends to Korea and it may be time for Korea to start fighting back against these thugs:

South Korea is closely communicating with relevant countries and the international community to help ensure the free passage of all vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, the foreign ministry said Monday.

The statement came after Iranian academic Mohammad Marandi warned that Tehran could regard Seoul as an enemy and target South Korean assets in the region if Seoul joins a U.S.-led effort to secure navigation through the strait, according to the London-based Middle East news website Middle East Eye.

“We are closely communicating with the international community, including relevant countries, to help restore peace and stability in the Middle East as soon as possible and to ensure the free passage of all vessels, including those of our country, through the Strait of Hormuz,” the ministry said in a release.

Yonhap

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It looks like USFK may soon get some serious additional combat capabilities:

U.S. Army Spc. Delilah Crenshaw of the 2nd Multi-Domain Effects Battalion ensures cables are securely connected to a GATR inflatable satellite antenna at a training site in northwest Poland, Aug. 30, 2023. (Ashley Morris/U.S. Army)

The U.S. Army reportedly plans to move hundreds of multidomain troops from Germany to South Korea within the year, although the Pentagon said Wednesday it had nothing to announce about the potential deployment. The 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force’s Multi-Domain Effects Battalion would join U.S. Forces Korea to strengthen capabilities against North Korea while bolstering deterrence against China, the Chosun Daily reported Wednesday. The newspaper did not identify the source of its information.

Stars and Stripes

You can read more at the link.

The only troops the ROK would likely send are for defensive purposes and yet the Iranians are making threats against them:

A senior Iranian official has warned Korea against deploying military assets to the Strait of Hormuz, saying any action against Iran would be considered direct participation in the war. 

“Any South Korean involvement against Iran in the Strait of Hormuz would amount to direct military participation in the aggression and war against Iran,” the unnamed senior political and security official was quoted as saying by Al Mayadeen, a Lebanon-based news network aligned with Iran and Hezbollah, on Friday. 

The official also urged Seoul not to “sacrifice its interests and reputation” by supporting U.S. military operations.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It is amazing for how little money people will sell out their country for:

A South Korean man has been sentenced to five years in prison for spying for North Korea, officials said Saturday.

The 43-year-old man, whose identity was withheld, was found to have received an order from a North Korean agent via the messaging app Telegram in May-June of 2021 to collect information about anti-Pyongyang defectors from North Korea and their activities.

Around that time, the man took about 660 million won (US$479,346) worth of virtual currency from the North Korean agent as funds for operating cryptocurrency investments.

He later approached the head of a North Korean defector group, offering to sponsor the organization. He asked the leader to create a virtual currency wallet and forwarded its address to the North Korean agent.

After the agent transferred 1 million won worth of Bitcoin in the name of donation, the man received videos and photos showing the group sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets in return.

The man was also instructed by the agent to collect personal information of seven active-duty military officers, including their units and resident registration numbers, and attempt to recruit them for espionage.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

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