Just in case if any of you even care about COVID case numbers any more, here is the latest statistics from South Korea:
South Korea’s new coronavirus cases stayed below 10,000 for the 14th straight day Thursday amid a steady omicron downtrend, though the country remains vigilant against any potential virus resurgence.
The country reported 7,497 new COVID-19 infections, including 92 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 18,305,738, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.
The daily tally has stayed below 10,000 since June 10. The numbers have declined at a steady pace after hitting more than 620,000 in one day in March at the height of the omicron spread.
The KDCA reported 14 additional deaths from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 24,488. The fatality rate stood at 0.13 percent.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link, but the fatality rate appears to have leveled off since it is the same as a month ago. It would be interesting though to know whether the fatalities were mostly people with pre-existing medical conditions which never seems to get put out.
Here is one view on why North Korea hasn’t conducted their long predicted nuclear test:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has yet to press the nuclear button, despite urgent warnings from South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities that the North has completed preparations for another nuclear test.
Korea Times
Diplomatic observers agree that a nuclear test is still imminent. But they believe the delay may be due to pressure from China or because Pyongyang is weighing the possible political repercussions.
Citing comments made by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Eighth Workers’ Party Conference in January 2021 that his country will enhance its nuclear and missile capabilities, as well as the 31 missiles launched so far this year and the reconstruction of its nuclear test site, Joseph DeTrani, a former U.S. special envoy for negotiations with North Korea, said the reclusive country is prepared for a seventh nuclear test.
However, DeTrani said pressure from China may be behind the delayed nuclear test, because increasing tensions on the Korean Peninsula with South Korea and the United States is not in the best interests of Beijing.
You can read more at the link, but it is believed that Emperor President Xi has too much on his plate right now to deal with increased tensions on the Korean peninsula if a nuclear test was to happen.
Here is an interesting update to the ROK fishery official that was murdered by North Korean soldiers when they found him floating in the Yellow Sea two years ago:
The chief of the Korea Coast Guard apologized Wednesday for “causing misunderstanding,” days after the organization overturned its previous announcement that a fisheries official killed by North Korea in 2020 was attempting to defect to the North.
Last week, the Coast Guard and the defense ministry announced they have not found any circumstances backing the probe results from two years ago, reversing from their previous stance and apologizing to the bereaved family.
The 47-year-old official was fatally shot by the North’s military on Sept. 22, 2020, near the inter-Korean sea border in the Yellow Sea, after going missing the previous day while on duty on board a fishery inspection boat. The Coast Guard and the defense ministry announced at the time he could have been attempting to defect to the North. (……….)
On Wednesday, the family of the late fisheries official lodged criminal complaints against three of former President Moon Jae-in’s secretaries, including former National Security Advisor Suh Hoon, to hold them accountable for their beloved’s death. The family accused the then Moon administration of doing “nothing” to save him.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
It seems like an easy fix to use South Korean made parts to fix these elevators until the US sourced parts arrive:
Repairs to a dozen elevators out of order at Camp Humphreys, some in housing areas, are delayed by a three-to-five-month parts backlog, according to a post on the base Facebook page Tuesday.
The 351 elevators at Humphreys must conform to U.S. safety codes, which differ from South Korean codes, so repairs to the malfunctioning 12 may not include locally sourced parts, garrison commander Army Col. Seth Graves told Stars and Stripes by email Wednesday.
The Army Corps of Engineers is considering a waiver for local codes to obtain the necessary parts from a South Korean supplier, Graves said.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
Typical communist tactic of blaming someone else for your own internal problems:
According to the local pro-government outlet Global Times, Dandong is currently facing a spike in daily coronavirus cases, and the border city has periodically locked down residential complexes since April.
However, city officials have been unable to establish a chain of transmission for the spread, nor have they determined how the virus is entering the city, Bloomberg first reported.
One potential answer they’ve reached is that the wind may be blowing the virus into residents’ homes from epidemic-stricken North Korea. According to NK News, Kim Jong Un’s regime has recorded more than 4.2 million “fever cases” — likely to be COVID-19 cases that the country can’t confirm due to a lack of testing kits,
Insider
You can read more at the link.
It is pretty clear that the Korean left has nothing to hammer current President Yoon Suk-yeol on so they have come up with this so called “English complex”:
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s “unnecessary” use and praise of English has some citizens alleging he has a “complex.”
Yoon has been heard using English terms on several occasions, even when the events did not call for a mixing of languages.
In a meeting on June 10 with the leaders of the ruling People Power Party, Yoon brought up a name change for Yongsan Park, a newly opened former Korea base for the U.S. Forces.
While suggesting a new name, the president said, “When you say ‘National Memorial Park’ in English, it sounds cool, but when you say ‘Gukrip Chumo Gongwon,’” referring to the Korean equivalent of the name, “it doesn’t, so I don’t know what to call it in our country’s language.”
In another incident on June 8, Yoon spoke about how “In advanced countries like the U.S., former ‘general attorneys’ are widely positioned in politics and government,” saying “general attorneys” in English.
Yoon’s seemingly unnecessary inclusion of English in his official statements have sparked debate in South Korea as to whether the new president is showing bias toward the U.S. and the West more broadly.
Yahoo News
You can read more at the link, but would these critics instead have Yoon showing bias towards China instead of the West? That is clearly what they are implying.
