Author: GIKorea

North Korea’s war on the fish of the East Sea continues:

North Korea fired an unspecified ballistic missile into the East Sea on Thursday, South Korea’s military said, in the third provocation this week by the recalcitrant regime.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced the launch, hours after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris wrapped up a daylong visit to South Korea, during which she met with President Yoon Suk-yeol and toured the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) bisecting the two Koreas. She reaffirmed America’s security commitment to the East Asian ally.

The North fired a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) on Sunday and two SRBMs on Wednesday.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The back and forth over President Yoon’s hot mic comments during his U.S. trip has become nothing more than partisan bickering at this point. With that said considering MBC’s past track record, it is very believable someone there would be willing to falsify President Yoon’s comments:

The People Power Party (PPP) said Tuesday it will create a task force to investigate what it called “selective and biased” subtitling of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s hot mic moment in New York last week.  
   
The PPP’s announcement came the same day that the Democratic Party (DP) made clear it would push ahead with plans to punish those in the government it deems at fault for what it has characterized as a gaffe-ridden presidential tour of Britain, the United States and Canada.  
   
The dueling plans by the rival parties represent an escalation in the political spat over comments made by Yoon at a fundraiser in New York hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden. (…..)

The comments could be heard in a video recording first released last week by MBC, or Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. Some of Yoon’s remarks in the clip were drowned out by loud music and background noise.    
   
Based on the broadcaster’s subtitles, Yoon was speaking about Biden losing face if he didn’t get congressional approval for something. Initial reports said he was referring to Biden’s pledge to contribute another $6 billion to the Global Fund, which would require U.S. Congress approval.  
   
The PPP, led by floor leader Joo Ho-young, alleges that MBC distorted the president’s remarks.  
   
“MBC basically incorporated tabloid speculation as subtitles for the president’s words,” Joo said at a gathering of all the party’s lawmakers at the National Assembly on Tuesday. “We believe that MBC violated basic journalistic ethics, including fact-checking, in its report,” he added.  
   
Earlier, the presidential office denied that Yoon was referring to members of the U.S. Congress when he used the expletive, saying that he was actually talking about members of Korea’s National Assembly.  
   
The PPP has already filed a libel lawsuit against MBC President and CEO Park Sung-jae, reporters and other relevant individuals for alleged disclosure of false information.  
   
They argued that the report harmed Korea’s “national interests” and demanded an apology from MBC and its CEO’s resignation.     

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

I am not against the upcoming ban, but I don’t think it is going to do much to clean up air pollution when so much of it is rolling in over Korea from China and their government doesn’t care:

Grade 4 diesel vehicles, the second-lowest in the country’s five-tier emissions standard, will be banned from Seoul’s central areas starting 2025.  
   
In addition, village buses, delivery motorbikes and trucks will all go electric by 2026.  
   
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon unveiled a comprehensive plan to improve air quality of his megacity dubbed Clearer Seoul 2030 on Wednesday. It’s a major part of the Korean capital’s ambition to be one of the top 10 greenest cities in the world. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

North Korea has given Vice President Harris some fireworks to welcome her to Seoul:

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) into the East Sea on Wednesday, ratcheting up tensions amid an ongoing South Korea-U.S. naval exercise involving an American aircraft carrier.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launches from the Sunan area in Pyongyang between 6:10 p.m. and 6:20 p.m., and that the missiles flew some 360 kilometers at apogees of around 30 km at top speeds of about Mach 6.

It did not provide other details, saying the intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States are conducting a detailed analysis to verify the specifics of the missiles.

The launches came just three days after the North fired off an SRBM into the East Sea (….)

The latest saber-rattling came as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris plans to visit Seoul on Thursday and the allies’ Navies are staging an exercise featuring the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan carrier in the East Sea.

The U.S. carrier, a centerpiece of America’s naval might, arrived here on Friday for the first allied exercise near the peninsula in five years. The four-day exercise is set to run through Thursday.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like China is trying to get business back to usual with North Korea despite their continuing COVID protocols:

Cargo train operation between North Korea and China is likely to continue, a South Korean government official said Tuesday, citing Beijing’s confirmation of its resumption following a five-month suspension.

On Monday, a freight train from the Chinese border city of Dandong was seen crossing a railway bridge over the Amnok River toward North Korea for the first time since late April.

Speaking at a press briefing later in the day, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, confirmed the resumption of the train service linking Dandong and the North’s border city of Sinuiju.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

More and more people are discovering the shanty town adjacent to the posh Gangnam neighborhood of Seoul:

Jason Basulto, a 27-year-old American tourist, visited Guryong Village, one of the last remaining shanty towns in Seoul, in April this year. He had been curious about Seoul’s not-so-shiny side, like the semi-basement homes featured in “Parasite.”

“Urban slums are visible not only in Korea, but in many other countries, because the wealth gap is a global issue. But the scenery of Guryong Village in the middle of high buildings was striking,” he said.

For those who are interested in social issues, the village could be an interesting place to visit, he added.

It appears so.

On YouTube, there are a number of videos that take viewers on a virtual tour of the village, where rows of ragged shacks stand in contrast to gleaming, high-rise apartment complexes just across the road.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.