Considering the nuclear threats the Kim regime has continued to make against South Korea it makes sense to plan for how to respond to their use:
This photo, taken on Oct. 19, 2022, shows armored vehicles engaging in a South Korea-U.S. river-crossing exercise in Yeoju, 105 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)
South Korea and the United States plan to stage a combined military exercise next month under the scenario of use of a nuclear weapon by North Korea, Seoul’s defense ministry said Wednesday in its report to President Yoon Suk Yeol on major policy tasks this year.
Among other plans are holding a 11-day springtime South Korea-U.S. exercise without a break, conducting a final test of a homegrown solid-propellant space rocket and launching the country’s first military surveillance satellite.
Led by the allies’ Deterrence Strategy Committee (DSC), the discussion-based Table-Top Exercise (TTX) is set to take place in the U.S. in the latter half of February, as the two sides agreed to hold it annually at a bilateral defense ministerial meeting in November last year, according to the ministry.
Has anyone in Korea tried Gordon Ramsay's burger restaurant here? Yay or nay? I'm a little curious but I've been disappointed by past experiences with pricy burger joints. Reviews would be most welcome!
U.S. solders’ explosive disposal contest Soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 2nd Infantry Division detect explosives during an explosive disposal contest at a training ground near U.S. Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 65 kilometers south of Seoul, on Jan. 11, 2023. (Yonhap)
It is refreshing to hear a Korean president speak the truth about why the Japanese are increasing their military capabilities instead of demagoguing the issue for political benefit:
President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks at a joint policy briefing from the foreign ministry and the defense ministry at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Jan. 11, 2023, in this photo provided by the presidential office.
President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday that Japan’s moves to bolster its defense capabilities are hard to stop in the face of the threat of North Korea’s missiles.
Yoon made the remark during a joint policy briefing from the foreign and defense ministers, referring to Japan’s recent increase in its defense budget and its inclusion of the “counterstrike” concept in its revised security documents.
“We can wonder how a country adopting a pacifist constitution can do such things, but if there are missiles flying over their heads and the possibility of a nuclear strike, it’s not easy to stop,” he said during the meeting at the former presidential compound of Cheong Wa Dae.
“Japan increased its defense budget because there are IRBMs flying over their heads, and decided to include the so-called ‘counterstrike’ concept in its defense plan,” he said, referring to intermediate-range ballistic missiles that North Korea fired over Japan. “How can anyone take issue with that?”
You can read more at the link, but DPRK apologists in the Korean left will take issue with anything the Japan does to defend themselves. At least the current Korean President is not one of them.
Investigators raid the home of the official of the Progressive Party’s office on Jeju Island, Dec. 19, 2022. Newsis
When South Korea’s largest labor umbrella group called for an end to the alliance with the U.S. and conscription during weekend rallies before Aug. 15 National Liberation Day last year, some observers questioned what those demands have to do with improving workers’ rights.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) and police now suspect that the messages chanted in the Seoul streets might have come directly from Pyongyang and that it was orchestrated by regime sympathizers engaged in espionage activities here at its behest.
According to civic groups and other sources on Tuesday, NIS officials and police have been investigating allegations that some liberal activists, including party officials, helped promote anti-government activities after taking orders from North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party.
Over the past several weeks, the investigators have raided the homes and offices of the key suspects in Jeju, Jinju, Jeonju and Changwon.
It all began in July 2017 when a former high-ranking official of the Progressive Party allegedly met a North Korean agent in Siem Reap of Cambodia, where the South Korean was told to create a secret organization on Jeju Island and was informed how to communicate with North Korean officials.
It is alleged that the official later conspired with two other activists to organize a group, through which they helped stage anti-U.S. protests and supported certain election candidates. They are suspected of communicating with North Korean officials for more than five years. Taking control of “the Jeju 4.3 unification committee” under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the anti-U.S. protest organizer, suspending military exercises between Seoul and Washington and protesting the procurement of high tech weapons are among the orders they allegedly received from the North.
You can read more at the link, but to me this news is not surprising and according to the article the NIS began this investigation five years ago when President Moon was in power. However, only recently were they allowed to move forward with an official investigation. It is pretty clear that the Moon administration did not want to go after their own liberal supporters and the Yoon administration is going after them as part of their efforts to retaliate against North Korean provocations.
It was far from subtle that Moon was also taking a distance from Lee. While Lee posted photos of him paying a visit to Moon on New Year's Day, Moon only posted a photo of him and his old guards. https://t.co/8yaXCNq5Ag
Senior U.S. official visits S. Korea Jose Fernandez, the U.S. under secretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, arrives at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Jan. 9, 2023, for meetings with Lee Do-hoon, Seoul’s second vice foreign minister, and businessmen over bilateral issues, including the controversial U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). (Yonhap)
Not a good look for the Chinese government, but obviously they have long ago quit caring what the ROK thinks of them. They just look at the ROK as a country they can bully which they are attempting to do so again:
This image, captured from the WeChat account of the Chinese Embassy in South Korea on Jan. 10, 2023, shows a post announcing the suspension of its short-term visa service to South Koreans.
China announced the suspension Tuesday of its short-term visa service for South Koreans in retaliation against Seoul’s regulations on entries from the neighbor with increasing COVID-19 infections.
The Chinese Embassy in Seoul made public the decision in a post on its WeChat account, citing an “instruction” from Beijing for its embassy and consulates to stop issuing visas, including visits for trade, tourism and medical care purposes.
China plans to “adjust” the measure in accordance with the situation in which South Korea cancels its “discriminatory entry restrictions against China,” the embassy said.
It is good to see that the authorities are going after and arresting these brokers who are trying to get athletes out of completing their mandatory service:
South Korean men seek new options to avoid their two-year mandatory military service, and the number of draft dodgers continues to grow.
According to data provided by Rep. Song Gab-seok of the Democratic Party received from the Military Manpower Administration, 578 people were turned over to prosecution for intentional draft dodging from 2012 until Nov. 30 last year.
Recently, volleyball player Jo Jae-sung was charged with contacting a local military broker to help him show false symptoms of epilepsy during a military reexamination. He was then deemed unfit to serve as a soldier due to this fake health issue, allowing him to serve as a social service agent as an alternative form of service.
The broker he had come in contact with was arrested last month for violating the Military Service Act.
Professional athletes in the fields of soccer, horse riding and bowling are also under investigation for attempting draft evasion with the broker. The names of the others have not been revealed.
