It will be interesting to see if the Kim regime uses this visit and the joint announcement as a reason to launch an ICBM in the coming days:
The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States have agreed to further expand the countries’ joint military exercises amid intensifying North Korean provocations, they said in a joint statement released Tuesday.
South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also agreed to continue taking strong steps against North Korean provocations.
“The two leaders also pledged to further expand and bolster the level and scale of this year’s combined exercises and training,” said the joint statement released by the U.S. Department of Defense.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
It is going to get a little more expensive to get around Seoul by taxi next month:
The basic taxi fare in Seoul will rise by 1,000 won ($0.8) to 4,800 won starting next month, the city government said Monday.
Korea Times
The Seoul Metropolitan government’s plan to raise the base rate for mid-sized sedan cabs operating in the capital will go into effect on Feb. 1, it said.
Under the plan, the initial minimum distance for which the base taxi fare is applied will also be shortened to 1.6 kilometers from the current 2 km.
After the base fare is charged, 100 won will be additionally charged for every 131 meters of distance, up from the current 132 meters, the city also said.
You can read more at the link.
The Korean government is really going to have to promote and set the example to get people to stop wearing masks when they have been socially conditioned for so long to wear them:
“I am sure that the government decided to revise the rule as it is certain about managing the virus situation. But I still want to wear the mask for the sake of myself,” Kim said as she was waiting in line for her latte at a Starbucks store in Seoul’s Seocho district.
Just like previous days, most of the people in the store masked up while waiting, except for when they were drinking or eating.
Most commuters also kept their face masks on in indoor areas of public transportation and even outside transportation hubs as they viewed masking as something between a habit and a security.
“It feels a little awkward to take off my mask,” Chang Joon-won said as he was coming out of a subway entrance in Seoul’s Seocho district to head for work. “It has become like a part of me.”
All of the around 30 people waiting for a subway train at Seoul’s Dongdaemun Station wore masks.
“It is uncomfortable, but I will continue to wear a mask as the COVID-19 pandemic has not yet ended,” Kim Soo-ah said.
Teachers, students and school staff showed mixed emotions about the end of the school mask mandate, as most students opted to wear face coverings while going to school.
“Nothing will immediately change, as kids are used to (wearing masks),” Park Soon-ae, a mother of two daughters, said as she escorted her kids to Daerim Elementary School in Seoul’s Dongjak district.
Over a 30-minute period, only one student showed up at school without a mask.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
General Minihan does offer a plausible scenario on why 2025 would be a good time for China to attack Taiwan:
China could be at war with the United States two years from now, a top Air Force general predicted in a bombastic and unusual memo to troops under his command, asserting a significantly shorter timeline before potential conflict than any other senior U.S. defense official to date.
Gen. Michael A. Minihan, who as head of Air Mobility Command oversees the service’s fleet of transport and refueling aircraft, warned personnel to speed their preparations for a potential conflict, citing Chinese President Xi Jinping’s aspirations and the possibility that Americans will not be paying attention until it is too late.
“I hope I am wrong,” Minihan wrote. “My gut tells me we will fight in 2025. Xi secured his third term and set his war council in October 2022. Taiwan’s presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a reason. United States’ presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a distracted America. Xi’s team, reason, and opportunity are all aligned for 2025.”
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
I just don’t understand how idiots like this guy think they are going to get away with doing dumb things like this:
This screenshot from an All Nippon News report shows security camera footage from a car dealer in Iwakuni, Japan, Dec. 3, 2022. (ANN)
A U.S. Marine has met with and apologized to the owner of a vehicle that was stolen and then crashed last month outside this base near Hiroshima, according to a local media report.
The Marine, who has not been identified by local authorities or the Marine Corps, spent nearly two hours with the victim on Thursday, the local Chugoku newspaper reported the next day. In addition to apologizing, he promised to pay for any damages, the report said.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
