Have a great Friday the 13th everyone!
The USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier docks at a naval base in the southeastern port city of Busan on Oct. 12, 2023, in this photo provided by Yonhap News Television. (Yonhap)
I wonder how many of these people surveyed even know the U.S. has troops already deployed to South Korea? This means there is no question the U.S. is getting involved to defend South Korea from attack regardless of what this poll says:
This photo, taken on Sept. 1, 2023, shows U.S. troops engaging in combined drills with South Korean forces in Jangseong, 252 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)
Half of U.S. citizens favor using American troops to defend South Korea in the event of a North Korean invasion, a recent U.S. poll showed Thursday, underscoring the public polarization over the security issue.
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs recently released the outcome of the 2023 Chicago Council Survey conducted by Ipsos, a market research firm, from Sept. 7-18. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
The poll found that 50 percent of those questioned supported the idea of committing U.S. troops to defend South Korea if it was invaded by the North, while 49 percent opposed it.
In previous surveys conducted in 2020, 2021 and last year, the percentages of those backing the idea were 58 percent, 63 percent and 55 percent, respectively.
In the latest poll, a majority of Americans — 57 percent — continued to favor the mobilization of U.S. troops if Russia invaded a Baltic NATO state namely Latvia, Lithuania, or Estonia, and an even higher proportion — 64 percent — favored the use of U.S. troops if Germany were invaded by Russia.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
Just another example of increasing trilateral cooperation:
South Korea, the United States and Japan staged a trilateral maritime interdiction exercise in waters south of the Korean Peninsula this week for the first time in seven years, the South Korean Navy said Tuesday, amid efforts to strengthen security coordination against North Korean threats.
The two-day exercise, which began Monday in international waters southeast of the southern resort island of Jeju along with anti-piracy drills, came after the three countries’ defense chiefs agreed to resume the trilateral exercises during their meeting in Singapore in June.
The three sides last staged a maritime interdiction exercise, which focuses on intercepting suspected smuggling vessels, in 2016 and an anti-piracy exercise in 2017.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
A South Korean Navy cruise training group, including 151 naval cadets, arrived at a port in Maryland on Monday, for a visit to mark the 70th anniversary of the alliance between South Korea and the United States. ROKS Hansando (ATH-81), a training ship, and ROKS Hwacheon (AOE-59), a combat support ship, berthed at the Port of Baltimore — one of 14 destinations during the Navy’s annual 141-day cruise program that set sail on Aug. 28.
The loss of this election in Seoul is supposedly not a good sign for upcoming elections for the PPP which currently holds the Korean Presidency:
Jin Gyo-hoon, center, main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) candidate for Gangseo District mayor, speaks after his victory was declared at his campaign office in western Seoul, Wednesday. At right is DPK floor leader Rep. Hong Ihk-pyo. Joint press corps
Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea candidate (DPK) Jin Gyo-hoon clinched a landslide victory in a by-election to elect the mayor of Gangseo District in western Seoul, Thursday, which was widely seen as a bellwether of the 2024 general elections.
The election drew considerable attention, as it was the last chance to gauge public sentiment before the general elections slated for April 10. The rival parties sent seasoned politicians to support the candidates, considering the election’s impact in the six-month race for seats in the National Assembly, and Wednesday’s result will likely boost the DPK’s crusade against the Yoon Suk Yeol administration and the ruling People Power Party (PPP).
According to the National Election Commission, Jin gained 56.52 percent of the votes, outpacing PPP candidate Kim Tae-woo with 39.37 percent.
Jin will immediately begin the remaining term of approximately three years as the district mayor.
Korea Times
You can read more at the link.
Fortunately according to the article no South Korean citizens were killed or kidnapped by Hamas:
South Korean tourists wait in line to check in for their return flight at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Oct. 10, 2023, amid an ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas militants. (Yonhap)
A South Korean passenger jet carrying dozens of citizens is set to return home from Israel, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, after violence erupted between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
The Korean Air Co. flight carrying 214 passengers, including 192 Korean nationals, departed from Tel Aviv at 1:50 p.m. Tuesday (local time) and is expected to arrive at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at around 6:10 a.m. on Wednesday.
It will be the first flight to transport South Koreans back home since tensions quickly escalated in the region after Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel over the weekend.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
If North Korea conducts a nuclear test getting international attention seems to be reason why they would do it, not a food crisis as the ROK government is speculating. A nuclear test may also be something done in coordination with Iran to divert U.S. resources from the Middle East as Iran continues to use its proxies there to wage war on Israel and Sunni Arab states:
The reigniting of the Israel-Hamas conflict, coupled with Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, could shift the United States’ attention further away from North Korea’s nuclear quandary, analysts said Tuesday.
The conflict flared up following the Palestinian militant group’s deadly surprise attack on Israel on Saturday, as Washington’s stated commitment to diplomacy with Pyongyang has fallen on deaf years amid the North’s unceasing drive for nuclear armament.
President Joe Biden pledged “full support” for Israel. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin deployed the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) Carrier Strike Group to the Eastern Mediterranean while Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the U.S.’ “solidarity” with Israel.
The U.S.’ apparent reapportioning of diplomatic and security resources for conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe has raised speculation that it would be harder for the U.S. to pay more attention to addressing the North Korean conundrum.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
