I would not be surprised if the person receiving the bribe was actually organizing the protests in order to get a bribe to stop them:
Children play in a field near the Cirebon 1 coal-fired power plant in West Java, Indonesia. Hyundai Engineering & Construction is building another coal-fired power plant in the area.
Major Korean builder Hyundai Engineering & Construction has admitted bribing an Indonesian politician for a coal-fired power plant construction project in West Java.
Following repeated Korea Times inquiries, a spokesman at Hyundai’s headquarters in Seoul said it gave a large sum of money to Cirebon Regent Sunjaya Purwadisastra through a broker to calm protesting residents in the area over the construction.
“The regent approached us through the broker and offered to resolve the issue,” the official said. “For us, it is critical to finish the construction on time; otherwise, we could face a heavy fine. So we gave him money.”
According to local media, Sunjaya demanded bribes from Hyundai, which gave him 6.5 billion rupiah ($460,000) out of a requested 9.5 billion rupiah.
“For a project as big as that, I thought that the district chief should have a share (of the pie),” Sunjaya was quoted in Indonesian as saying.
“Rudiyanto’s (a subcontractor) trucks could not enter the area because they were blocked by people who were staging protests. Thanks to our intervention, they were allowed access and he paid us.”
#KimJongUn should, in light of the impending emergency, divert cash from his dangerous weapons programs and buy food. He has enough cash so that every person in #NorthKorea can eat well. There is, consequently, no need for UN or other aid. https://t.co/Wf5Ruj13bV
N. Korea’s rocket artillery systemThis undated file photo shows North Korea’s new 300-mm multiple rocket artillery system. On May 4, 2019, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired several unidentified projectiles into the East Sea from its eastern coastal city of Wonsan, which analysts said appeared to have involved the 300-mm multiple rocket launchers. (Yonhap)
After being called a missile test, the ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff is now saying it appears the North Koreans fired off “projectiles” that were probably from a Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS):
North Korea fired a barrage of unidentified short-range projectiles into the East Sea on Saturday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, in apparent saber-rattling amid stalled nuclear talks with the United States. The JCS had earlier said the North fired multiple short-range “missiles” but later revised the announcement to portray what were fired only as “projectiles.” The projectiles were fired from areas near the east coast town of Wonsan between 9:06 a.m. and 9:27 a.m., the JCS said. The change suggests the firings could have involved multiple rocket launchers, not missiles. “What the North fired this time is not a ballistic missile,” a military officer said. The projectiles flew about 70 kilometers to 200 kilometers, the JCS said, adding that South Korean and U.S. authorities are analyzing details of the projectiles and the intention behind the firings. “Our military has been closely watching North Korea’s movements and has maintained a full-fledged posture in close coordination with the U.S.,” the JCS said. Last month, North Korea test-fired what it called “the new tactical guided weapon,” which, according to Seoul authorities, appeared to be a guided weapon for ground combat.
You can read more at the link, but what is interesting about this test is that it was fired out of Wonsan which happens to be an area that Kim Jong-un wants developed into an international tourism area. Conducting military provocations out of Wonsan does not help create an image of international tourism for Wonsan, which makes me wonder if the Kim regime is cooling on this idea?
If this was an MLRS test, it was likely their new KN-09 system. The KN-09 has a range of 190 kilometers which means from frontline positions North Korea can target the US military’s main bases in Korea, Osan Airbase and Camp Humphreys. This test firing is likely a reminder to the Trump administration of the artillery capability the North Koreans possess to target US troops in South Korea in hopes of pressuring them to agree to the “pretend denuclearization” deal they want.
Judging by the picture it appears that the THAAD soldiers are simply doing training on how to reload their launchers which is hardly provocative. However, when North Korea is looking for an excuse to raise tensions they will always find one:
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system deployed at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Apr. 24. Yonhap
North Korea has condemned a recent anti-ballistic missile defense drill by the United States Forces Korea (USFK), calling it a rash act of military provocation, the North’s propaganda media outlets said Friday.
The criticism came about a week after the USFK revealed it staged an exercise last month using the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system deployed in South Korea, at its Camp Humphreys garrison in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.
