Author: GIKorea

While North Korea is using nuclear technology to build bombs to kill massive amounts of people, the South Koreans are using nuclear technology to better people’s lives:

Korea is committing 400 billion won ($308 million) a year to the development of small nuclear reactors as it doubles its overall annual spending on nuclear energy to 2 trillion won, according to the president.    
   
“The government will actively support the nuclear energy industry so it can become a major pillar leading our exports and so that Korea can once again be recognized globally as a major nuclear energy power country,” President Yoon Suk-yeol said Wednesday. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but this strategy seems to make sense to me because I don’t know how you advocate for electric cars and against fossil fuels and not have nuclear energy as an option power them.

This new unit will mostly specialize in missile warning which was a function the U.S. Air Force was providing before it was shifted over to the Space Force:

USFK Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera hosted a ceremony to mark the launch of the new unit at a hangar at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 65 kilometers south of Seoul, which is home to the U.S. 7th Air Force.

Among the attendees were U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg, South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command Deputy Commander Gen. Ahn Byung-seok and Brig. Gen. Anthony Mastalir, commander of the U.S. Space Forces Indo-Pacific.

“The activation here today of U.S. Space Forces Korea … enhances our ability to defend the homeland, and should ensure peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia,” LaCamera said during the ceremony. “Because of U.S. Space Forces Korea, the alliance is better able to execute multidomain operations in the Korean theater of operations.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

There has to be plenty of survivor guilt for the people that survived the Itaewon crowd crush disaster especially those that lost friends like this teenager did:

A teenage survivor of the Itaewon tragedy, who lost two friends in the crowd crush that took 158 lives on Oct. 29, died in an apparent suicide while receiving psychological treatment for trauma.  
   
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, police found a dead high school student in a motel room in Mapo District, western Seoul at 11:40 p.m. on Monday, after half an hour of searching for the teen following a missing persons report by his mother.  
   
The student checked in alone at around 7 p.m. Monday and committed suicide in the bathroom, according to local news reports. No suicide note was found. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but condolences to friends and family of the deceased.

It seems like North Korea has been ready to do a nuclear test for a few months. However, it appears they are waiting for the right moment to justify them conducting the nuclear test to mitigate international condemnation. The fact that the ROK has not unilaterally cancelled the Inter-Korean military agreement despite all the provocations in recent months has denied them one of their justifications for the nuclear test:

 Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has said North Korea is ready to conduct a nuclear bomb test, but South Korea and its allies have always been prepared for the North’s major provocation.

“We gather that they are ready,” Han told Britain’s Sky News in an interview, “although we do not know exactly when” a nuclear test would happen.

North Korea has launched a flurry of short- to long-range missile tests so far this year and has widely been expected to carry out what would be its seventh nuclear test.

Han said South Korea and its allies have been on alert over the possibility of North Korea’s nuclear test.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, the Kim regime will eventually find something to justify their test. The real question is what does the U.S. and the ROK do in response?

Getting rare earth minerals from Australia seems like a much more reliable alternative than China where they have demonstrated before they are willing to economically retaliate against South Korea to pressure them on issues:

Korea has been strengthening ties with Australia to produce rare earth elements and decrease its high dependence on China, as core minerals for high-tech industries are becoming increasingly important.

Although Korea is currently dependent on China for rare earth elements, Rowena Smith, CEO of Australia-based critical metals producer ASM, said the company has been strengthening relations in order to provide a stable supply of core minerals to Korean companies. (…….)

“In our experience, Australia’s and Korea’s business culture and shared values make us perfect partners to develop our business, using Australian natural resources and Korea’s access to skills and technology,” she added.

For years, ASM has been conducting the Dubbo project, which mines minerals such as rare earth elements from mines in Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia and processes them in Korea. Australia has the world’s sixth-largest deposit of rare earth elements of 3.27 million tons, after China, Vietnam, Brazil and Russia.

ASM said the Dubbo project serves as a sustainable and reliable source of core minerals such as rare earth elements, meeting the skyrocketing demand for these materials in the global market.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The Stars & Stripes has a good Q&A on South Korea’s mandatory military service:

Q: Who has to serve in South Korea’s military?

A: All able-bodied South Korean men are required to enlist in the military by age 28. K-pop stars aren’t exempt from service, but they have been granted the ability to defer their enrollment until age 30 for contributions to “enhancing Korea’s international image.” At 30 years old, Jin, whose full name is Kim Seok-jin, is the oldest member of BTS and was running out of time to defer, as officials mulled whether to exempt K-pop stars from service. Just weeks before a December enlistment deadline, Jin rescinded his deferral, setting forth his path to military service.

Men with physical limitations or health concerns are allowed to perform alternative service, such as holding administrative roles in the community. Men with religious concerns — most notably Jehovah’s Witnesses — were previously jailed for refusing compulsory military service. In recent years, however, conscientious objectors have been allowed to take community service roles.

Artists and classical musicians who have won awards for their work are allowed to perform alternative service — which requires teaching and performing — as long as the award is officially recognized by the Defense Ministry. (BTS has not won such an award.) Professional athletes who won international honors are also allowed to do alternative service corresponding with their expertise. Korean adoptees who choose to reinstate their nationality — many of whom don’t speak their native language — are granted an exemption from compulsory service.

Q: How long does South Korea’s military service last?

A: Those who are required to serve in the military must do so for at least 18 months, although the length of service can vary by branch. Conscripts serve for 18 months in the army and the marines, 20 months in the navy, and 21 months in the air force. The first few weeks of service are usually spent at a basic training camp before soldiers are moved to the roles in which they will finish the rest of their enlistment.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

The yellow dust season just seems to keep coming earlier and earlier for South Korea:

Yellow dust advisories were issued across South Korea except for South Gyeongsang Province on Tuesday, with the fine dust level in Seoul hitting the highest point so far this year, authorities said.

The yellow dust advisories were upgraded from “attention” to “caution,” the second highest in the environmental ministry’s four-notch warning system, in Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi Province surrounding the capital and Gangwon Province as of early Tuesday afternoon, the environment authorities said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but yellow dust is a good reason for everyone to wear a mask.