Author: GIKorea

Here is the latest on any drawdown of US troops in South Korea:

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a defense authorization bill that restricts any drawdown of American troops in South Korea.

The John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act, which approves US$716 billion for defense in fiscal year 2019, passed the House by a vote of 359-54. Upon Senate approval, it will be sent to U.S. President Donald Trump to sign into law.

The bill notes that about 28,500 American troops are currently stationed in South Korea as a demonstration of the U.S. commitment to the bilateral alliance.

Their “significant removal” is “a non-negotiable item as it relates to the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization” of North Korea, the bill says under a section describing the Sense of Senate on U.S. military forces on the Korean Peninsula.

In a conference report accompanying the legislation, Congress also prohibits the use of the funds to reduce the troops’ number below 22,000 without certification from the secretary of defense that “such a reduction is in the national security interest of the United States and will not significantly undermine the security of United States allies in the region.”  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

President Trump may be thankful towards the Kim regime for the return of the remains, but I think he has found out that even a simple issue like this is more difficult and drawn out than it needs to be by the regime.  Imagine how long and drawn out they will try and make any denuclearization process?:

Military personnel carry boxes containing the remains of U.S. soldiers, killed in the 1950-53 Korean War, out of the C-17 Globemaster, a U.S. Air Force transport aircraft, at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, about 70 kilometers south of Seoul, on July 27, 2018. The transport aircraft airlifted the remains of U.S. soldiers from Kalma Airport in North Korea’s eastern coastal city of Wonsan. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

U.S. President Donald Trump thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday for ”fulfilling a promise” to return the remains of U.S. soldiers missing from the Korean War, as a U.S. military plane made a rare trip into North Korea to retrieve 55 cases said to contain remains.

Close to 7,700 U.S. soldiers remain unaccounted for from the 1950-53 Korean War, and about 5,300 of those were lost in North Korea.

North Korea’s move signals a positive step in Trump’s diplomacy with Pyongyang, and may restart efforts to send U.S. teams into the country to search for additional war dead.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis cautioned that the transfer of remains ”is separate” from what has so far been troubled efforts to negotiate the complete denuclearization of North Korea. But he said it was a step in the right direction following the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore.

”This is obviously a gesture of carrying forward what they agreed to in Singapore and we take it as such,” Mattis told reporters Friday. ”We also look at it as a first step of a restarted process. So we do want to explore additional efforts to bring others home.”  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of the Korean War armistice here's some Ethiopian veterans visiting Chuncheon, where there's a memorial to their service (and an Ethiopian-themed coffee shop). One gent said he'd returned to look for his missing arm. pic.twitter.com/3USsQrZlrP

— the oranckay (@oranckay) July 27, 2018

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.

North Korean artists perform at an event in Pyongyang on July 25, 2018, to mark the anniversary of the signing of the Korean armistice agreement in this photo carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) the following day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

Here is an interesting article about one of the seven American civilians that were captured and killed in captivity during the Korean War:

The list of American civilians lost in North Korea during the 1950-53 war is short. Just seven names, compared with more than 7,000 troops.

But William Evans says the government has a responsibility to try to bring them all home.

His father and namesake was a mining engineer he says acted as an adviser to the U.S. military in Seoul when the Korean War broke out. He was captured by the North Koreans and died alongside U.S. soldiers imprisoned by a brutal commander known as “The Tiger.”

Evans, a 72-year-old retired professor, is hoping his father may be brought home as the hunt for remains gains new attention.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed during his June 12 summit with President Donald Trump to try to recover the war dead, including “the immediate repatriation of those already identified.”  (…..)

Less known is a list of seven American civilians who died in the war and were not recovered, including Evans’ father who ended up in a group of more than 700 mostly 24th Infantry Division soldiers commanded by a notorious North Korean officer.

Pfc. Wayne “Johnnie” Johnson, one of just 262 survivors from the so-called “Tiger group,” secretly recorded the names of 496 fellow prisoners who died in captivity.

The “Johnnie Johnson list,” which didn’t become public until the 1990s, recorded the date of death for William H. Evans Sr. as Dec. 12, 1950. He was 55.  [Stars & Stripes]

I recommend reading the whole thing at the link.

No words needed how hot the weather in Korea is in these days. So a Donga reporter went out and roasted pork and soft-boiled eggs BY THE SUNBEAM ONLY https://t.co/pi2Jijn3Kg

— Subin Kim (@SubinBKim) July 26, 2018

Shown is the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on the border with North Korea in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, on July 24, 2018. The Defense Ministry said on the day it is pushing for a plan to withdraw forces and equipment from border guard posts “on a trial basis” in line with the April inter-Korean summit agreement to halt all hostile acts and reduce tensions. (Yonhap)

It seems to me that the heat wave in South Korea did not cause this heat injury considering the article says he fell out when the temperature was 77 F.  It seems like other factors such as how well hydrated he was before and during the ruck march might be more responsible than a 77 degree F temperature, especially with the humidity in South Korea.  A major question that will need to be asked is how much water were the airmen carrying on the march and were there water stations for access to more water?:

A South Korea-based airman who collapsed during a ruck march is among thousands hospitalized from a heat wave that has claimed dozens of lives this month in the Far East.

A GoFundMe page seeking donations for the family of Airman 1st Class Mikhahael Ragay says that “during a ruck at Osan Air Base, South Korea, A1C Ragay fell out due to heat exhaustion/dehydration. His core body temperature was 108 degrees Fahrenheit and he is currently in critical condition in a comatose state. His family flew out to Osan to be with him, and all proceeds will go to his family to support them during this difficult time.”

Members of the 51st Security Forces Squadron participated in a ruck march at about 6 a.m. Saturday, said Staff Sgt. Tinese Jackson, a 51st Fighter Wing spokeswoman. The trek culminated an eight-day Combat Readiness Course, which is an initial training exercise for airmen new to the unit.

“A member of the 51st SFS passed out during the ruck march and was taken to the emergency room,” she said. “The Airman is currently being treated and recovering at an off-base hospital in the Republic of Korea.”  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but hopefully the airman makes a full recovery.

It will be interesting to see how many remains the Kim regime actually returns this week.  Previous reports said up to 55 which is quite a large number:

North Korea seems to have completed preparations for the transfer of the remains of American service members killed in the Korean War, as it has received wooden boxes from the United States, a diplomatic source in Seoul said Thursday.

“North Korea recently took two truckloads of wooden boxes to be used for the remains repatriation. It’s expected to hand over the remains on July 27 as agreed upon,” the source said.

On Friday, the two Koreas and the U.S. commemorate the 65th signing anniversary of the Armistice Agreement that ended the three-year conflict.

The U.S.-led United Nations Command had stored the boxes at the border village of Panmunjom for weeks.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.