Author: GIKorea

If you have the Canadians angry at you then you know you have done something wrong:

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned China on Tuesday that its “coercive diplomacy,” repressive measures in Hong Kong and detention of Uighur Muslims are counterproductive for itself and the rest of the world.

Trudeau took aim at Beijing’s record as he marked the 50th anniversary of Canada’s diplomatic ties with China.

“We will remain absolutely committed to working with our allies to ensure that China’s approach of coercive diplomacy, its arbitrary detention of two Canadian citizens alongside other citizens of other countries around the world is not viewed as a successful tactic by them,” Trudeau said at a press conference.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This is just more of the new normal in South Korea of dealing with coronavirus outbreaks at different locations around the country; the latest area is in Busan:

More than 50 patients and workers at a nursing hospital in Busan have been diagnosed with COVID-19, municipal authorities said Wednesday, in the southern port city’s latest coronavirus cluster.

The authorities said 43 patients of the Busan nursing hospital, located in the city’s Mandeok neighborhood, and its 10 staff members tested positive for the new coronavirus. One of the infected patients has already died, they added.

The authorities also said that four other people from the same room as the deceased have died with similar symptoms.

Including the four, eight deaths have been reported in the nursing hospital over the last month.

The mass virus infections have come to light after an assistant nurse in her 50s was confirmed to be infected Tuesday, prompting the authorities to conduct the coronavirus tests for all 261 patients and staff.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

More bad news for Korean Air:

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has designated a large plot of land owned by Korean Air in the center of Seoul as a public park.  
   
On Wednesday, the city government announced it would designate the Songhyeon-dong, central Seoul, site as a public park, changing it from the current “special-purpose complex.”  
   
The redesignation will not come into effect until the Anti‑Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) comes up with an arbitration plan between the city government and Korean Air, which opposes the designation. The procedure was initiated upon Korean Air’s request in August after Seoul City first proposed turning the land into a park for public use.  
   
Covering nine acres, the piece of land in Songhyeon-dong is located right next to Gyeongbok Palace. The company purchased it from Samsung Life Insurance in 2008 and had planned to develop a cultural complex.  
   
After years of failing to proceed with the project due to construction regulations in one of Seoul’s most preserved neighborhoods, the company announced that it would sell the plot of land along with other non-core property assets in February this year. It was part of a grand plan to secure funds amid a management crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.  
   
Now that the site faces a future as a public park, it’s unlikely that Korea Air will be able to sell it for the high price it was looking for. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but the public park designation pretty much means the only possible buyer of the property will be the Seoul city government. They will likely not pay what the land would of been worth if it was not designated a park.

Korean Air had been trying to maximize the sale of the property due to the ongoing loss of profits by the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the North Koreans not launching any provocations before the U.S. presidential election and President Moon continuing to pound the drum about a peace treaty it is pretty clear they think the next U.S. President will be open to a peace treaty deal:

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday echoed an earlier call at the United Nations for a formal declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War — despite a lack of interest in the idea by other parties like North Korea and the United States.  
   
In a filmed address to the U.S.-based Korea Society for its annual gala, Moon appealed for support for such a declaration, which he affirmed would “not only deter war” and “institutionalize peace,” but also strengthen the South Korea-U.S. alliance.  
   
The speech marked the second time in recent weeks Moon has beaten the drum for an end-of-war declaration, following his video address to the 75th UN General Assembly in New York last month. In that, he declared that such a declaration will “open the door” to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.  (…….)

With his peace initiative toward the North now on life support, Moon has apparently put his bets on an end-of-war declaration as a means by which to end the deadlock in diplomacy with the North.  
   
“We can neither allow any backtracking on hard-earned progress nor change our destination,” Moon said in his address, according to an official English translation from Seoul’s presidential office.  
   
“Moreover, our two countries will continue the efforts to build trust with North Korea, one of the parties involved, by keeping our ears, mind and heart open toward it.” 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but I have long chronicled what would happen if a peace treaty was agreed to.

For the Japanese military it is back to the drawing board to find a persistent means to protect the country from a North Korean missile attack:

The Japanese government has ordered officials to quickly come up with an alternative to the rejected U.S.-made Aegis Ashore missile-defense system, possibly one that can float on a platform at sea.

The U.S. ally scrapped plans to deploy the U.S. system in Yamaguchi and Akita prefectures in June due to the cost and a projected 10-year delay to ensure that interceptor missile boosters fell safely on unpopulated areas.

The system was intended to provide all of Japan with seamless, 24/7 protection against North Korean ballistic missiles.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has instructed Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi to come up with an alternative plan by the end of the year, according to Japan’s Defense Ministry.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but you would think a booster dropping from an interceptor would be the least of anyone’s worries if North Korea was firing ballistic missiles that could be equipped with WMD at Japan. Additionally the residents around each site are worried they will be attacked if the system is built near them. Unfortunately the Japanese government takes NIMBY concerns very seriously and scrapped the Aegis Ashore plan.

Until Japan comes up with an alternative, they will have to rely on their maritime Aegis ships which are difficult to sustain over prolonged periods of time for a persistent missile defense against North Korea’s most advanced threats. Some alternatives the Japanese are reportedly looking at is putting the Aegis system on a barge or oil platform that would keep it at sea away from neighborhoods, but vulnerable to sabotage and submarine attacks. I guess we will see in the coming years what Japan’s defense industry is able to come up with.