North Korea has continued its war against the fish of the East Sea this weekend:
North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) toward the East Sea on Monday, Seoul’s military said, a day after South Korea and the United States staged joint air drills, involving B-1B bombers, in response to the North’s long-range missile launch.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from the Sukchon area in South Pyongan Province between 7 a.m. and 7:11 a.m., and that the missiles flew some 390 kilometers and 340 km, respectively.
Hours after the launch, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the artillery unit of the Korean People’s Army fired two shots from the 600-mm multiple rocket launcher during firing drills, and that they flew 395 km and 337 km, respectively.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
Via a reader tip comes news that quite possibly the most infamous criminal in USFK history has passed away at age 50 in West Virginia:
Kenneth Lee “Kennet” Markle, III, 50, of Keyser, WV, died Tuesday, February 14, 2023 in Keyser.
Born on June 7, 1972 in Wurzburg, Germany, he was a son of Kenneth L. Markle, Jr. and Helen M. “Mickey” (Hickey) Markle, of Keyser. He was preceded in death by an infant brother, Jarrod Markle and his grandparents, Kenneth L. Markle, Sr., Wanda P. Markle and John and Edith Hickey.
Kennet was a 1990 graduate of Keyser High School and was employed as a project manager in the cellular communications industry. He was an avid Pittsburgh Steelers fan.
Tribute Archive
For those that don’t know who Kenneth Markle is, I recommend reading my below prior posting about him:
I also recommend reading the below prior posting where Markle’s alleged ex-girlfriends describe what he is like in the comments section:
I have actually met Markle before when he was still being held in the foreigner prison down in Cheonan. He was the person that used to pick up the mail from people that would go and check up on the prisoners there. He was actually very polite when I interacted with him. However, since his release from Korean prison in 2006 he went on to continue a life of crime in West Virginia:
Two Mineral County men were arrested Monday when they were served arrest warrants by Keyser Police at two locations.
Kenneth Lee Markle, 44, of Keyser, was charged with 24 counts of nighttime burglary and 74 counts of unauthorized use of a debit card, police said.
Markle was arrested at a North Water Street residence late Monday and granted pre-trial release after posting $15,000 bond, police said.
Cumberland Times-News
Markle actually contacted me a few years after he got out claiming his innocence and that if I read the court transcripts I would understand he was not a murderer. I offered to post the complete transcripts on the ROK Drop and he never sent them to me. His side of the story is that he hit the victim in the head with a coke bottle after she attacked him and was alive when left the room. He claims someone else killed her and violated her body. He told himself that bogus story for so long he probably actually believed it after a while.
Judging by this collage of mugshots that ROK Drop commenter Chickenhead has put together, I would not be surprised that besides being a thief that Markle was a meth-head as well:
This officially closes the chapter on Kenneth Markle and hopefully those impacted by his crimes get some solace that he will not be able to victimize anyone else ever again.
I hope everyone who is getting a long weekend is enjoying it! Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.
The North Koreans are continuing to make sure the world doesn’t lose attention on them:
North Korea fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Saturday, Japan’s Defense Ministry said, with the weapon splashing down some 200 kilometers off Hokkaido’s Oshima Island, inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
The missile, the first “ICBM-class” weapon to be fired by the North since November, traveled roughly 900 km, hitting a peak altitude of 5,700 km, the ministry said. With a flight time of 66 minutes, the missile was likely flown on a “lofted” trajectory, the ministry added, meaning it had been nearly shot straight up so as to avoid overflying neighboring countries.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Japan had protested the launch, calling it “an outrage” and escalation against “the international community as a whole.”
The Defense Ministry said the ICBM-class weapon was believed to have a range of over 14,000 km, depending on the weight of the warhead and other factors.
“In this case, that would put the entire United States within its range,” Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said.
Japan Times
A camera from the city of Hakodate on Hokkaido appears to have even caught the ICBM reentering the atmosphere:
This next graphic shows the trajectory of the ICBM that landed within Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone:
According to the article the launch is believed to be in response to a table top exercise next week between the U.S. and the ROK militaries where they will plan on how to defend against North Korean nuclear attacks.
This is definitely a sign of how bad the political discourse in South Korea has become:
Controversy is growing over an event arranged by a left-wing civic group, which allowed participants to shoot toy arrows at photos of President Yoon Suk Yeol, first lady Kim Keon Hee and Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon.
Korea Times
Critics said the event encouraged excessive hatred that is already prevalent in Korean society, noting that it should be taken seriously as even children were welcomed to participate.
The event was part of a rally held Saturday in central Seoul by a civic group calling for the resignation of the Yoon government and for a special counsel probe into stock manipulation allegations involving the first lady. Han, who was a senior prosecutor, is a close aide of Yoon.
“The prosecutor-turned-president has abused the prosecution’s power all over the country, threatening the country’s democracy,” said Rep. Lee Su-jin of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, who participated in the rally.
You can read more at the link.
It will be interesting to see if this ruling leads to more Russian men trying to seek asylum in South Korea:
A local court on Tuesday ordered the Incheon Immigration Office to review refugee applications submitted by two Russian men who landed in Incheon International Airport last year after fleeing the military draft in their home country.
Korea Times
The Incheon District Court ruled in favor of the Russian men who filed complaints against the immigration authority, but dismissed a complaint filed by another man who was in a similar situation.
The judge did not give a detailed explanation about the ruling during the hearing, saying that a detailed verdict will be issued later.
There are two more Russian men ― college student Vladimir Maraktaev and former football player Dzhashar Khubiev ― who are still stuck inside the airport waiting for their next hearing scheduled for late February.
You can read more at the link.
It looks like all the time General Abrams spent dealing with North Korea’s “Rocket Man” has inspired him to become a Rocket Man himself:
Retired Army Gen. Robert Abrams, the former commander of U.S. Forces Korea, has joined the “green” rocket engine manufacturer Vaya Space as a senior adviser, according to a company news release Thursday.
Abrams, who commanded roughly 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea, also led U.N. Command and Combined Forces Command from 2018 until his retirement in 2021. He was succeeded by Army Gen. Paul LaCamera.
Florida-based Vaya Space manufactures rocket engines from recycled plastics and uses over 20 metric tons for each launch, according to its website. The company is scheduled to launch its first Dauntless vehicle later this year, which will be powered by ignited thermoplastics and liquid oxidizer.
Abrams said he chose to serve on Vaya Space’s board “because I became convinced that their technologies coupled with their excellent leadership team can make a tremendous difference for our country,” according to the company’s release.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
