The ROK Army has continued to take on missions central to the defense of the Korean peninsula as USFK prepares for transformation:
As of mid-January, South Koreans now are in charge of the maritime response to any invasion by North Korean special operations forces should war break out, Koenig said. The move marks South Korea’s goal of evolving from a ground-based military to a stronger multi-branch force, he added.
(…)
One of the more public transfers happened in the fall of 2004 at the Demilitarized Zone, the border that separates North and South Korea. On Oct. 31, 2004, the South Koreans took control of patrolling the Joint Security Area, the compound where talks between the two Koreas occur and where millions of tourists on both sides visit each year.
But some of the more strategic changes include South Korea’s ability to protect supply routes in wartime and to counter and destroy North Korea’s underground missile system, which can hit Seoul repeatedly while barely revealing its weapons, Koenig said.
Improved technology for the South Koreans helped with this “counter-fire†transfer. Koenig said it’s right that South Korea is now responsible for defending such an attack on its capital city.
“That’s about the defense of Seoul,†he said. “It’s their capital, their center of society.â€
All I can say is, that it is about time.
In the near future people may be able to take a train to Russia if this long negotiated deal is finally completed:
Russia and South Korea are coming closer to an agreement on connecting a Trans-Korean Railroad to the Trans-Siberian Railroad, head of Russia’s transportation monopoly, the Russian Railways, said on Sunday, Feb. 26.
Vladimir Yakunin, the president of Russian Railways, said that the negotiations were being conducted within the framework of three-way meetings between Russia, North Korea and South Korea, RIA Novosti reported. “We have advanced considerably on the issue of rail transport with the South Korean side,†Yakunin said.
He also said representatives of the three nations were being invited to a “demonstration trip†to Russia’s Far East, including seaports, for further meetings. “Invitations have been sent out,†Yakunin said.
Judging by the picture, I really hope they decide to use South Korean trains instead of North Korean. Maybe the North Koreans can extort the South Koreans in this deal to make a KTX system for them as well. Edit this Post | Delete this Post
Here is a link from Occidentalism, to an interesting video clip that shows what Itaewon looked like back in 1988. Just a few things I noticed was the juicy girls were all Koreans. No signs of Russians or Philippinas. Plus some of the clubs around in 1988 are still around today. Also you got to love the hairdos. The 80’s sure had some bad hairstyles.
Let this be an example of why I have always advocated against getting drunk and having sex in the barracks:
An airman on trial for the April rape of a female airman in her dorm was found guilty Friday and sentenced to two years in prison and a dishonorable discharge.
Senior Airman Calvin Wheeler Jr.’s rank also was reduced to the military’s lowest pay grade, E-1, and he must forfeit all pay and allowances. He was a member of the 51st Communications Squadron.
A six-member jury of Air Force commissioned officers handed down the verdict Friday morning and imposed sentencing Friday afternoon on one charge each of rape and adultery.
The victim definitely had some creditbility issues but there must have been enough evidence presented to convict him beyond a reasonable doubt. To bad he didn’t think about this before getting drunk and having sex with her:
Wheeler noted that as a convicted rapist, he likely would have to register as a sex offender. He said he did not know how he would find the words to explain to his sons his status as a convicted rapist.
I don’t feel sorry for him because he put himself in the situation especially as a married man. Hopefully others can learn from this.
Does Korea have it’s own Brokeback Mountain? Some people in the gay community think so:
Just as “Brokeback Mountain” has become a pop-culture phenomenon in the United States, a gay-themed movie has racked up big box-office in South Korea.
“King and the Clown” – about a delicately effeminate male clown caught between the affections of a despotic king and a fellow performer – has sold more than 11 million tickets through Sunday since its Dec. 29 premiere, making it the third-most popular film ever in this conservative country.
Even President Roh Moo-hyun has seen it. (By contrast, President Bush said last month he’d yet to see the cowboy romance favored to win the best-picture Oscar.)
The surprise hit is about a troupe of entertainers condemned to die for an act mocking 16th-century King Yonsan, but who beg to be pardoned if they can make the king laugh with their racy skit lampooning him and his favorite concubine. The clowns succeed and become court jesters.
