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According to anti-USFK protesters, USFK plans on blowing up a South Korean island:

A small group of South Korean protesters prevented a U.S. Forces Korea team from clearing target ordnance from a coastal bombing range Monday, protesters and military officials confirmed Tuesday.

“This annual explosives ordnance disposal requirement, per agreement with the ROK government, attempts to remove all known surface hazardous items and unexploded ordnance.”

This is all standard procedures to clear ranges of unexploded ordinance. Not according to the protesters:

Hwang Ho-sup, the leader of Korea Federation for Environmental Movement — the group that occupied the island — told Stars and Stripes he fears USFK intends to save time and money by blowing up ordnance on the range before management is turned over to South Korea on Aug. 31. His group also believes USFK might attempt to “blow up” the entire range.

“Media reports quoting USFK personnel have falsely indicated that disposal personnel had arrived to ‘blow up the island’ and are untrue,” the USFK release stated. “Small controlled detonations are sometimes used to ensure the safe handling of unexploded ordnance during the removal process, but public safety is paramount in all disposal operations.”

I willing to bet these same protesters would be protesting USFK if they didn’t remove unexploded ordinance from the island and someone got killed or injured after the hand over.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has once again apologized for the actions of the Imperial Japanese during World War II:

In a statement issued by his office, Koizumi acknowledged the “enormous damage” inflicted by Japan’s military “by colonization and invasion” during the conflict.

“I would like to also express our deep condolences to the victims inside and outside of Japan during World War II.”

Japan has apologized multiple times before for what happened in World War II, but I really think that whatever they say will not be good enough in Korea judging by this reaction in the Korea Times:

Japanese leaders have repeatedly apologized for the atrocities that its imperialistic military inflicted on its Asian neighbors. But Japan’s actions belie its apologies. Japanese leaders visit the Yasukuni shrine annually to pay tribute to Japan’s war dead, including several class-A criminals, who are deified in the controversial temple. Many of them have defended what their imperial military perpetrated on Asian countries. Some have even claimed that their imperialism contributed to the development of its victims. Tokyo has also encouraged distortions of historical facts concerning its wrongdoings in elementary and secondary school textbooks.

Repenting its cruel misdeeds while its neighbors are observing the day of their liberation from oppression, Japan’s Foreign Ministry defended its political leaders’ visit to the Yasukuni shrine on Saturday. It argued that Japan has apologized sufficiently for imperial wrongdoings. The ministry, which represents the Japanese government, also said that Tokyo has fully compensated everyone, seemingly with the Korean victims in mind for whom Seoul has asked Tokyo to provide the appropriate restitution.

It seems like no matter what Japan does people bring up Yasukuni Shrine, textbooks, Dokto, and more compensation. I bet if Japan took a wrecking ball to Yasukuni, publicly burned their textbooks, formally ended any claims to Dokto, and payed more compensation money that probably would still not be good enough either.

The fact of the matter is that the anti-Japanese sentiment is being used as a political weapon to rally populations around. So when President Roh’s popularity is dipping bring up something about Dokto or America to divert attention.

If this feeling from Korea about lacking a sincere apology from Japan was genuine then shouldn’t the Koreans be demanding an apology from Russia and China for authorizing Kim Il Sung to invade South Korea and start the Korean War that ultimately killed more Koreans and caused more property damage than the 35 years of Japanese oppression did?

The Chinese government has been demanding an apology as well from Japan, yet they don’t seem worried about apologizing for the economic policies of Mao Zedong that caused a mass famine that killed millions of Chinese. Then there was the invasion of Tibet which I don’t see any apology on the horizon for either.

So this whole apology business really seems disingenuous to me. The Japanese government is pretty bone headed for publicizing Yasukuni visits and even more bone headed for this whole Dokto stupidity but to link these to incidents to an apology for World War II actions when others have committed similar tragedies just shows politics are alive in well in northeast Asia and politicians need to have a villian to rally the electorate against. Japan will always be that villian.

A couple of Camp Walker soldiers are being credited with aiding an injured South Korean motorist:

As they crept forward, they realized the car stalled in the lane had been in some sort of accident. It was “dented in pretty good,” said Bird. He said he “could see the right front passenger tire was … sideways, not upright.”

