Category: Uncategorized

How come I don’t think this is going to work:

The Defense Ministry will put up a barbed wire fence around farming land in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province designated as the new site for U.S. Forces Korea headquarters before rice planting begins. The ministry is trying to prevent locals and activists from planting rice there because they hope to delay construction of the new USFK base. The fence will be some 20 km long and 1.80 m high and surround the entire farmland, a ministry source said Thursday. The source said the ministry will be able to finish the work in a day and is considering whether to hire private contractors or mobilize military engineering troops for the work.

So what is going to stop the hate groups from tearing down the fence if the Defense troops won’t even be armed?

The ministry says even if it mobilizes military forces to build the fence, they will not be allowed to carry batons and shields. ¿They will be unarmed and have construction equipment only, so they will not confront residents there directly,¿ it added.

The local riot police has already said that they are not going to help.

Gyeonggi Provisional Police Agency Commissioner Oe Cheong-su on Thursday said police would reject a Defense Ministry request to provide security during the fencing in of the site for a new U.S. Forces Korea headquarters in Pyeongtaek. After plans for a ditch to keep residents and activists from farming the fields failed on April 7, the ministry said it would study setting up wire fences instead. “Under the Status of Forces Agreement, the police undertake security duty at protected military facilities like American bases. But there are no legal grounds for the police to do so in areas military facilities have yet to move to since they are property of the Defense Ministry,” Oe reasoned. “If the ministry is afraid of damage to the fences, it had better hire security contractors.

So who is going to stop the anti-US hate groups from doing this to the Defense ministry soldiers tasked to put up the fence?:

Now where is the government you may ask in all of this?  Let’s see you have an agreed upon land acquisition deal with Korea’s major ally the US that has only brought the greatest stability, power, and wealth that the Korean nation has ever seen; being derailed by a bunch of serial anti-US hate groups that get pissed off over any USFK “provocation” much less this land deal.  If a USFK serviceman farts around them, they would probably claim environmental damage and demand compensation and an apology from the USFK commander.

Plus the Korean government has people openly breaking the law by occupying abandoned buildings including a government owned buildings such as the Daechu-ri Elementary School; and what are they doing?  Absolutely nothing so far.  Why aren’t these people in jail?  This is why::

Meanwhile, some 1,000 leaflets comparing protests against the base to the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising have been distributed in Pyeongtaek. Under the title of ¿Pyeongtaek May Become a Second Gwangju,¿ the leaflets demand, ¿The defense minister should resign because he defines the people of Pyeongtaek as enemies.¿ It is unclear who distributed them.

Why should the government be concerned about the ghosts of Gwangju?  Korea is a thriving democracy and not a military dictatorship now, plus no troops are going to go into Pyeongtaek and shoot people which was the case in Gwangju.  These people just needed to be loaded up and taken to jail.  These hate groups are trying to leverage public sympathy by bringing up the Gwangju Massacre when it is in fact them that is attacking the policemen and then claiming that the police used brutality against them.  It is a well known hate group tactic to beat the police and then claim police brutality in Korea in order to gain public sympathy.

This Camp Humphreys issue just goes to show how weak the Roh Moo-hyun government is in Korea.  Is there any leadership on this issue?  The only one now showing any leadership is General Bell as he has recently been publicly speaking out against these people.  However, leadership on the South Korean side is in short supply.  This whole issue should be viewed as a national disgrace.   If I was a Korean citizen I would be ashamed to see fellow Koreans beating the hell out of these 20 year old mandatory service draftees who are just trying to complete their service to their country.  Korean politicians should be disgraced over the strategic consequences the entire country may face if USFK decides to pull out of Korea over this issue.  But no one cares because there are more important things to worry about like declaring war over Japanese research vessel surveying some worthless rocks.

This just doesn’t make sense to me:

South Korea plans a ‘focused’ campaign, including special holiday packages, to woo the Indian traveller.

‘We are hoping for a five percent increase in the number of tourists from India this year,’ said Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) chief Kim Jong-Min here Thursday.

Now why doesn’t this make sense you may ask?  Well this is why:

‘India is a significant market for South Korea. Considering the potential India has in the tourism sector, KTO aims to promote the destination among prospective travellers through focused and coordinated efforts,’ he said.

Citing survey reports saying that an average Indian traveller spends $300 on vacations, the KTO chief said, ‘South Korea has lots to offer at $1,500, including travel expenses.’

