Author: GIKorea

Here was one final gesture by former President Roh to atone for his role in the Gwangju Uprising Incident:

Former President Roh Tae-woo used his last will to ask for forgiveness from victims of the military’s brutal crackdown on a pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju in 1980, his son said Wednesday. 

Roh Jae-heon unveiled the will of his father, who died Tuesday of chronic illness at age 88, to reporters at a funeral altar for the late president in Seoul. 

“He thought he had infinite responsibility for all things that happened, whether it is good or bad, because he cared a lot about the country and his duty,” Roh Jae-heon said. “He was looking for forgiveness for his faults and responsibility, particularly related to the pain of the May 18 democratic movement victims and also various events that happened during his tenure.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the Moon administration is actually give Roh a five-day state funeral.

Here is some good news, it appears the Biden administration is not going to work with the ROK on an end of Korean War peace treaty any time soon:

Quickly developing discussions between South Korea and the United States on declaring a formal end to the Korean War appear to have hit a snag as Washington has made it clear that it cannot accept Seoul’s proposal, at least at this time, according to diplomatic observers, Wednesday. 

Since President Moon Jae-in once again floated the idea in a United Nations General Assembly speech in September, it has been gaining traction, as evidenced by six meetings occurring between South Korea’s top nuclear envoy Noh Kyu-duk and his U.S. counterpart, Sung Kim, since August.

However, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan seems to have stepped on the brakes amid the Moon administration’s push for an end-of-war declaration, Tuesday (local time).

“We may have somewhat different perspectives on the precise sequence or timing or conditions for different steps, but we are fundamentally aligned on the core strategic initiative here and on the belief that only through diplomacy are we going to really, truly be able to effectively make progress and that that diplomacy has to be effectively paired with deterrence,” Sullivan said during a press briefing. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but clearly the State Department understands that the North Koreans and the Korean left want this peace treaty in order to question the legitimacy of U.S. troops stationed in South Korea. If there is peace why are U.S. troops needed? If the Kim regimes wants a peace treaty they should agree to actions that actually makes it look like they want peace. For example removing all their artillery off of the DMZ would show the seriousness of their peace overtures. If they want peace why do they need artillery to target Seoul and other metropolitan areas?

Before any blockade or invasion of Taiwan would happen, the CNAS think tanks thinks the Chinese would first seize the Pratas Islands. It makes sense because the Chinese could use the international response to this as a trial balloon for them to see if they could get away with a follow on blockade of Taiwan:

The United States has “few credible options” to respond if China were to seize a set of islands administered by Taiwan in the South China Sea, underscoring the need for Washington and Taipei to build deterrence “against limited Chinese aggression,” according to the results of a war game conducted recently by foreign policy experts in Washington and the Asia-Pacific region.

The scenario was examined by the Center for a New American Security, a Washington-based think tank, and detailed in a report published Tuesday. It supposes that Chinese forces invade the Pratas islands, capturing the 500 Taiwanese troops who are based there and establishing a military outpost.

It’s a theoretical dilemma for the Pentagon that “many China-watchers view as increasingly plausible” – and one that “reinforces the need for regular planning exercises between Taiwanese and U.S. personnel,” the report says.

The report comes at a moment of heightened tension between Washington and Beijing, with the United States opposing China’s military expansion in the region and China calling on the Pentagon to cut ties with Taiwan. The standoff has spotlighted the challenge U.S. commanders would face in responding to an incursion of the islands without provoking a full-blown war.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Roh actually did a lot for modern day South Korea such as hosting a very successful Olympic Games in 1988, removing nuclear weapons from South Korea, and opening diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union. The most important thing he did is transition the ROK into a full democracy. However, his ties to former President Chun Doo-hwan’s military coup and the Gwangju Uprising Incident will mean he will never have a positive legacy that will be remembered:

Roh Tae-woo, South Korea’s last general-turned-president who played a key role in a 1979 coup before winning election through a direct vote at the start of South Korea’s democratization, died Tuesday, aides said. He was 88.

Roh, who served as president from 1988-93, was recently admitted to a hospital after his health deteriorated but failed to recover, they said.

The former president received surgery for prostate cancer in 2002 and was frequently admitted to hospitals while living at his residence in Seoul. He also suffered from cerebellar atrophy and asthma, which together kept him largely out of the public eye.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is interesting, India would like to work with South Korea to export their specific model of the K-9 Thunder howitzer. It makes me wonder which countries they have in mind to export the K-9 to?:

India is seeking to export the K9 self-propelled howitzer to third countries in cooperation with South Korea, India’s secretary for defense production said Thursday, stressing his country is pushing for a “win-win” partnership between the two sides.

Raj Kumar made the remarks during an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency, expressing satisfaction over India’s recent deployment of the K9s, which were manufactured by the Indian company, L&T, in technical collaboration with the South Korean company Hanwha Defense.

“The Indian armed forces are very satisfied with the performance of the K9 Vajra platform, where the K9 Thunder has been very effectively adapted and indigenously built for Indian conditions and requirements,” the secretary said.

“The variant of the platform also has good potential in third countries, and our governments (of India and South Korea) and industries are cooperating to take these opportunities forward,” he added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

A joint Japanese and Russian naval fleet sailed around the main island of Honshu, Japan in response to the international community sailing ships through the Strait of Taiwan. The big difference between this exercise and the international community’s freedom of navigation patrols is that no one from Japan is shrieking about the exercise like the Chinese government routinely does after freedom of navigation patrols. This shows how secure the Japanese government is unlike the CCP which has to shriek after every international military exercise or freedom of navigation patrol to drum up internal nationalism to legitimize their rule:

 A combined Russian Navy and People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) fleet concluded a sail in international waters east of Japan’s main island of Honshu and split off to their home ports on Saturday, all while being monitored by Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ships and aircraft during the voyage.

The Chinese ships were Type 055 destroyer Nanchang (101), Type 052D destroyer Kuming (172), Type 054 frigates Binzou (515) and Liuzhou (573) and the replenishment ship Dongpinghu (902). Russian ships were destroyers Admiral Tributs (564) and Admiral Panteleyev (548), corvettes Gromkiy (335) and Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov (339) and the missile range instrumentation ship Marshal Krylov (331).

The combined fleet had entered the Tsugaru Strait on Oct. 18 and since then had been sailing off Honshu. The Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Force issued a release and map on Saturday stating that the joint fleet had sailed through the Osumi Strait that day. Located between the Osumi Peninsula and Tanegashima Island, the strait connects the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. Following their sail through the Osumi Strait, the ships of the two countries separated at a location 130 kilometers, or about 81 miles, southeast of the Danjo Islands. 

USNI News

You can read more at the link.