Author: GIKorea

This is essentially the deal the ROK always wanted to sign with the US, but the Trump administration would not agree to:

South Korea will increase the amount if pays to support U.S. troops on the peninsula by 13.9%, the country’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday following agreement on a six-year cost-sharing deal.

South Korea will pay $1.03 billion this year, up from $910 million in 2019, to support 28,500 U.S. service members there, according to a ministry statement.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but I always said this would be an easy win for the Biden administration especially when it is a deal the ROK always wanted.

This essentially translates to USFK and the ROK military keeping combined exercises on the down-lo in order to not anger the Kim regime:

South Korea and the United States are supposed to stage combined outdoor military drills throughout the year, not during specific periods of time, Seoul’s defense ministry said Tuesday. 

Ministry spokesperson Boo Seung-chan made the remarks in an answer to a reporter’s question about when and how the two sides would stage joint real maneuvers this year as their ongoing springtime exercise does not include such outdoor programs.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The sharp decline in coronavirus cases in Japan has led USFJ to ease its travel restrictions:

The commander of Yokota Air Base on Tuesday lifted the coronavirus ban on off-duty travel to the most popular districts in Japan’s capital city and reduced the restricted movement period for vaccinated travelers.

Shibuya, Shinjuku and Roppongi, known for their crowded city streets, shopping, restaurants and nightlife, are open once again to people associated with Yokota, the headquarters in western Tokyo of U.S. Forces Japan, 5th Air Force and the 374th Airlift Wing.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Doctors have concluded that so far 8 out of the 11 reported vaccine deaths were caused by pre-existing conditions:

South Korea has tentatively concluded that there is no causal relation between COVID-19 vaccines and eight out of 11 reported deaths after vaccinations, health authorities said Monday.

Investigations were concluded on the eight people who died within days of receiving AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccines. An epidemiological survey is still under way for three other recipients.

The authorities tentatively concluded that their deaths were highly likely to be connected to their pre-existing conditions.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but all 8 people who died after getting the vaccine were not only unwell, but were in longterm care facilities as well. The government is stilling doing epidemiological surveys on the remaining three deaths.

This same phenomenon is devastating many businesses in university town’s in the United States as well:

The streets near the campus of Hannam University in Daejeon used to be packed with students at this time of year.    
   
Now only advertisements plastered on the windows of empty stores greet visitors.  
   
“Many of us in the area are going out of business, as most university classes are being held online in the pandemic and students are not returning to the campus,” one store owner in the neighborhood told the JoongAng Ilbo on Wednesday. “I’m afraid that at this rate, half of the stores in the area will go out of business in the next couple of years.” 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.