Author: GIKorea

Testing an ICBM I think will only happen after Kim Jong-un’s January 1st deadline to have a deal in place to drop sanctions. It makes no sense for him to do the test before then. Plus I only think he goes through with an ICBM test if he is confident that the Trump administration will not respond militarily:

Frequent movements of trucks have been recently detected at a rocket launch site in North Korea, a sign that Pyongyang may be preparing another long-range missile test. 

“North Korea appeared to have renovated its missile-related facilities in Dongchang-ri [in Cholsan County of North Pyongan Province] earlier in the year,” a high-ranking official in the South Korean government told the JoongAng Ilbo on Friday. “And recently, we detected an increase in the movement of vehicles in the area.”

At least four vehicles including buses and trucks were spotted in a parking lot near a facility that tests engine combustion in a satellite image of the site on Nov. 1 provided by Google Earth.

“There is a facility used for testing engine combustion in the area, and we detected small buses and trucks coming and going there,” the official said. “The North may not be ready to test a missile immediately, but we see these as signs that it is getting ready for one.”

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

This is all part of North Korea’s pressure campaign leading up to their January 1st deadline to have sanctions dropped:

North Korea said Friday it has successfully conducted the final test of a new super-large multiple rocket launcher with the firing of two projectiles that landed in the East Sea the previous afternoon. 

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected the test-fire of a super-large multiple rocket launcher, conducted by the Academy of National Defense Science, the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Friday. “The volley test-fire aimed to finally examine the combat application of the super-large multiple launch rocket system [MLRS] proved the military and technical superiority of the weapon system and its firm reliability,” KCNA said. “The Supreme Leader expressed great satisfaction over the results of the test-fire.” 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Via a reader tip comes news that an increasing number of hotels in South Korea are ditching their name brand:

The Namhae Hilton also changed its name to the Ananti Namhae in January 2018, while the Hyatt Regency Jeju also converted to the Shore Hotel Jeju. 

Two Walkerhill hotels also ditched the brands Sheraton and W of the global hospitality giant Marriott International in 2017 and turned into the Grand Walkerhill Seoul and the Vista Walkerhill Seoul.

Speculation was rampant that Shinsegae Chosun Hotel that operates four Marriott-brand properties ― the Westin Chosun hotels in Seoul and Busan, the Four Points by Sheraton Seoul Namsan and the JW Marriott Seoul ― might part ways with the Westin brand, but it renewed the contract recently to retain the name.

However, the company plans to launch five new hotels by 2023, but it has yet to decide whether to go into partnership with global hotel chains, according to its officials. Last year, Shinsegae opened its first standalone brand L’Escape Hotel in Seoul. 

“The reason more local hotels are ending their relationships with popular global brands is that the benefits of using those brands are not as significant as expected,” a hospitality industry official said.

“In addition, some owners are unhappy about complying with strict instructions from brand headquarters to meet their standards.”

In addition, with online travel agencies (OTAs) gaining a bigger presence in the hospitality sector, local hotels are relying more on these platforms rather than focusing on partnership with global brands.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but I know for me the brand is important because of points programs that lead to free stays. That is going to be a major market that will be lost by ditching major name hotel brands.

I hope everyone that celebrated Thanksgiving had a great day. Let us know how it went in the comments section.

A good trend in South Korea is that people convicted of committing rape are at least going to jail now, even popular K-Pop stars:

Two disgraced South Korean singers — Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon — were given heavy prison sentences Friday after being convicted on rape and other charges.

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Jung, a disgraced singer and TV personality, and Choi, a former member of boy band FT Island, to six and five years, respectively, in prison on charges of sexually assaulting women in 2016.

Jung and Choi, both 30 years old, were indicted on charges of raping women during drinking parties in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, in January 2016 and in Daegu in March of the same year, together with other members of a mobile chat room.

Jung was given a heavier prison term, as he was additionally indicted on charges of secretly filming himself having sex with women and sharing the footage with friends on mobile chats.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Should blackmailing someone with sex videos be considered sexual assault? In Korea that may become the law:

The suicide of a popular South Korean singer has prompted calls in the country to overhaul laws on sexual assault and to more harshly punish revenge porn.

Koo Hara, 28, was found dead at her home in Seoul on Sunday. Her last message on Instagram showed her staring into a camera lens from beneath blankets on her bed with a message of “good night.” Police say a note was found at the scene in which she expressed hopelessness.

Many in South Korea were already aware of her past that included assault by a former boyfriend who she alleged was threatening to release a sex video of her. The two most popular hashtags on social media in South Korea this week called for punishment of the ex-boyfriend and for the definition of sexual assault to be revamped.

A petition filed with the president’s office demanding changes to laws had one quarter of a million signatures. Lawmakers said it is time to push forward measures stalled in Parliament that make it easier to impose harsh penalties on those who engage in revenge porn or clandestinely take sexually charged videos.

Bloomberg

You can read more at the link.