When the soldiers, and the two South Korean support personnel in the car with them, realized no one was assisting the accident victims, they jumped into action.

This isn’t the first time I have heard or seen somebody not being aided after an accident. I was riding in a military inter-camp bus when it got in an accident my last tour here. Glass showered the bus driver seriously injuring him and the driver of the vehicle in front of the bus was even more seriously injured. The driver of the dump truck that caused the accident of course drove off. There was about 20 US soldiers on the bus who aided the injured. Not one Korean vehicle pulled over to assist. American paramedics quickly responded and stabalized the two injured Koreans. I had a Korean friend tell me before that people are hesistant to help in Korea because they might get sued. I guess Korea doesn’t have a good simaritan law like the US. Anyway here is what these soldiers did:

Portillo, the first to reach the window, said he was shocked by what he saw.

Both Bird and Portillo credit their military training for preparing them to react.

Some how I don’t think I will wake up tomorrow and see this headline in the Korea Times: Good Samaritan US Soldiers Save Korean Motorists Life. Anyway great job by those two soldiers.

Can someone please tell me how a noise study costs $300,000?:

Officials will test effects of aircraft noise and vibration at 60 locations near Osan Air Base and 40 near Camp Humphreys, Han said. The U.S. military reportedly will aid the study by providing information about the path and frequency of its flights to and from the bases, Han said.

Officials at U.S. Forces Korea headquarters in Seoul and at Osan Air Base and Camp Humphreys had no immediate information Friday on the noise study or the U.S. military’s reported role in it.

Camp Humphrey’s literally has homes adjacent to the fence line near the flight line. Of course there is going to be noise. Don’t build your home adjacent to a flight line and then complain about noise. Osan and Humphrey’s have been operating for over 50 years, now people are having side effects from aircraft noise? Why doesn’t anyone complain about the ROK Air Force’s planes?

No, this is a suicide bus bombing in China of all places:

One suicide bombing exploded on a bus in Fuzhou City, Fujian Provice, at around 2:30pm, August 8.
According to official news, the explosion was caused by a 42-year old farmer who had cancer. But it is hard for police to reach such a conclusion so quickly. The news said there was one killed and dozens injured, it did not mention whether the bomber was killed.

Anonymous witness said there were at least five killed, some said more than 20. Witness saw one body was removed and rescuers tried to find survivors and picked up body parts.

The link has graphic pictures so be advised but obviously looking at the pictures more than one person died in this bus bombing.

Some how I don’t find a suicide bombing farmer with cancer credible. After all this is China and they are doing a good job keeping this story quiet. A more plausible cause could be Muslim Uighur rebels in the West of the country may have a new tactic. However, I’m sure the Chinese government will make sure we will never know.

It is that year again, Ulchi Focus Lens (ULF) Time, where lots of US soldiers come to Korea on TDY orders, ROK Army soldiers can be seen all over the US installations making chow hall lines three times as long, half your unit is missing for a month due to taskings to puck icons on a computer and being drivers for retired brass, and North Korea says our little computer game is a prelude to war:

North Korea’s military said on Saturday war games by South Korea and United States were a prelude to a U.S. military attack and a tactic to compel it to accept U.S. terms in six-party talks on its nuclear program.

“Its brigandish aim is to wind up its preparations for preemptive attack on the DPRK and drive the situation on the peninsula to an extreme pitch of tension,” the North’s official KCNA news agency quoted an unnamed spokesman of the North Korean army as saying, referring to the drills.

The more things change around here, the more they stay the same.

A Korean couple in Ohio is making news due to their deportation from the US due to breaking immigration laws:

A father in Toledo has faced the toughest decision of his life. News 11 has been following the Jung family, originally from South Korea, living in Toledo for the past 20 years.

There’s been little hope of Young Jung getting out soon. “I had to make a decision on this,” said Andrew’s father Dae. Dae told us he couldn’t let his wife stay in jail, so he voluntarily bought plane tickets sending them back to South Korea Thursday afternoon. “I can have her next to me, that’s a good thing,” said Dae. “Bad thing is I have to leave my son Andrew behind.”