“The drill is a military provocation that breaks the atmosphere of peace on the Korean Peninsula,” Uriminzokkiri, the North’s propaganda website, said.
“It would be a stupid misjudgment for the U.S. to believe that the country can achieve its impure intention by testing and threatening the North with power.”
Pyongyang also stepped up pressure on Seoul, urging it to “behave discreetly” over the U.S.’s military exercises on the peninsula.
Ulleungdo airportSeoul plans to begin this month the bidding process to select a construction company to build an airport on remote Ulleungdo island by 2025. It will take one hour from Seoul to the volcanic island, in the middle of the East Sea, by plane. The photo shows the proposed location of an airport on the island. (Yonhap)
This article makes me wonder if this is just more fake news or John Bolton signaling to North Korea that the US is serious enough about North Korea denuclearization to consider a military strike:
John Bolton
John Bolton, U.S. President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, still believes that a military strike on North Korea is a viable option as denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang are stalled, The New Yorker reported earlier this week.
Citing unnamed U.S. government officials, the magazine said in its profile of Bolton published on Monday that Bolton privately told White House aides that the second U.S.-North summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, was unlikely to succeed.
Despite months of engagement with the North and Trump’s bragging about falling in “love” with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Bolton, according to the article, still believes that a strike is possible because the United States knows where most of North Korea’s nuclear weapons are.
“We can still do it,” a U.S. administration official cited Bolton as saying. “We know where most, if not all, of their weapons are. We could destroy their nuclear capability. There are ways to deal with their artillery.”
When asked about potential casualties, Bolton said he “wishes we weren’t at this point. But the military option remains viable.”
Other White House officials, on the other hand, are realizing that military force is not a realistic option, the source added.
“I think we could have destroyed the North’s nuclear program in the 1990s. It was more concentrated and we knew where everything was,” the official said. “Not anymore. It’s too big and too dispersed.”
Security specialists described how the Blue House petition gets fake "agree" clicks. Get imaginary foreign phone numbers on line. Use them to create fake fb & Twitter acts. Then access the BH website and click for each acct. Then use hidden browser and click again. Voila! https://t.co/VhrH9o01UZ
Soju price hikeBottles of soju, a rice-based liquor popular with local drinkers, are on display at a hypermarket on May 1, 2019 when South Korea’s top beermaker, Hite Brewery Co., raises prices of Chamisul, its soju brand, by 6.45 percent. (Yonhap)
This is pretty dramatic how these once financially healthy public institutions are now losing huge amounts of money:
“Moon Jae-in Care,” as the president’s health policy has become known, is driving a major decline in the profits of state-owned institutions, as is his energy strategy.
According to a Ministry of Economy and Finance report released late Tuesday, the net profits of 339 public entities plummeted 84.7 percent from 7.2 trillion won ($6.1 billion) in 2017 to 1.1 trillion won in 2018.
The net profits of these institutions have been on a steady decline, falling from 15.4 trillion won in 2016.
The National Health Insurance Service was hit hardest. After reporting 368.5 billion won in net profit in 2017, it posted a 3.9 trillion won net loss last year.
The dramatic change is largely blamed on the president’s health policies, which went into effect in July 2018. Moon Jae-in Care increases the range of medical treatments covered by national health insurance.
The goal is to raise national insurance coverage from 63.2 percent of treatments in 2016 to 70 percent by the end of 2022.
President Moon in August 2017 promised to improve national health insurance coverage, as Korea’s coverage rate falls far short of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average of 80 percent.
Public energy company net profits shrunk as a result of the changes in energy policy.
Korea Electric Power Corporation’s (Kepco) net profit fell from 7.1 trillion won in 2016 to 1.4 trillion won in 2017. Last year, it reported a 1.2 trillion won net loss.
The five affiliates of Kepco all reported net profit declines.
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power reported its first net loss in five years. In 2016, before the Moon administration began, the company reported 2.45 trillion won in net profit. Its net profit decreased to 861.8 billion won in 2017, and the company reported a net loss of 102 billion won last year.
The loss is considered to have been the result of the government reducing the use of nuclear power while increasing power generated from renewables, including solar and wind. Alternative energy is more expensive than nuclear power.
