Here we go again with the lifting of the USFK curfew:
The United States Forces Korea (USFK) has temporarily lifted an off-duty curfew on its troops here lasting between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., USFK chief Gen. Robert Abrams announced Monday, saying the suspension will be re-evaluated after 90 days.
The step follows a policy review ordered by the USFK general after he took charge of the USFK last November. After the three-month trial run, Abrams will determine whether to rescind or maintain the off-installation overnight curfew.
That would depend on troop behavior, morale and readiness factors, according to the USFK, stressing the importance of maintaining good relations with South Korea and “to continue enabling a culture of self-policing both on and off duty.”
“The suspension of curfew is to guarantee more of soldiers’ rights to have their own life as we share the perception that there has been a growing consciousness among soldiers” to follow Korean laws, a spokesman for United States Army Garrison (USAG) Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, told The Korea Times.
You can read more at the link, but the Korea Times claims the curfew was put in place after the 9/11 attacks. That is not true, there was a curfew in place for the 2nd Infantry Division before 9/11. However, each unit did have a limited number of Warrior Passes that could be given out to high performing soldiers.
Anyway my opinion on the whole curfew controversy is that there is going to eventually be an incident that happens. It is just simple math that with the thousands of U.S. military personnel in Korea odds are that somebody is going to do something stupid or criminal.
So when it happens is the command just going to reimplement the curfew? That is what happened the last time the curfew was lifted. If so why remove it in the first place?
Expect to see more of this in the South China Sea as China uses civilian vessels to enforce their territorial claims. Fortunately for these 22 Filipino fishermen they were rescued by a Vietnamese fishing boat before they all drowned:
Rescued Filipino fishermen sit inside Philippine Navy ship BRP Ramon Alcuaz as they head back to shore at Occidental Mindoro province, Philippines on Friday June 14, 2019.
China has acknowledged its fishing vessel hit a Filipino boat in the disputed South China Sea in an incident that prompted an outcry in the Philippines but denies the collision was intentional.
The Philippines has filed a diplomatic protest after Filipino fishermen said a Chinese vessel rammed their anchored boat on Sunday night then abandoned them as the boat sank in the Reed Bank. Philippine officials strongly condemned the reported Chinese action.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila said late Friday that the Chinese vessel accidentally hit the Filipino boat as it tried to maneuver while being “besieged” by several Filipino boats. It said the Chinese captain tried to rescue the Filipinos but was afraid of being besieged by other boats.
“There is no such thing as ‘hit-and-run,'” the Chinese Embassy said in a statement, citing the result of a preliminary investigation.
NIER’s report said the days with high fine dust levels were caused by four factors: stagnant air, international pollution, local pollution and a combination of stagnant air and international pollution.
“Of these, we found the combination of stagnant air and long-range transport [of pollutants] made up the majority of cases for the 303 days we analyzed,” the report said.
“As far as our findings go, it appears that there are three things combined that produce high levels of fine dust in Korea,” said Huh Kuk-young, a researcher at NIER. “High concentration of fine dust particles from China, an air current traveling long distances into South Korea and the mix of domestic and international air pollutants.”
In Gwanghwamun Plaza on March 1 — how cool is that! Today is the 100th anniversary of #Samiljeol, a national holiday commemorating one of Korea's most important independence movements. Join me in honoring those who fought for Korea's freedom and democracy. pic.twitter.com/a5zMx0XNy3
If a second Trump-Kim summit happens, it appears that Vietnam will be the location:
U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could meet in Vietnam’s capital for their second summit on Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions, the South Korean newspaper Munhwa Ilbo said. (…..)
U.S. officials have met their North Korean counterparts in Hanoi for discussions to adjust scheduling for the talks, the newspaper said, citing high-level diplomatic sources in Seoul and Washington it did not identify. Government officials haven’t commented on the report.
I would love to see the Moon administration’s reaction if the US government made paying compensation to North Korea’s victims part of any deal to lift sanctions. I say this because the Moon administration has continued to go after the Japanese for compensation for events that happened over 75 years ago even though they have already paid compensation while Otto Warmbier’s death happened just last year and the Kim regime continues to make excuses for what happened:
Otto Warmbier while in detention in North Korea.
A U.S. court on Monday ordered Pyongyang to pay $501 million in damages for the torture and death of U.S. college student Otto Warmbier, who died in 2017 shortly after being released from a North Korea prison. Warmbier’s parents sued North Korea in April over their son’s death. The 22-year-old student died days after he was returned to the United States in a coma, and an Ohio coroner said the cause of death was lack of oxygen and blood to the brain. “North Korea is liable for the torture, hostage taking, and extrajudicial killing of Otto Warmbier, and the injuries to his mother and father, Fred and Cindy Warmbier,” Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said in her ruling.
South Korea unfortunately has a long history of people setting themselves on fire during protests:
A taxi driver has died after setting himself on fire in protest of the launch of a commercial carpool service app.
Police say a 57-year-old known only by his surname Choi, sustained severe burns and later died after pulling his taxi over near the National Assembly Monday afternoon and setting himself on fire.
They say he initially tried to drive through the main gate of the assembly, but turned around after a guard noticed a strong gasoline odor and requested an inspection.
He reportedly called a senior official of his union earlier in the day to make his plan known.
Last Friday, Kakao Mobility, the transportation service arm of Kakao Corporation, launched its pilot carpooling service involving a group of randomly selected users.
You can read more at the link, but as I have maintained on this issue, instead of trying to get the government to give them special treatment, the taxi companies should improve their business model to compete with the ride sharing apps instead.
Mourning late BushThe U.S. national flag flies at half-mast to mourn the death of former President George H.W. Bush at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul on Dec. 5, 2018. (Yonhap)
They've had enough. 320 patriotic figures in #SouthKorea issue a declaration seeking the ouster of President #MoonJaein. See https://t.co/FxKC4q2iG0. The forces of freedom and democracy are fighting back.
