Author: GIKorea

Previous reporting has said the US and the ROK are close to a new cost sharing deal, but it has not been reached soon enough to stop the furlough of thousands of Korean employees:

Following months of warnings, the U.S. military put 4,500 South Korean base employees — about half its local workforce — on unpaid leave indefinitely Wednesday after the allies failed to agree on a new defense cost-sharing deal.

The furlough — the first of its kind — was a blow to the alliance and joint military readiness to fight on the divided peninsula, which commanders say already has been jeopardized by restrictions on movement aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

I wonder if the coronavirus test kits that South Korea has agreed to send to the U.S. had any bearing on the ongoing US-ROK cost sharing negotiations:

U.S. and South Korea are close to reaching a defense cost-sharing deal, a negotiator said Tuesday in Seoul on the eve of American military plans to put half of its local work force on unpaid leave.

U.S. Forces Korea was able to keep about 4,500 South Korean employees determined to be essential for maintaining “life, health, safety and minimum readiness.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

I find it pretty amazing how different the coronavirus infection and death rates are between Tokyo and New York City. Why is New York City being devastated by the coronavirus while similarly densely populated Tokyo is not experiencing the same problems? That is the real story the media should be looking at:

As of Tuesday, Japan had 1,953 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 56 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Tokyo has counted 499 cases and 15 deaths as of Tuesday, according the Tokyo Metropolitan Government website.

A national law passed earlier this month allows the prime minister to declare a state of emergency when rapid spread of the virus poses a serious threat to people’s lives and the economy.

The decision to declare a state of emergency will carefully be made based on advice by a wide range of experts, Suga said.

Stars and Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It seems this was bound to happen:

 South Korea will begin the new school year with online classes on April 9 following repeated delays due to the novel coronavirus, the prime minister said Tuesday.

The unprecedented move to introduce online classes will be applied step by step at schools, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said, without elaborating.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Considering that CID says there is no threat to the public than how is foul play still being considered?:

The recent deaths of two American soldiers were not connected to each other or the coronavirus, but foul play has not been completely ruled out as investigations are ongoing, the military said.

The 2nd Infantry Division soldiers — Pfc. Marissa Jo Gloria and Spc. Clay Welch — died in their barracks rooms on Camp Humphreys over two consecutive days earlier this month.

Seeking to stave off speculation amid the coronavirus pandemic, officials took the unusual step of immediately announcing that neither soldier had been ill nor exhibited symptoms of the respiratory disease. (……..)

“At this point in both of the investigations, foul play is not suspected, but we have not completely ruled it out while we conduct thorough investigations,” he said.

“I can also tell you there is no danger to the public or the Camp Humphreys community in regard to these deaths,” he added. “No further information will be released at this time to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigations.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

This unhappiness is because of the lax standards the Korean government has with Chinese entering South Korea compared to Chinese regional governments putting Koreans going to China in mandatory 14-day quarantines:

Public chagrin is growing over some Chinese provincial authorities’ forcible anti-coronavirus quarantine measures against South Koreans, fueling criticism of Seoul’s cautious immigration controls and strengthening calls for broader entry bans on Chinese visitors.

Despite Seoul’s entry ban limited only to China’s central Hubei Province at the center of the new coronavirus outbreaks, Weihai in the eastern Shandong Province and other regions have enforced unannounced quarantine steps against visitors from South Korea.

The measures came after Seoul embraced Beijing’s calls for a “scientific” decision in line with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendations against unnecessary travel restrictions and sent protective masks, goggles and other relief items to China in a show of unity in the fight against the virus outbreaks.

The containment move raised questions over Seoul’s hitherto cautious approach in dealing with Chinese travelers in the midst of a recent spike in the number of COVID-19 infections in South Korea, which has risen to 1,146.

“China has been consistent in its claim that travel restrictions should be made based on scientific grounds and WHO recommendations, while decrying strict entry restrictions by the United States and other countries,” Park Won-gon, professor of international politics at Handong Global University, said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the only thing I am surprised about is that people are surprised by the Chinese government’s duplicity on this issue.