India, domestically has a much wider variety of pristine beaches and mountains than Korea for significantly cheaper prices so Korea’s natural beauty is not going to draw Indian tourists so what is the KTO counting on then to draw in those extra tourists? I think I have a feeling I know what it is.  I could be wrong though, and maybe all those Indian tourists are in fact just heading to Korea to see the wonders of Dokdo?

Thank God this guy isn’t in charge of US foreign policy:

Zirkle has sought to call attention to his low-budget campaign with a series of news conferences and startling statements.

On Thursday, Zirkle suggested the unification of North and South Korea and giving North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il 60 days in which to abdicate or face the threat of a unified invasion by the United States and China.

To get the North Korean leader to agree to abdication, Zirkle suggested tempting him with international amnesty for his crimes — and the offer of a professorship at either Beijing University or Yale University.

Kim Jong Il might be more tempted by a professorship at Columbia or Berkeley.  He would be treated like a rock star there.  Would his course be called,  Jucheology 101.

Hat Tip: Party Pooper

The first front in the anti-US hate groups’ agenda to get rid of USFK is of course the violence at Camp Humphreys against the camp expansion.  The second front in the hate groups’ agenda is the fabricated and exaggerated accusations about contamination on the vacated USFK camps that is holding up their hand over to the Korean government.  General Bell recently addressed this second front in the anti-US hate groups’ agenda:

This is an area where, in my view, certain groups worldwide and in the Republic of Korea have decided to leverage this issue, potentially to create some distance, potentially, between the United States and Korea, he said. My sense is that the United States government has gone far beyond what one would consider appropriate given the value issue of the land, the utility of the land [that] is going to be accrued by the Republic of Korea government and the provisions of the current agreement.

On Monday, Go criticized that statement. She also said the South Korean government shared the blame and that both countries should have open discussions about the environmental issues.

I like the fact that General Bell doesn’t beat around the bush.  He is telling it like it is in regards to the environmental issue.  USFK is losing approximately $400,000 a month providing security on camps with nobody on them.  This is ridiculous and a waste of money.  IMHO USFK shouldn’t have open discussions with anyone about this issue because than USFK would be legitimizing the hate groups’ claims. USFK should just pay what was agreed upon initially between the two governments and be done with these camps.  These camps are cleaner than the surrounding communities and the surrounding Korean local governments are eager to get a hold of these facilities but a few left wing nut jobs are holding it all up.

Maybe some US media attention to the waste of US taxpayers’ dollars might be a good thing as well, but it won’t happen because there are more important things to talk about in the US media like Britney Spears’ second child.

It looks like Korea may now have war on two fronts:

South Korea’s Coast Guard seized two Chinese fishing boats Thursday on suspicion of violating the country’s western territorial waters, maritime police officers said.

The Incheon Coast Guard said it was bringing the two 30-ton vessels caught 48 miles southwest of Socheong Island in the West Sea to Incheon Harbor. It said the seizure occurred around 2:05 a.m.

The crews of the boats are to be investigated by the police for allegedly fishing in the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) without permission.

South Korean authorities have routinely seized Chinese boats for illegally fishing in South Korea’s waters.

Let’s see how much balls Roh has to bad mouth China.  I bet that won’t happen.

I’m being sarcastic of course but how often have the anti-US groups blamed prostitution in Korea on USFK?  Well read this in depth post from the Marmot’s Hole about the current state of prostitution in Korea.  It is quite amazing the lengths the prostitution industry in Korea is willing to go to stay in business and no where in the article was USFK even mentioned.

Americans aren’t the only ones feeling the effects of high oil prices.  Korea is feeling the pain too:

Already, some people have turned to stealing gasoline, and increasing numbers of cars at apartment complexes have stayed parked for several weeks. More and more truck drivers are locking their oil tanks to keep thieves from stealing their gasoline. Agricultural and fishing villages are suffering, too. Farmers with greenhouses are finding them difficult to heat. They have access to tax-free fuel, but even that is getting more expensive as crude prices skyrocket. Tax-free oil was priced at W79,240 (US $79) a 200¿ drum in January last year. It surpassed the W100,000 mark last October and is expected to be priced at W104,260 this May.

High fuel prices are a big issue in America right now, but I can’t help but think how much more expensive oil is in other countries like Korea where they are paying approximately $2 more a gallon than people in the US.  In a large country similar in size to the US, Australia they pay about $4.50 a gallon there.  So the next time you fill up in the US, just keep in mind it could be worse.

South Korea has released details of their planned military downsizing:

South Korea will shrink its military by 26.5 percent by 2020, from 680,000 troops to 500,000, according to the Korean Ministry of Defense.

The downsizing will be supplemented with high-tech weapons systems concentrated mainly in South Korea’s navy and air force, according to the ministry.

