Author: GIKorea

Congratulations to South Korea for the successful launch of their Nuri rocket:

Flight trajectory of Nuri

South Korea on Thursday successfully launched its homegrown space rocket Nuri to put eight practical satellites into orbit, achieving another milestone for the country’s space program.

The 200-ton Nuri, also known as KSLV-II, blasted off from Naro Space Center in the country’s southern coastal village of Goheung at 6:24 p.m., and successfully completed its flight sequence, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI).

“Following the success of the second launch of Nuri last year and the third launch today, we have confirmed the flight performance of Nuri, not only confirming the reliability of Nuri, but also confirming our potential for launch services for various satellite operations and space exploration,” Science Minister Lee Jong-ho said in a briefing.

He also said that the main satellite, NEXTSAT-2, has made its first communication with Korea’s King Sejong Station in Antarctica.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this successful launch will put further pressure on North Korea’s scientists to try and match this performance with their upcoming space launch.

You would think this person would have been on a sex offender registry that would have prevented him from working with children:

Gyeonggi Province’s Office of Education said Tuesday that a person convicted of the sexual assault of a vulnerable middle school student 13 years ago later worked as a teacher at an elementary school, confirming a recent online revelation that sparked public outrage.

The office said the person, however, is currently not working at the school. It refused to give more details, citing the protection of personal information.

An anonymous claim was made last Saturday on an online community, Bobae Dream, that one of the 16 perpetrators of the 2010 sexual attack on the underage girl has become a teacher at an elementary school in Gwanggyo, Gyeonggi Province, while another had become a fireman. “This is where (he or she) crossed the line,” said the post’s writer, who claimed to be an acquaintance of the two.

The 2010 group rape case belatedly sparked public outcry in 2012, when the penalties the offenders received became known — one year of supervision by a probation officer and 40 hours of reformative education. The reason for the leniency was because the offenders were minors at the time of the crime and they had no previous criminal record.

Korea Herald

You would think the landing gear would be a bit more robust to withstand a bird strike:

A collision with an eagle caused a South Korean F-35A Lightning II fighter to crash last year, and talks are underway with the manufacturer over scrapping or repairing the stealth aircraft, the South Korean air force said Tuesday. 

An investigation determined the bird struck the F-35A’s landing gear, which failed, forcing the pilot to make an emergency belly landing Jan. 4, 2022, at a South Korean air force base in Seosan, about 50 miles southwest of Seoul, according to an air force email Tuesday. 

The pilot exited the plane without serious injuries, according to the air force.

South Korea’s air force and Lockheed Martin, the F-35 manufacturer, assessed the damaged aircraft to determine whether repairs would prove too costly or compromise the fighter’s safe operation.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but the ROK bought 40 F-35A’s at $175 million a piece.

China continues to economically retaliate against South Korea as trilateral security cooperation between the U.S. and Japan improves:

Person holding a cellphone with logo of Naver on screen [SHUTTERSTOCK]

Korea’s largest portal Naver has been blocked in China at a tricky time when the United States and its allies are presenting a more united front against Beijing and Beijing is pushing back.  

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday that it is looking into the case with other government agencies.  

“We are aware of the related reports. [The ministry] is checking the matter jointly with related government agencies,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk on Tuesday.  

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

With North Korea preparing their own rocket launch it would be embarrassing for the ROK if this launch fails. So it is best to not take any chances and double check everything before launch:

South Korea decided Wednesday to postpone the launch of its space rocket Nuri due to a technical glitch found during final preparations, the science ministry said.

“While controlling a helium valve, aerospace engineers found a communications problem between a launch control computer and a launch pad facility control computer,” Vice Science Minister Oh Tae-seog said in a briefing at the Naro Space Center in Goheung. “The valve is OK, but the system might matter when it goes into the automatic operation system. So we inevitably canceled the scheduled launch.”

The engineers detected the problem at around 3:30 p.m., just before they were to start injecting fuel and oxidizer into the rocket.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but ROK officials are still determining if they will be able to launch the rocket with its 8 satellite payload either today or later in the week.

This is interesting because is the first time I have seen North Korea issue such a warning to a civilian ship in the East Sea. It makes me think they may have thought it was being used for intelligence collection purposes:

A North Korean boat warned a South Korean cargo ship sailing in the international waters of the East Sea to “move out to the open sea” earlier this month, a source said Tuesday, raising maritime safety concerns amid heightened cross-border tensions.

People aboard the North Korean boat gesticulated toward the 30,000-ton cargo ship and sent a message demanding it move farther out into the high seas through an international maritime communication network on May 8, according to the source.

The cargo ship was reportedly carrying 21 crewmembers, including two South Koreans.

It remains unclear whether the North Koreans are civilians or military personnel.

Following the message from the North, the South Korean ship informed its headquarters and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of what happened and took a detour to reach the waters south of the Northern Limit Line, a de facto inter-Korean sea border.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Thousands of people showed up for a memorial for a President that really did not accomplish anything while in office other than advance anti-US sentiment and is most well known for committing suicide because of corruption surrounding his family:

Kwon Yang-sook (C, front row), the widow of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, former President Moon Jae-in (2nd from R, second row), Prime Minster Han Duck-soo (2nd from R, third row) and other government and political leaders pay tribute to Roh during a memorial service marking the 14th year since his death at Bongha Village in the southeastern city of Gimhae on May 23, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

Thousands of people, including a large number of lawmakers from rival parties and key political figures, attended a memorial service for late former President Roh Moo-hyun on Tuesday.

The ceremony, marking the 14th year since Roh’s death, was held in the southeastern rural village of Bongha, Roh’s hometown, to commemorate the liberal icon who took his own life in 2009 amid a sprawling corruption probe.

Also in attendance were former President Moon Jae-in and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, both of whom worked with Roh during his presidency from 2003 to 2008.

“I remember the president who dedicated his life to opening the future for the Republic of Korea as I served as the prime minister under the Roh administration,” Han said in a memorial address.

A wreath of flowers sent by President Yoon Suk Yeol also was placed at Roh’s graveyard.

On May 23, 2009, Roh jumped to his death from a cliff behind his retirement home amid a corruption probe by the prosecution into his family and aides.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but even the People Party Power showed for this memorial which is surprising because the Korean left blamed the conservative President Lee Myung-bak for investigating Roh after he left office for corruption which led to his suicide. That is why Roh protege former President Moon Jae-in immediately launched investigations against Lee after he took office and put him in jail.