President Yoon’s strong stance against the doctor strike has the South Korean public beginning to rally around his administration with his approval rate now at 39%:
President Yoon Suk Yeol’s rising job approval ratings in recent weeks are bolstering the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and undermining the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea’s (DPK) strategy ahead of the upcoming general elections on April 10, which sought to exploit public dissatisfaction surrounding the president and his wife.
According to a Gallup Korea poll released on Friday, 39 percent of respondents positively assessed Yoon’s performance as the president, remaining flat from a week earlier.
In Gallup Korea polls, Yoon’s approval rating plummeted to 29 percent in the first week of February but climbed steadily to 39 percent by the end of that month.
Korea Times
You can read more at the link.
Season 1 of Physical: 100 was pretty good and I will definitely be watching Season 2 when it comes out to see how this USKF Army officer does on the show:
An Army officer who lifts weights competitively will be featured in Netflix’s upcoming season of “Physical: 100,” a South Korean reality show in which 100 contestants compete in theatrical strength-based challenges.
Maj. Gibson Kim, of the 411th Contracting Support Brigade at Camp Humphreys, described himself as a “normal guy doing normal stuff with my day job and family,” during a March 4 interview with Stars and Stripes. Before his workday starts, however, this father of a 5-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter rises early for a round of weightlifting at his home gym. He started as a powerlifter at Rutgers University, where he earned a degree in economics in 2007.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.
This is actually surprising that the ROK issued a statement against China on this issue. It will be interesting to see if China responds:
South Korea’s foreign ministry expressed deep concerns Thursday over the collision between Chinese and Philippine coast guard vessels in the South China Sea, a region long plagued by persistent territorial disputes.
“Our government is deeply concerned about the dangerous situation caused by the collision between the Chinese and Philippine vessels and use of water cannons against the Philippine vessels in the South China Sea,” the ministry spokesperson, Lim Soo-suk, said in a press briefing.
“We support the maintenance of peace, stability and rules-based order in the South China Sea, as well as the freedom of navigation and overflight based on the principles of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
The Philippines Coast Guard earlier said a Chinese Coast Guard ship caused damage to one of its ships attempting to deliver supplies to Second Thomas Shoal, known as Ayungin Shoal, by Manila on Tuesday. China’s use of water cannons also caused injuries to four Filipino crew members.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link, but from a ROK perspective it would not be in their interest for China to gobble up the entire South China Sea and claim it as Chinese territory. This is because the majority of ROK energy imports comes through the South China Sea and if China takes it over it could stop energy and other exports through the waterway.
Jung Pak the U.S. nuclear envoy to North Korea seems to be hinting that the U.S. is open to a deal that does not include the denuclearization of North Korea. This validates what a National Security Council spokesman put out earlier this week:
The top U.S. nuclear envoy pointed out the need Tuesday for “interim steps” to be taken on a path towards North Korea’s ultimate denuclearization, which she stressed would not happen “overnight.”
U.S. Senior Official for North Korea Jung Pak made the remarks while reiterating Washington’s “clear” goal to pursue the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. (……)
“I don’t want to prejudge that as a final step,” she said at a forum hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “But I think it goes without saying that there would have to be interim steps toward ultimate denuclearization.”
Yonhap
Here is what the U.S. would focus a so called interim deal on, freezing other weapons programs that North Korea has:
“I think it is really important to acknowledge that there is a lot of weapons to be dealt with,” she said, noting the North’s efforts to develop solid-fuel ballistic missiles, tactical nuclear weapons, hypersonic capabilities and unmanned underwater vehicles.
“Given the scope of the DPRK weapons activities and its proliferation, there is a lot to work with there … It is not going to happen overnight. That’s the reality of it,” she added. DPRK stands for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
You can read more at the link, but in my opinion the best that can be hoped for at this point is an agreement limiting the amount of nuclear weapons North Korea has, a ban on proliferation, and an end to their ICBM program in return for dropping sanctions.
Some new housing has opened up for Soldiers stationed in the Daegu area of South Korea:
A new housing tower opened recently on Camp Walker, providing 90 additional units for households serving in Daegu, about 150 miles south of Seoul. The tower, which includes 60 three-bedroom, 26 four-bedroom and four five-bedroom apartments, is the last of four built for Walker residents, the Army said in a Feb. 29 news release.
The first tower broke ground in 2015; the last in 2020, U.S. Army Garrison Daegu spokesman Phil Molter said by email Tuesday. All four towers cost nearly $250 million to build. Walker is part of U.S. Army Garrison Daegu, which includes Camps George, Henry and Carroll. The base has a nine-hole golf course along with a commissary and post exchange.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
