Author: GIKorea

Condolences to the friends and families of everyone tragically killed by this strong typhoon:

Ten people were killed and four others went missing as Typhoon Mitag lashed the southern and eastern regions of South Korea with heavy rain and strong winds, authorities said Thursday.

A 65-year-old female owner of a small restaurant was found dead at around 4 p.m., about seven hours after being buried in a landslide in the southeastern port city of Busan.

Fire officials in Busan said a son of an old couple was also found dead after he was buried in the landslide along with his parents at their home.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Here is what President Moon had to say in commemoration of the 71st anniversary of the ROK Military:

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday pledged to build an unassailable military force capable of supporting peace building on the peninsula in remarks at a ceremony to commemorate Korea’s 71st Armed Forces Day.

The ceremony took place for the first time at an Air Force base in Daegu, home to the Air Force’s main combat force of F-15K jets, and featured an unveiling of the country’s new F-35A stealth fighter jets recently acquired from the United States.

In an address, Moon commended the military for defending the freedoms of every South Korean to enjoy peace and prosperity and said it was this defensive might that would buttress the country’s efforts to build a permanent peace regime on the peninsula.

“Peace should not be something to maintain but to create,” Moon said, according to a Blue House translation. “The impenetrable security of our armed forces underpins dialogue and cooperation, enabling us to embark on a bold journey toward permanent peace.”

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

With former National Security Advisor John Bolton removed, the North Koreans now appear ready to talk:

North Korea and the United States agreed to resume their working-level nuclear talks this week, Pyongyang’s state media reported Tuesday, citing a statement from a senior diplomat.

First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui said that Washington and Pyongyang agreed to hold “preliminary contact on Oct. 4 and hold working-level negotiations on Oct. 5,” according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Choe did not mention the venue for the upcoming talks.

“The delegates of the DPRK side are ready to enter into the DPRK-U.S. working-level negotiations,” Choe said in a statement. DPRK stands for the North’s official name, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Here are the thoughts from retired U.S. Army Colonel David Maxwell on a recent article in the National Interest about ex-National Security Advisor John Bolton:

Regardless of what you think about Ambassador Bolton I find it incredible that he actually “wants” war with north Korea (or with any country).  We should not confuse the call for ensuring all military options are on the table with “wanting” to go to war.  We need all military options on the table as the best way to support deterrence.But we need to beware of the press, pundits, and politicians who want to revert to “appeasing” north Korea (yes some talk about an arms control process or an action for action process or the relief of sanctions in return for a promise to conduct negotiations).

All use the same flawed assumption that Ambassador Bolton took to task yesterday regarding Kim’s sincerity to actually denuclearize. Ambassador Bolton can be criticized for much and may be wrong in many areas but he is not wrong when he says this: under current circumstances Kim Jong-un will not give up his nuclear weapons program.

David Maxwell

Does anyone think these measures are actually going to work to reduce fine dust in Seoul?:

A newly established presidential committee on fine dust relayed Monday plans to reduce Korea’s fine dust level by at least 20 percent this winter compared to last year by banning old diesel cars on the streets, raising their acquisition taxes and halting more coal power plants.

The National Council on Climate and Air Quality (NCCA), which launched in April at the helm of former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, said during a press conference at the Korea Press Center in central Seoul that it submitted its proposals to the Blue House after passing them in an internal meeting last Friday. 

In the following weeks, the government is expected to change relevant policies to put those ideas into action starting this November, the council said.

On ways to deal with emissions coming from China, the NCCA said it would share fine dust forecasts and warning alerts with the neighboring country and form a so-called Korea-China Blue Sky Partnership with Beijing to work closely together on the environmental hazard. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but I will be surprised if Beijing does anything to help reduce fine dust levels over Korea.

The Japanese government is trying to get in front of the claim that radiation from the Fukushima disaster is impacting South Korea:

Japan’s embassy in South Korea has begun posting the daily radiation levels of Fukushima and Seoul after new questions about the lingering effects of the 2011 nuclear disaster.

The embassy website said the information reflects that “interest in radiation levels in Japan has recently been increasing, particularly in South Korea”.

The move comes amid worsening ties between Japan and South Korea over a long-running disagreement about Japanese use of forced labour in South Korea during World War II.

The two countries have taken retaliatory trade measures against each other, and South Korea has tightened radiation checks on Japanese food imports.

The readings show levels in three Japanese cities are almost the same as in major cities outside of Japan, including Seoul, the embassy says.

“The Japanese government hopes the South Korean people’s understanding about Japan’s radiation levels will deepen as we continue to provide accurate information based on scientific evidence and explain it fully with clarity,” it says in Japanese and Korean on the site.

AFP

You can read more at the link, but the Japanese can post whatever accurate information they want and it is not going to matter. This is clearly retaliation against the export controls that Japan has put on South Korea for equally dubious reasons.