Author: GIKorea

U.S. Congressman Introduces Bill to Give ROK Soldiers Who Served in the Vietnam War Free Healthcare Through the VA

It will be interesting to see if this bill eventually gets passed or not considering so many Americans do not have their own healthcare:

A U.S. lawmaker has submitted a bill calling for the provision of healthcare services to former Korean veterans of the Vietnam War who have since become naturalized citizens of the United States, the lawmaker’s office said Friday.

Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) introduced the Korean American Vietnam Allies Long Overdue for Relief Act or Korean American VALOR Act in January.

“As Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (VA), I introduced the Korean American VALOR Act to provide some measure of long overdue parity for these Vietnam War veterans,” Takano was quoted as saying in a legislation hearing held Wednesday.

“They served side-by-side with U.S. troops and have since become U.S. citizens, but they have never been eligible for VA healthcare services,” Takano added, according to his office.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Tweet of the Day: North Korea Creating More Fissile Material?

Picture of the Day: First Day of School in North Korea

First day of school in N. Korea
First day of school in N. Korea
North Korean students start their first day of school on April 1, 2023, in this photo released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency the following day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

Picture of the Day: South Korean Bullfighting Festival

Bullfighting
Bullfighting
Bulls lock horns at the 21st Dalseong Bullfighting Festival in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on March 30, 2023. (Yonhap)
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Kim Yo-jong Criticizes Zelenskiy for Pursuing Nuclear Weapons

It is a bit ironic that Kim Yo-jong is criticizing Zelenskiy for possibly pursuing nuclear weapons when the North Koreans know better than anyone how much they ensure regime security. If Ukraine had its own nuclear weapons deterrent the Russians would have likely never had invaded:

Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday of “gambling” with his country’s destiny by talking about developing nuclear weapons or placing U.S. nukes in Ukraine.

Kim, vice department director of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party, also accused the Ukrainian authorities of being “seized with the incurable megalomania that (they) can defeat Russia,” and “incurring a nuclear disaster threatening their existence.”

“Zelenskiy’s talk about the introduction of U.S. nuclear weapons and the independent development of nuclear weapons is a manifestation of his very dangerous political ambition to prolong his remaining days at any cost by gambling with the destiny of his country and people,” she said in an English-language statement carried by the North’s Korean Central News Agency.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Fire Fighters Combat Forest Fire on Mt. Ingwansan in Seoul

Hopefully firefighters can get this fire under control before it spreads down the mountain slopes towards Seoul:

President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed relevant authorities Sunday to make all-out efforts to put out and prevent spring wildfires, his office said.

Yoon issued the message following reports of wildfires on Mount Inwang, near the previous location of South Korea’s presidential office, and a mountain in Hongseong, 114 kilometers south of Seoul.

As of 2:30 p.m., some 580 officials and nine helicopters had been mobilized to put out the blaze on Mount Inwang that broke out shortly before noon. There have been no reports of deaths or injuries caused by it.

Authorities have banned entry to the mountain, with residents in nearby areas being evacuated. Some 120 households already have been evacuated.

Some 0.23 square kilometers of land, equivalent to the size of 32 football fields, have been destroyed by the wildfire.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

ROK Drop Open Thread – March 31, 2023

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.

Tweet of the Day: Italian Military Returns to Korea

https://twitter.com/UN_Command/status/1640872017246453760

Picture of the Day: Observing Training

S. Korea, U.S. Marines conduct joint landing drill
S. Korea, U.S. Marines conduct joint landing drill
This photo, released by South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), shows JCS Chairman Gen. Kim Seung-kyum (2nd from R, sitting) and Gen. Paul LaCamera (R), the commander of U.S. Forces Korea, inspecting the South Korean and U.S. Marines’ Ssangyong amphibious landing exercise in Pohang, 272 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on March 29, 2023, (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Kunsan Airbase Shuts Down as Runaway Repairs Begin for the Summer

It looks like there is not going to be much activity going on this summer at Kunsan AB as its runway goes through a complete overhaul:

The last U.S. Air Force fighter jets from Kunsan Air Base moved this week to Osan Air Base, about 75 miles north, ahead of a scheduled runway overhaul expected to last through the summer.

Around 30 F-16 Fighting Falcons of the 8th Fighter Wing will continue flight operations over South Korea from Osan while their 9,000-foot-long home runway receives a makeover, wing spokeswoman Capt. Kaylin P. Hankerson told Stars and Stripes by email Thursday.

Kunsan is on the country’s west coast about 115 miles south of Seoul and is home to around 4,200 U.S. troops.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.