Author: GIKorea

It looks like the Moon administration is throwing out a trial balloon to see if the US is willing to cancel the upcoming joint exercise because of COVID:

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday directed the defense minister to discuss the S. Korea-US military drills “carefully” by taking into consideration multiple factors, a hint there could be possible changes ahead for the exercises. 

According to the presidential office, Moon told Minister of National Defense Suh Wook to look at the drills with the US while “taking into account factors including the pandemic.”

Moon’s comment comes a day after the nation’s spy agency told lawmakers that North Korea could respond with military provocation, and less than a week after the North Korean leader’s sister Kim Yo-jong warned South Korea against the drills in a statement. 

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

If you are an expat in Korea and want to get the COVID vaccine, you are eligible for a free shot:

 South Korea’s government on Wednesday urged all foreigners staying long-term here to get COVID-19 vaccine shots as soon as possible, saying they are treated the same as South Korean nationals when it comes to the vaccination process.

The announcement jointly made by the Korea Immigration Service under the Ministry of Justice, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) and local governments came amid rising coronavirus infections among migrant workers across the country.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Here is a new drone capability the ROK military has just decided to purchase:

An attack drone equipped with six 40-millimeter grenade launchers will be piloted by the military in the first half of next year, according to the state arms procurement agency on Tuesday.  
   
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said in a June 3 press release that it signed a contract with two companies to purchase grenade-launching drones and small modular drones equipped with the latest technologies through a rapid pilot acquisition project system and to test-run the models in the first half of next year.  
   
The contracts with ONC Tech, which will provide the grenade-launching drones to the Army, and Preneu, which will furnish the small modular drones to the Navy and Air Force, are worth 662 million won ($576,600) and 1.71 billion won, respectively.  
  

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

The latest variant of the coronavirus has been confirmed to have arrived in Korea. I guess we will see if the Moon administration is going to use this news to justify even stricter lockdowns:

Korea confirmed its first two cases of the Delta Plus variant of Covid-19 on Tuesday — and both patients were fully vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.  
   
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Tuesday that the Delta plus variant was found in a man in his 40s who had no recent travel record, and in someone recently returned from the U.S.  
   
The Delta Plus variant is a mutation of the Delta variant and it has three sub-lineages: AY.1, AY.2 and AY.3.  
   
Delta Plus cases have been found in around 20 countries, including the U.S., Britain, Portugal, Japan and China, while the original highly contagious Delta strain has now spread to more than 130 countries.  

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

I wonder if this day care center had the calmest kids in Korea?:

Five people have been detained on suspicions of violating the law on narcotics for allegedly growing cannabis at a daycare center and several wetland sites along the west coast, the Korea Coast Guard said Monday. 

Fourteen others were booked without physical detention for purchasing marijuana from them and using it. 

The five people allegedly grew 13 cannabis plants in the hallway, back yard and on the rooftop of a daycare center run by the mother of one of them from March to July last year. The Coast Guard did not specify the location of the center.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It looks like tougher anti-COVID measures will be coming soon for all Koreans:

The government has signaled that it will introduce additional antivirus measures on top of the toughest Level 4 social distancing regulations imposed on the Seoul metropolitan area, as these do not appear to have curtailed the rampant spread of COVID-19 over the past three weeks amid the fourth wave of the pandemic. 

Some medical experts have said it will only be a matter of time for new daily cases to exceed 2,000, calling on the government to preemptively impose tougher measures, such as placing the entire country under the Level 4 rules.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.