Month: May 2019

As Japan found out in 2010, countries depend solely or mostly on China as a source of critical materials at their own peril https://t.co/x68FSuTYv4

— Patrick Cronin (@PMCroninHudson) May 22, 2019

I would love to know who is the person in North Korea that comes up with these statements?:

North Korea’s official news agency has bristled angrily at former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s criticism of leader Kim Jong-un as a dictator and tyrant, lashing out at the Democratic presidential hopeful as a “fool of low IQ.”
Biden made the remark during a campaign speech over the weekend, claiming that the United States shouldn’t be embracing “dictators and tyrants” like Russian President Vladimir Putin and the North’s Kim, as President Donald Trump does.
“The presidential candidate from the Democratic Party during his recent election campaigning reeled off rhetoric slandering the supreme leadership of the DPRK,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a commentary, using the acronym of the North’s official name. “What he uttered is just sophism of an imbecile bereft of elementary quality as a human being, let alone a politician,” it added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

If you find yourself in trouble in Hongdae there may be a foreigner on patrol with the police to assist you:

Amid a rising number of foreign residents, tourists and multiracial families here, Mapo-gu Office in western Seoul has launched a patrol unit comprised of foreigners, to offer help to foreign residents and tourists in the areas around Hongik University Station.

The district office said, Monday, that it held a welcome ceremony for the unit, Friday, consisting of 20 volunteers including foreign residents from Nigeria and China. 

The move follows an influx of more and more foreigners in the district. 

According to the population and housing census in 2017, the number of multiracial family members living in Mapo-gu was 5,585. Also, the Hongdae area is one of the most popular tourist destinations visited by many foreigners and local residents, together with Yeonnam-dong next door which has gained popularity recently. 

The unit members will patrol twice a week for four hours. The patrol course will include Yeonnam-dong and the area near the university, known colloquially as Hongdae. Their main jobs are to provide translation to tourists and listen to their complaints as well as solve conflicts among foreign residents.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It looks like President Moon is trying to assuage any concerns USFK may be having in regards to the appeasement of North Korea by the ROK government:

“Despite the failure of the second summit between the United States and North Korea, they have continued to pursue avenues to maintain their nuclear dialogue, which I believe is thanks to U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal trust in North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and vice versa,” Moon said.

The allied commanders invited to the luncheon were Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, Republic of Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Park Han-ki, USFK chief Gen. Robert Abrams, USFK Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach, USFK Assistant Chief of Staff for Plans and Policy Maj. Gen. James W. Lukeman, Special Operations Command Korea Commander Maj. Gen. Tony D. Bauernfeind, and Eighth Army Deputy Commander Brig. Gen. Patrick J. Donahoe, according to Cheong Wa Dae. 

This is the first time that high-profile USFK and South Korean military generals have attended a single event together, presidential aides said.

President Moon said the recent launches of short-range missiles by the North haven’t impeded the joint military readiness of the United States and South Korean military forces. 

“What we’ve achieved so far [for inter-Korean progress] was based on a stronger joint military readiness and commitment for a permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. I want to thank you for your thoughtful and concerted rapprochement in handling the North’s recent missile launches. As we responded calmly to the recent launches, nuclear diplomacy is expected to remainon going,” Moon said, adding the presence of the USFK will continue regardless of the level of the peace process on the peninsula, given its pivotal role as a “balancer” for security in Northeast Asia. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but President Moon has been saying all the right things that USFK will remain after any peace treaty is signed, to include claiming Kim Jong-un understands this as well. However, this is likely just rhetoric to prevent energizing South Korean conservatives against a peace treaty. 

Remember Moon is a very skilled politician that needs to keep the Korean right at bay and public anxiety down.  If he openly advocated for a USFK withdrawal, that would give the South Korean right an issue to strongly attack him with and cause much public anxiety after decades of security guarantees provided by US forces.  That is why I think the Moon administration will publicly say they support USFK staying, but will then have surrogates do things to make life difficult for USFK. The anti-US groups in South Korea have already said they plan to do this.

Since the #MoonJaein administration took over 2 years ago, its policies have yielded many public enterprises to go in red. This time, it's the post office. $168M loss. The first time in 135 years–that's even older than #SouthKorea. https://t.co/mHDO4VPluq

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) May 21, 2019

The war on tobacco in South Korea continues:

South Korea unveiled its “tobacco endgame” plan that calls for adopting uniform, plain packaging for all cigarettes and more graphic warning labels to push people to quit smoking, the government said Tuesday.
The comprehensive endeavor, reached by the public health policy review committee, aims to lower the smoking rate for men significantly from 38.1 percent in 2017, the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
The percentage of male smokers in the country has been falling steadily since 2008 with the government wanting the figure to fall to lower than 29 percent by 2022.
The ministry said indoor smoking areas will be banned, with all products containing nicotine to be classified as tobacco goods and subject to tougher restrictions.
The ministry added that for the time being, an increase of the price of tobacco products is not being considered. The government increased taxes on cigarettes by 2,000 won (US$1.70) per pack on Jan. 1, 2015, raising the price to 4,500 won per pack.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but there is no doubt that smoking is bad for you, but how come these measures aren’t taken against other industries that are bad for people’s health like drinking too much soda?

Here is yet another opportunity to hike along the DMZ that is about to open:

The second inter-Korean border trail along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that demarcates South and North Korea will be opened to civilian hikers next month, officials said Monday.

The central section of the DMZ in Cheorwon, Gangwon, will be opened for the government-initiated DMZ Peace Trail program on June 1, the officials said.

The first DMZ Peace Trail was launched in an eastern coastal section in Goseong, Gangwon, on April 27, drawing hundreds of hikers to its scenic seaside routes over six days each week, with the trail closed on Mondays. Civilian hikers’ access to the Cheorwon DMZ Peace Trail zone was approved by the United Nations Command (UNC) on May 8. (……)

Hikers will begin their trek from the Monument for the Baekma (White Horse) Plateau Battle and walk or take a ride along the DMZ southern boundary before arriving at an Arrowhead Hill guard post. It will be the first time since the division of the Korean Peninsula that a guard post within the DMZ will be open to civilians.

On Arrowhead Hill, hikers can also watch the military’s excavation work for war remains, the officials added. As part of efforts to better guarantee visitors’ safety, South Korea recently notified North Korea of the tour program, according to Defense Ministry officials.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Here are the modern day comfort women that you never hear the left in South Korea ever talk about. Instead they bash Japan for things that happened nearly 75 years ago while saying nothing about the modern day Korean comfort women in China:

The sexual exploitation of North Korean women and girls generates an estimated $105 million annually for Chinese criminal networks, according to a report released by a London-based human rights group Monday.

The Korea Future Initiative, a non-governmental human rights organization, described a year-long study of thousands of North Korean women and girls forced into marriages and pregnancies, organized prostitution and cybersex work in China. 

The report found that the victims, generally between the ages of 12 and 29 and overwhelmingly female, could be trafficked directly from North Korea or coerced, sold or abducted in China. They are subject to abuse thanks to a demand for sex slaves in China. 

Some victims – including a nine-year-old girl – were trafficked into Chinese cybersex dens, where they are sexually assaulted or forced to perform graphic acts in front of webcams live-streamed to a paying global audience – including South Korean men. A single live-stream session featuring a North Korean pre-teen can cost as much as $110. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.