The ROK government plans to stimulate the economy by giving additional money to pensioners and those on disability:
The government began offering emergency disaster relief funds to some 2.8 million households, Monday, as part of efforts to minimize the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic by boosting consumption, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety.
Korea Times
Eligible households include those living off the government’s livelihood support, the basic pension or disability programs.
Those households can receive cash payouts up to 1 million won ($816) without going through a separate application process.
The amount depends on the number of family members ― 400,000 won for single-person households, 600,000 won for two-member households, 800,000 won for three-member households and 1 million won for households with four or more family members.
You can read more at the link.
A positive from the North Korean perspective that has come out of Kim Jong-un’s extended time out of the spotlight was that these recently elected defector lawmakers have been greatly discredited:
The ruling party on Monday urged two North Korean defectors-turned-lawmakers-elect of the conservative opposition parties to stay away from the National Assembly committees that handle top-secret security information.
Rep. Kim Boo-kyum of the Democratic Party (DP) made the request to Thae Yong-ho, elected as a lawmaker in last month’s general elections for the main opposition United Future Party (UFP), and Ji Seong-ho, a proportional lawmaker-elect of the satellite Future Korea Party (FKP) affiliated with UFP.
Thae and Ji are the first North Korean defectors to be elected to the National Assembly by South Korean voters.“You must never again mix your wishful thinking with false information and spread it to the media,” Kim said in a Facebook message, criticizing Thae and Ji for claiming that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was in a critical health condition.
As the young dictator of the reclusive communist state conspicuously remained out of the public eye for nearly three weeks, Thae and Ji fueled media speculation by saying Kim was gravely ill. Ji even claimed that he was “99 percent certain” that Kim was dead and predicted that the North would formally announce his death in the coming weekend. Thae also said Kim “could not stand up by himself or walk properly.”
Joong Ang Ilbo
You can read more at the link.
This month South Korean children will be heading back to school as early as May 13th:
South Korea on Monday announced plans to reopen schools starting next week, more than two months after schools were closed in a precautionary measure against the new coronavirus that has infected more than 10,000 here.
“Starting on May 20, which is two weeks after key holidays in May, we will push to (reopen schools) in a phased and sequential process,” Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae said at a press briefing.
Under the plan, high school seniors will return to school on May 13, while other grades will return to school gradually in the following weeks.
Students in grade 2 of high school, grade 3 of middle school and grades 1 and 2 in elementary schools will return on May 20, while those in grade 1 of high school, grade 2 of middle school and grades 3 and 4 in elementary schools will go back on May 27. Students in grade 1 of middle school and grades 5 and 6 in elementary school will return on June 1.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
Here is the latest on the health of Kim Jong-un from ROK intelligence:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears not to have undergone surgery, a presidential official said Sunday, flatly denying speculation over Kim’s health.
“There were media reports speculating about Chairman Kim’s surgery, citing a change in the way he walks,” a senior Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters, saying the presidential office judges this not to be true.
When asked whether the North Korean leader did not even go through a relatively moderate medical procedure, the official replied yes.
The official, who asked not to be named, however, refused to unveil the grounds that this judgment was made upon.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link, but I still think if he had anything done maybe it was a minor surgery such as on his ankle again or maybe they scoped his knee. These are simple surgeries that he would want time to recover from so he is not seen limping around.
Does anyone believe this excuse from the ROK military that the North Koreans unintentionally fired at a guard post because of the fog?:
Several gunshots from North Korea hit a South Korean guard post inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) on Sunday, prompting the South to fire back, but the North’s firings do not appear to have been intentional, an official said.
South Korean soldiers on guard duty at the unit in the central border town of Cheorwon heard gunshots at around 7:41 a.m. and found four bullet marks on a wall of the guard post, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In accordance with the response manual, the military then fired a total of 20 shots in response — 10 rounds each time — and issued broadcast warnings, it added. No casualties or damage to South Korean facilities were reported.
It is not known if North Korea sustained any damage.
“We also sent a notice to the North Korean side via the inter-Korean communication line at around 9:35 a.m., and called for its explanation,” a JCS officer said.
North Korea has given no response yet.
The military is closely looking into the incident to learn more details by analyzing pieces of evidence, including shells found at the scene, as well as the North’s motivations for the firing. It does not appear to be an intentional provocation, according to the officer.
“It was quite foggy and the North Korean soldiers usually rotate shifts around that time,” the JCS officer said, adding that no unusual movements by the North’s military have been detected.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link, but the only way I can see the fog being a factor is that a North Korean soldier tripped over something and did not have his weapon on safe and it just happened to hit the ROK guard post. And this just happened to occur a day after Kim Jong-un made his first appearance in 20 days.
