Author: GIKorea

It sounds like BTS is going to have easier mandatory military service than even most KATUSAs have, but at least they are doing their service unlike others who have found ways out of it:

Members of K-pop super group BTS will be able to participate in “national” events for the “public good” even while serving in the military, the defense ministry said Tuesday.

Col. Moon Hong-sik, the ministry’s acting spokesperson, made the remarks a day after Big Hit Music, the band’s agency, said all BTS members will fulfill their military service, starting with the eldest member, Jin.

“Our position is that we will provide an opportunity if they wish to participate when there is a national-level event for the public good or an event designed in light of the national interest,” Moon told a regular press briefing.

He added that such an opportunity can be granted to other service members under current regulations. 

Earlier this month, Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup told a parliamentary audit that BTS members will be able to join even overseas performances during their military service.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

if this is the way the Chinese want to act maybe NATO countries should all start denying the use of their airspace to Chinese government officials:

Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak’s planned visit to Seoul was canceled as China rejected the Polish government jet’s flight plan through its airspace.

According to officials, Blaszczak was scheduled to have a meeting with South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup here on Tuesday, but they ended up having a videoconference on Wednesday instead. He also missed the release ceremonies for weapons purchased recently by Poland in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. 

Blaszczak and his delegation were supposed to use the Polish government’s jet to fly to Seoul via a direct air route over China. But China refused to allow the Polish delegation’s jet to enter its airspace. The Polish side reportedly considered using other air routes, but didn’t, as they would have required refueling and consumed too much time. 

Though the South Korean government did not elaborate on the background for the decision, it is speculated that China did not permit Poland’s jet to fly through its airspace because of its relationship with Russia and Seoul’s closer relations with NATO countries. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It is pretty clear that the Kim regime is daring President Yoon to cancel the Inter-Korean military agreement. If it gets cancelled the Kim regime could use this as an excuse to justify their long awaited nuclear test:

North Korea fired artillery rounds into a buffer zone with South Korea that is designed to reduce tension on the Korean Peninsula, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Wednesday.

The North fired some 100 artillery rounds into the Yellow Sea from around 10 p.m. Tuesday and another 150 rounds into the East Sea from 11 p.m., according to the JCS.

The artillery shells fell into eastern and western buffer zones north of the Northern Limit Line, which were established under a 2018 inter-Korean agreement on reducing military tension.

“Firing artillery shells into the eastern and western buffer zones is a clear violation of the September 19 military agreement, and we strongly urge North Korea to immediately halt its actions as North Korea’s continued provocations are actions that undermine peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the international community,” it said in a released statement.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Many personnel in USFJ lost their cost of living allowance (COLA) and the falling yen is helping to soften the financial blow for these service members:

 Japan’s plunging currency is softening the impact of inflation on American military personnel stationed in the country, even as the government cuts their allowances.

A dollar bought just over 149 yen on Monday for the first time in 32 years and was hovering around that level Tuesday evening. The yen has dropped 23% against the dollar this year as Japan continues to keep interest rates near zero.

In contrast, the U.S. Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark interest rate at each of its past three meetings, most recently in September, bringing the rate to between 3% and 3.25%, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

A higher interest rate is expected to slow inflation, but by promising higher yields it also attracts investment to the United States, which strengthens the dollar compared to other nations’ currencies.

The strong dollar is welcomed by U.S. service members in Japan, most of whomhave hundreds of dollars less to spend each pay period due to cuts in their cost-of-living allowance this month.

Most are no longer receiving COLA — tax-free money to help offset the costs of living in expensive areas overseas — following changes announced by the State Department on Oct. 1.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

This will be pretty significant if the prosecutors succeed in arresting the former ROK Defense Minister over the death of the fishery official by the North Koreans two years ago:

 Prosecutors sought arrest warrants Tuesday for former Defense Minister Suh Wook and former Coast Guard Commissioner General Kim Hong-hee in an investigation into the previous administration’s handling of the 2020 death of a fisheries official at the hands of North Korea.

The two are facing various charges, including dereliction of duty, abuse of power and creating false official documents in connection with the Moon Jae-in administration’s conclusion without sufficient evidence that the fisheries official was killed while attempting to defect to the North.

Critics have accused the Moon administration of drawing the conclusion to curry favor with Pyongyang.

Prosecutors suspect Suh deliberately erased intelligence reports that suggest the official, Lee Dae-jun, did not intend to defect, and ordered officials to write false facts for a report for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Kim — who was responsible for an investigation into the death at the time — is under suspicion of using fabricated facts to conclude that Lee had intended to defect.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It should be no surprise that Saudi Arabia is the country paying the most for U.S. military personnel to work for them:

Foreign governments have long advanced their interests in Washington by paying Americans as lobbyists, lawyers, political consultants, think tank analysts and public relations advisers. But the hiring of retired U.S. military personnel for their expertise and political clout has accelerated over the past decade as oil-rich gulf monarchies have splurged on defense spending and strengthened their security partnerships with the Pentagon.

Congress permits retired troops as well as reservists to work for foreign governments if they first obtain approval from their branch of the armed forces and the State Department. But the U.S. government has fought to keep the hirings secret. For years, it withheld virtually all information about the practice, including which countries employ the most retired U.S. service members and how much money is at stake.

To shed light on the matter, The Post sued the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, the Marine Corps and the State Department in federal court under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). After a two-year legal battle, The Post obtained more than 4,000 pages of documents, including case files for about 450 retired soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.

Washington Post

You can read more at the link, but the article did not mention any retired military officials working with South Korea or Japan. It appears to all be governments from the Middle East, Turkey, and Russia. The fact that Korea and Japan has USFK and USFJ probably means they don’t need to hire outside experts like these other countries are doing.