Author: GIKorea

South Korea’s new “Living with COVID” strategy is now being fully put to the test as daily cases have reached a record high:

 South Korea’s new coronavirus cases hit an all-time high on Thursday since the start of the pandemic amid eased social distancing rules, putting health authorities on alert over further upticks.

The country reported a record high of 3,292 new daily cases, including 3,272 local infections, raising the total caseload to 406,065, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). 

Thursday’s daily caseload marks the highest since the country reported its first COVID-19 case in January last year and exceeds the previous record of 3,270 reported on Sept. 25.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but what is unusual about the spread of the virus in South Korea is that nearby Japan is experiencing near disappearance of the virus with a seven day average of only 163 daily COVID cases as of today despite having a population more than double that of South Korea.

If it was going to take this long to get someone approved to fill South Korea’s ambassador position the Biden administration should have just kept Admiral Harris in place. He is a retired military officer that has served in a bipartisan fashion under Democrat and Republican administrations:

The former U.S. ambassador to South Korea on Wednesday said he was “disappointed” that his position remains unfilled since he stepped down in January.

Speaking at a panel hosted by The Korea Society in New York, Harry Harris, a retired admiral who once led U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and Pacific Fleet, said he received “calls or emails from our friends in Seoul regularly” about the lack of a U.S. ambassador to South Korea.

“We still don’t have an ambassador nominated to replace me yet,” Harris said during the panel discussion that also included retired Army Gen. Robert Abrams, the former commander of U.S. Forces Korea; retired Adm. Scott Swift, the former commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet; and retired Army Gen. Walter Sharp, a former USFK commander.

Harris served as the ambassador from July 2018 to January 2021. President Donald Trump nominated him to fill a 16-month vacancy, and the Senate confirmed him by voice vote.

President Joe Biden has not named a new ambassador to South Korea since his inauguration Jan. 20. Christopher Del Corso, a career diplomat and a former U.S. Marine, serves as chargé d’affaires ad interim.

Harris – the first Asian American to achieve four-star rank in the Navy – said he offered to remain as ambassador for six months until his replacement was nominated.

“It’s been over a year since our election,” he told the panel. “I tell my friends this is emblematic of the divided political landscape in America in the 2020s.” Harris described the absence of a nomination as “legislative malpractice” but added that the blame ought not to be directed at the Senate “since the White House hasn’t even nominated someone.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

The UAE is looking to upgrade their missile defenses with the newest system the ROK is developing:

 The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has said it plans to purchase South Korean-made mid-range surface-to-air missiles in a deal likely to reach US$3.5 billion. 

The UAE’s Ministry of Defense tweeted Tuesday that it plans to acquire the missile, known as M-SAM. It did not elaborate further.

An official at South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) called the UAE’s announcement “positive” but noted negotiations have yet to be finalized.

“We still need to see how negotiations on the details will proceed,” a DAPA official said on condition of anonymity.

The M-SAM system, called “Cheongung II,” is a core element of South Korea’s multi-layered anti-missile program. Cheongung, means heaven’s bow in Korean.

Employing the “hit-to-kill” technology, the missile is designed to intercept hostile missiles coming in at altitudes below 40 kilometers.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Look who made an appearance and is rocking a nice leather jacket:

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has returned from a monthlong break from public view to inspect a major development project near the border with China, which he said epitomizes his country’s “iron will” to achieve prosperity in the face of international isolation and pressure. 

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said Tuesday that Kim expressed satisfaction during his visit to Samjiyon city over the progress of construction in an area he called the “sacred place of the sun.” Samjiyon is at the foot of Mount Paektu, the heart of North Korea’s foundation myth revolving around the Kim family and is described by official narratives as the spiritual center of the country’s revolution.

Building Samjiyon into a “model cultured city” was one of the main focuses of a nationwide construction campaign that North Korea had aimed to complete in time for the 75th anniversary of its ruling party’s founding in October last year. But construction was slowed amid pandemic border closures and international sanctions over Kim’s nuclear weapon and missile programs.

Kim has been struggling to overcome what appears to be his toughest period as leader with the country’s self-imposed COVID-19 lockdown creating a further shock for an economy battered by sanctions and decades of mismanagement.

KCNA said the construction at Samjiyon could be finished by the end of this year, which could give Kim a badly needed trophy achievement as he reaches a decade in rule since taking power following the death of his father in December 2011.

Associated Press

You can read more at the link.

It looks like we are going to find out how committed the ROK government is to their new “Living with COVID” strategy as cases continue to rise:

South Korea’s daily new coronavirus cases spiked to surpass the 3,000 mark Wednesday, just shy of an all-time high, health authorities said, deepening concerns over medical capacity amid the continued surge in critical cases.

The country reported 3,187 new COVID-19 cases, including 3,163 local infections, raising the total caseload to 402,775, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). 

Wednesday’s figure, a sharp hike from 2,125 cases the previous day, is the second-largest figure after the all-time high of 3,270 reported on Sept. 25. It is also the second time ever that the country’s daily caseload hovered over 3,000.

The number of critically ill COVID-19 patients hit an all-time high of 522 on Wednesday, breaking the previous record of 495 a day earlier, the KDCA said.

The health authorities earlier said that they can manage around up to 500 critically ill patients in a stable manner under the current medical capacity.

The country added 21 more deaths from COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 3,158. The fatality rate stood at 0.78 percent.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

As I have long said, when DOD instituted the Blended Retirement System a few years ago, it was the first step to eventually doing away with the fixed military retirement system. This latest report will be used to further justify moving military retirement totally to a Thrift Savings Plan model:

Military leaders will need to make some difficult choices on pay and benefits in coming years if they want to maintain funding needed to keep up force readiness and end strength, a panel of defense experts said on Tuesday.

“We need to focus [military] benefits on those currently serving, but the problem is most of the benefits now have shifted to those no longer serving,” said Arnold Punaro, former staff director for the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“There are 2.4 million retirees [receiving benefits] compared to 1.3 million active -duty troops getting them … The deferred piece of military spending has to be dealt with.”

Purnaro’s comments came at a roundtable event on military challenges organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Other panelists echoed his concerns about personnel costs continuing to rise within the Defense Department even as the services’ end strengths have declined. Earlier this fall, CSIS released a report noting that the number of active-duty troops fell by more than 64 percent from 1952 to 2016, but total DOD personnel spending rose by 110 percent over the same period.

Army Times

You can read more at the link.