This is a sad story, but something that irks me is when people don’t follow US immigration laws. I personally have no problem with immigration into America for those looking for a better life, but do it legally. If this couple here would of followed the legal process they wouldn’t have the issues they have now. They also have the option of bringing their son back to South Korea with them as well if they don’t want to be separated.

I am also wondering if this family is any how linked to the Korean-American massage parlor/prostitution ring that was busted in Toledo recently? I think this may be more than just a coincidence.

The Marmot is providing an interesting report about Canadian war criminals from the Korean War. This story is conveniently published hot on the heels of the recent flourish of Nogun-ri articles in the Korean press. Marmot has promised a translation so I will wait for the translation before I comment on why the media is trying to draw Canada into this whole war crimes controversy during the Korean War.

Is anyone really surprised that Unification Minister Chung Dong-young has spoken out saying that North Korea should be allowed to have a peaceful nuclear program?

North Korea should be allowed to maintain a peaceful nuclear energy program as long as it verifiably scraps its weapons development, a top South Korean official said Thursday, signaling a major split in opinion between Seoul and Washington in the nuclear negotiations.

In an interview with local Internet portal Daum Media, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young argued that electricity-starved Pyongyang has the right to generate nuclear energy.

Now why would North Korea need these “peaceful” nuclear power plants when South Korea is offering them more than enough electrical power already in the negotiations? Here is this from the Washington Post:

South Korea has offered to supply the North with electric power equivalent to the output of two unfinished nuclear plants if the communist state gives up its nuclear weapons, South Korean officials said Tuesday.

Chung Dong Young, South Korea’s unification minister, called the offer a “last chance” for the government in Pyongyang, which in 1994 signed a deal with the Clinton administration for construction of the plants. South Korean officials gave details of the new plan as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived here Tuesday evening on the last leg of an Asian tour.

Last month, South Korea was willing to give them enough power equal to two nuclear power plants for an electrical grid in North Korea which can’t even handle that much power to begin with and Minister Chung at the time last month called this a “last chance” for North Korea. Now this month he does a complete about face and says that North Korea should be allowed to have a “peaceful” nuclear program. What happened to all the “last chance” talk?

I know I’m beating a dead horse here, but North Korea never had any intentions of ending their nuclear program from the beginning of the six party talks, and South Korea knows this and probably everyone else involved with the talks knows this too.

Off Limits and No Drinking Policy Letter
In response to planned protests in Uijongbu, the downtown area of Uijongbu has been put off limits.

A planned “civil gathering” prompted the U.S. Army to warn its military and civilian personnel to avoid downtown Uijongbu city, the Uijongbu subway station and roads leading from the station to Camp Red Cloud on Wednesday and Thursday.

Fliers distributed to people leaving Camp Red Cloud by gate guards on Tuesday — and a warning broadcast on American Forces Network television — advised that the subway station and downtown shopping district would be off-limits from 9 a.m. to midnight and that roads from the subway station to the camp would be off-limits from 5 p.m. to midnight both days.

In addition to this off limits policy, all 2ID soldiers have a no drinking order placed on them from 12AUG – 03SEP during the entire length of Eighth Army’s ULCHI Focus Lens exerise. This does not effect any soldiers outside of 2ID unless they are soldiers from other Eighth Army units involved in UFL.

I guess we will see if anyone “runs amok” this weekend anyway.

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UPDATE: Apparently another factor weighing in on the decision to suppend drinking priviledges during UFL is the fact that 2ID has been notified that anti-American groups have made plans to go to areas where soldiers frequent and provoke incidents with the soldiers and capture it on camera to be downloaded to the internet and the Korean media. So if you are out and about these upcoming weekends be careful of these goons trying to provoke something. Think before you react.

With all this going on I really can’t blame General Higgins the 2ID commanding general for placing this order. With UFL going on and all the senior leaders in the Divison occupied by this important exercise the last thing they need to worry about is another “runs amok” incident. I know a lot of soldiers are complaining about this policy but heck I have been on more field problems than I can remember that were longer than this. Were professionals and should be able to comply with this order. It could be a lot worse. Soldiers in Iraq have a no drinking policy for one year.