South Korea’s ground forces will shrink from 548,000 to 370,000, a 32.5 percent drop. North Korea’s ground troops are estimated at more than 1 million. South Korea remains confident that its military capabilities will continue to deter any attacks from the North, the ministry stated.

It will be interesting to see if the reduction of ROK Army forces will be done in conjunction with the elimination of the mandatory service requirement by 2020 as well.  I don’t think the current mandatory service requirement is sustainable in the long term as many younger South Korean men are constantly looking for ways to avoid military service.  I think in the future a Korean presidential candidate may be able to run a strong campaign based on eliminating the draft. As they say we will have to wait and see.

I’m willing to bet that their won’t be any permanently stationed US ground combat troops in Korea by 2020 as well.

It looks like the current USFK Commander, General Bell is beginning to feel the same frustration that I’m sure the former USFK Commander, General LaPorte felt when he was in command:

U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. B.B. Bell has directed the military community to review safe-driving procedures and re-emphasize safety lessons following two recent fatal traffic accidents.

These accidents concern me greatly and we all must make every reasonable effort to prevent similar tragedies, Bell wrote in an April 20 safety alert message. Bell also serves as commander of the United Nations Command and of the Combined Forces Command.

While both accidents are under investigation, Bell wrote, it’s important to review safe driving procedures now and reemphasize safety lessons learned from similar tragedies in the past.

On April 14, a U.S. contractor struck and killed a South Korean man in a traffic accident, officials said. And on April 19, a U.S. Army captain driving to work hit and killed a South Korean man sitting in the middle of a street near Yongsan Garrison, according to 8th Army officials.

USFK will never be able to stop all traffic accidents from happening especially with the current locations of the US military facilities.  If and that is a big if right now due to the current Camp Humphreys drama; when Yongsan moves south, that should drastically reduce traffic accidents since USFK would be out of the congested metropolis of Seoul.

Out of everything General Bell spoke about, speed is the main thing people need to be aware of when driving in Korea.  People walk all over the roads here and side walks are limited in many areas not to mention other hazards such as many people not obeying traffic laws and crazy moped drivers.  Speed alone does not prevent accidents totally as well because military vehicles that have mandated 15 and 25 mph speed limits in the Second Infantry Division area also get into to accidents.  These accidents primarily occur because passengers and drivers did not keep good situational awareness while driving slow.  Passengers in a vehicle need to stay aware and not zone out when riding in a vehicle and look for the old woman or kids that may run into the road.

Like General Bell, said these accidents all have strategic consequences on the Korean peninsula.

Why am I not surprised that talk about the delay of the Camp Humphreys expansion is finally starting  to materialize:

The disclosure that rice planting has gone forward heightens tensions in the ongoing standoff between the resisters and South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense.

Mun said the planting of a rice crop is significant because of a South Korean court ruling in an unrelated case, which, if applied to Daechu-ri and depending on how it might be interpreted, could block the government from disturbing the crops once the stalks grow past a few centimeters.

That’s why MND is in a hurry to destroy the rice fields, because they are afraid to see the rice bud, Mun said………….

So it is very, very sensitive, very, very delicate, Hyun said. If the government [uses] force, then probably more people might have more sympathy on the farmers, because they are weaker.

On the other hand, said Hyun, if the government cannot control them, then probably the whole timetable will be delayed. We are targeting that 2008 is the year that the U.S. military will move to that area so this year could be quite crucial.

I have been saying this for awhile that if the Camp Humphreys expansion does not happen the US-ROK alliance as we know it will be over.  The US will redeploy soldiers from Korea instead of keeping the current status quo because the current location of the US bases is unsuitable.  The current USFK facilities have been swallowed up by the bordering cities which has greatly degraded training of forces due to off limits roadways and training areas plus the fear of traffic accidents.  Yongsan Garrison is the most glaring example of this because it is located in the middle of the Korean capitol of Seoul.  The best way to describe the location of Yongsan is to picture an extremely large foreign military base in the middle of downtown Manhattan.  That is what Yongsan Garrison is to Seoul and the US government wants to change that because it is just unsuitable for today’s realities in Korea.

The anti-US hate groups in Korea are trying to use the Camp Humphreys relocation, the utterly false environmental contamination charges, and the cost sharing issues to drive a wedge between USFK and the Korean public.  So far it is not gaining much traction but as many people who have served in Korea in the past can tell you, it doesn’t take much to get people excited here, especially against the US.

As often is the case in Korea, politics and irrational nationalism rule the day and this could ultimately lead to a bitter divorce between the US and Korea.