Author: GIKorea

Secretary Mattis has been extremely apolitical which in today’s partisan political environment is an extreme rarity:

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said President Donald Trump has reassured him of his full support after the Republican president described his Pentagon chief as “sort of a Democrat” who could leave the administration.

Mattis, speaking to reporters before landing in Vietnam on Tuesday, said he received the reassurance from Trump in a phone call during his nearly 20-hour flight from Washington.

“(Trump) said, ‘I’m 100 percent with you’,” Mattis recounted, playing down Trump’s remarks to CBS’ “60 Minutes,” which aired on Sunday.

Asked whether he was a Democrat, as Trump suggested, Mattis, disclosed that he had not registered as a Democrat or a Republican.

“I have never registered for any political party,” said Mattis, a retired Marine general.

Mattis sought to portray national defense as an issue above partisan politics. He also pointed to a long military career that taught him to act in a “proudly apolitical” manner, in which U.S. servicemembers carry out orders from Republican and Democratic presidents alike.

Mattis said he did not talk to Trump about leaving his job and dismissed speculation he was being pushed out.

“I’m on his team. We have never talked about me leaving. And as you can see right here, we are on our way (to Asia). We just continue doing our job,” Mattis said.  [Reuters]

You can read more at the link, but I hope Secretary Mattis gets to stay at the Pentagon for as long as possible.

At least South Korea’s new passport design doesn’t say the Confederated States of Korea yet on it:

Draft designs for a new passport are drawing a heated debate online as to whether the concept and color are appropriate. Observers also raised questions on the necessity to change the design. The culture and the foreign affairs ministries presented the draft designs Monday with two options, one having the Taegeuki (Korean flag) and Rose of Sharon design and the other without any national emblems.

They plan to choose one by the end of this year after considering public opinion. The new passport will begin to be issued from 2020.

After Monday’s disclosure of the drafts, some were skeptical of the first big change in 32 years. There was in particular the issue of the indigo color. The current passport is dark green.

They said the new passport looks like the North Korean passport or represents the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, which uses the color blue to symbolize itself. Some raised suspicion that the color was changed due to the reconciliatory mood with North Korea.

However, the change has been planned since 2007, and the design was selected from entries to a contest held that year. Also there have been requests to change the passport design for over a decade because the dark green cover is out of style and does not reflect Korea’s culture.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but who was in charge in 2007?  Roh Moo-hyun a left wing President that current President Moon Jae-in was Chief of Staff for.  Based on that fact it is fair for critics to wonder if the passport design was not intended to match North Korea’s?

Song Young-gil, Moon's party, said after #NorthKorea dev'd #nuclear weapons, its econ improved. He couldn't tell apart streets of Pyongyang from Hong Kong/Singapore. He said #KimJongUn wants a country with no shame, one that is world's happiest–a Confucius socialism, familism.

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) October 15, 2018

It seems it will be hard to get the international community to take sanctions on North Korea seriously when South Korea has announced it is connecting a railroad with North Korea:

The United States on Monday called for the full enforcement of United Nations sanctions on North Korea as the two Koreas moved to establish rail and road links across their border.

The two Koreas will hold a ground-breaking ceremony in late November or early December to start the modernization and connection of railways and roads along the eastern and western regions, the sides announced after high-level talks earlier in the day.

The agreement is a follow-up to last month’s third summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

“As President Moon has stated: ‘The improvement of relations between North and South Korea cannot advance separately from resolving North Korea’s nuclear program,'” a spokesperson for the State Department said in response to a Yonhap query.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

Adm. John Aquilino, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, holds an interview with Yonhap News Agency on the USS Ronald Reagan after the nuclear-powered supercarrier entered a naval base on Jeju, South Korea’s southernmost island, on Oct. 122, 2018. The ship joined the International Fleet Review off Jeju the previous day. (Yonhap)

I am surprised this wasn’t a requirement a long time ago:

The U.S. military has ordered extra scrutiny for South Koreans who want to visit friends or attend events on American bases in Japan.

U.S. Forces Japan recently added the longtime American ally to a list of nations whose citizens must undergo additional screening before they can be escorted onto installations.

A copy of the list posted near the entrance to the home of USFJ in western Tokyo now features South Korea alongside about 50 other nations, including North Korea, China, Russia, Iran and Afghanistan.

“No personnel will escort a designated third country national onto Yokota Air Base,” says a sign posted next to the list, which also includes France. “It is the responsibility of the escort sponsor to verify the individual is not from one of the … designated countries.”

USFJ did not provide a reason for the new checks on South Koreans.

People from designated third countries aren’t authorized to enter U.S. bases in Japan without prior coordination of supporting agencies and approval by the installation commander, said Air Force Maj. Genieve White, a USFJ spokeswoman.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

I have to wonder how this guy walked around in the middle of the day and did this?:

Students at Dongduk Women’s University have been enraged after a man posted video clips of himself wandering around the campus, naked, and masturbating in a classroom.

Police are investigating the case and trying to identify the man after a complaint from the student council.

The case was made public Saturday after a student filed an online petition on Cheong Wa Dae’s website, calling on the government to guarantee women’s right to safety.

According to the petition, a man posted photos and video clips on Twitter, Oct. 6, in which he was wandering around empty classrooms and corridors of a building of the women’s university in the daytime naked. In one clip, he masturbated on a classroom desk.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

Mark in the piece "North Korea's *alleged* human rights abuses."

Alleged? https://t.co/4RxV0cQa3M

— Sung-Yoon Lee (@SungYoonLee1) October 13, 2018

Members of nongovernment organizations call for the deportation of “fake refugees” from South Korea in a rally held in downtown Seoul on Oct. 14, 2018. (Yonhap)

Probably the most surprising thing I learned from this article is that only 2% of freight is inspected coming into South Korea:

South Korean police said Monday they have busted the largest-ever operation to smuggle drugs into the country, a scheme they say involves Taiwanese and Japanese organized crime rings and Korean dealers.

Six people were arrested in the attempted trafficking of 112 kilograms of methamphetamine, an amount that is enough to be used simultaneously by 3.7 million people, according to police. It is estimated to be worth 370 billion won (US$326.56 million).

Among those arrested were a 25-year-old Taiwanese, a 32-year-old Japanese and a 63-year-old South Korean.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said the Taiwanese obtained a screw making machine on a ship at a port in the southeastern coastal city of Busan, which departed from Bangkok on July 6 this year. Concealed inside the machine were 112 bags packed with 1 kilogram of methamphetamine each.

The customs authorities failed to detect the smuggled drug as it was concealed inside the machine and sealed up by welding. Usually, it is almost impossible for the customs authorities to detect drug smuggling attempts at a port, the Korea Customs Service said.

The customs office conducts drug inspections on only 2 percent of freight sent into South Korea and lacks the time to do more. Sniffing dogs are of no use as methamphetamine has no color or smell, according to the office.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but if only 2% of freight is inspected it seems smuggling drugs into South Korea is incredibly easy.  Additionally it seems it would be easy for someone to smuggle in imports from North Korea in violation of sanctions which has already happened this year.