Author: GIKorea

I wonder if Kim Jong-un will follow these new regulations?:

North Korea has held a rare meeting of the Supreme People’s Assembly to adopt an anti-smoking law, state media reported Thursday, amid questions whether leader Kim Jong-un, known as a heavy smoker, would kick the habit.

The plenary meeting of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA), held Wednesday, adopted the Tobacco-Prohibition Law and Revising and Supplementing the Law on Enterprises, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

The tobacco-prohibition law “stipulates the rules which all the institutions, organizations and citizens must follow in protecting the lives and health of the people and providing more cultured and hygienic living environments by tightening the legal and social controls on the production and sale of cigarettes and on smoking as required by the state tobacco-prohibition policy,” the KCNA said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but I doubt we will see public photos of Kim Jong-un smoking again.

These landmines could just as easily be used to keep people in than keeping people out:

North Korea has taken extreme measures to fend off the coronavirus, including laying landmines in border areas with China, Seoul’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) told lawmakers Tuesday.

During a closed-door session at the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly, the spy agency said North Korea fears the spread of COVID-19 could bring catastrophic results to the country due to its poor medical infrastructure, according to Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the main opposition People Power Party.

“Since there is no physical or technical means to deal with the coronavirus, there is something like coronavirus trauma in North Korea,” Ha quoted the NIS as saying.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Today is the big day for the U.S. election:

Koreans with voting rights in the U.S. head to the polls today to cast their ballots in what is considered one of the messiest, most contentious and controversial presidential elections in U.S. history. 

As unpredictable as this election night is expected to be, it is unclear whether Koreans, as a whole, will choose the Democratic or Republican ticket.

”I’ve never struggled this much to make up my mind on who to vote,” said Park Dong-hwan, 56, who owns a laundry business in the suburbs of Seattle. After acquiring U.S. citizenship, this is his third time voting in the U.S. presidential election. 

”I’ve always been a Republican, but I didn’t want to vote for Trump. I really didn’t,” said Park, who still ended up voting for the Republican candidate via mail-in ballot. ”That was my biggest struggle.”

Same goes for Democratic supporter Ji Choi, 34, who is yet to decide which way her vote will go.

”I fundamentally support Democratic policies, but the presidential and vice presidential candidates seem to be much farther left than what I’d like,” she said, adding that she may end up not voting at all. (……..)

”Many of the older Koreans like me, who run a small business, vote for Trump not because we love him as an individual. We’re making the decision based on the Republican party’s economic policies,” said Park Jin-moo, 63, who recently participated in a ”Koreans for Trump” rally held in Los Angeles.

Law enforcement is another issue older Koreans are focusing on. 

”We can’t have riots run loose, but a Biden administration will likely lead to weaker law enforcement, which in turn leaves small business vulnerable to looting,” said Park.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but I can definitely understand why a Korean-American with a small business would vote for Trump considering how many of them have had their businesses destroyed or impacted negatively by recent policies from their local governments.

It makes me wonder how much Huawei technology will end up in Combined Forces Command if South Korea keeps buying tech from them:

A senior U.S. diplomat said Washington would respect the Korean government’s reluctance to force local companies to stop buying network equipment from Huawei.  

And yet Keith Krach, under secretary of state for economic growth, energy security and the environment, continued to cast doubts on the trustworthiness of the Chinese tech company during a press briefing on Friday.  

“The way we would look at it is that we respect the country of [South] Korea, and we respect their decisions. At the end of the day, I think it’s all about trust,” Krach was quoted as saying by Voice of America.  

The U.S. government has asked the Korean government to join its global effort to elbow out Huawei, taking an aim at LG U+, in particular. Huawei has supplied LG U+ with equipment for 4G LTE and 5G networks. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.