Kong-gil, the gentle-faced male clown who portrays the woman in the skit, draws the king’s attention – staging private puppet shows to Yonsan’s delight but evoking the jealousy of clown leader Jang-saeng, who has always protected his friend from other men’s amorous advances.
The gay story line is muted. The king and Kong-gil share one quick on-screen kiss.
The movie is based on a fictional play that was inspired by a brief mention in the king’s diary about his favorite clown.
I think it is a mistake to compare The King and the Clown to Brokeback Mountain because Brokeback was filmed to push a Hollywood agenda advocating homosexuality thus the hype for the movie. Who talks about Brokeback Mountain without mentioning homosexuality and pup tent scenes?
The King and the Clown on the other hand is drawing huge audiences due to the focus on a great storyline and fine acting not homosexuality.
Would love to hear opinions of those who have seen both movies.
Can anyone tell me why this is backpage news?:
North Korean diplomats were caught attempting to smuggle US$1 million and 200 million yen into Mongolia on Tuesday, the Mongolian press reported. Reports said the North Koreans told Mongolian authorities they were planning to put the money in a Mongolian bank account, according to Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun.
The paper said that it was unclear whether the money was counterfeit or not, and what measures the Mongolian authorities will take. It said the incident revived concerns about North Korean involvement in money laundering.
I wonder if the South Korean government that is eager to defend North Korea from US counterfeiting claims will spin this to say that at least they were not smuggling drugs with them as well, as many North Korean diplomats before have been caught doing.
At least somebody in South Korea is willing to challenge both the South Korean government and the North Koreans over the laters counterfeiting activities:
Kim Moon-soo, a member of the conservative opposition Grand National Party, produced a U.S. $100 note dated 2003 that he said was counterfeit and had been bought from a North Korean intelligence official in Dandong, China, earlier this year. He said the North Korean was working in a cover job as an official at the North’s Shinheung Trading Company. Mr. Kim said he paid $70 for the $100 note, which he said had not yet been examined by government officials here.
“In South Korea,” he said, “an increasing number of bogus $100 bills are being discovered. There were 189 found here in 2001, 286 in 2002, 544 in 2003 and 667 in 2004. And last year through September alone, 1,900 fake bills were found in Korea.”
He demanded an explanation from Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan, who was attending legislative oversight hearings, of conflicting remarks by Seoul officials about the counterfeiting.
Lee Tae-sik, Korea’s ambassador to the United States, has acknowledged North Korea’s role in counterfeiting, he reminded Mr. Lee. But, he continued, Kim Seung-kyu, who heads the National Intelligence Service, has said he knows nothing about any North Korean counterfeiting since 1998. He complained that Seoul should not be defending North Korea on the matter.
No North Korean since 1998? I wonder what he thinks of the fact a North Korean diplomat was picked up with possible counterfeit US currency in Mongolia?
I wonder if Hines Ward is thinking twice now about that planned Korea trip too?:
The statement said a Korean reporter had been calling nonstop to say he knows who Dawson’s biological parents are but did not identify himself or say which media outlets he works for. He even called U.S. broadcasters NBC and ABC to say Dawson has found his biological parents. Spinello said Dawson wanted to look for his parents quietly after the games finish. He added Dawson was still proud of his Korean heritage.
Dawson has received more than 200 e-mails and a constant barrage of phone calls and is worn out, the statement said. But it said no-one had taken a DNA test that would prove their paternity.
North Korea has agreed to discuss the abduction of South Koreans to North Korea over the past 50 years:
To date, a small number of South Korean families whose family members are believed to have been abducted by North Korea had been briefly reunited in the family reunion sessions of the two Koreas. Officially, however, North Korea flatly denies to have kidnapped any South Koreans during and after the war.
The South Korean government estimates that more than 500 South Korean prisoners of war (POWs) and some 480 civilians, mostly fishermen, are still alive in the communist North.
“We consider it progress in that the North agreed to work toward resolving the issue of confirming the fate of South Korean POWs and abductees, which it has been denying until now,’’ an official at the Unification Ministry said. “We will continuously make efforts to resolve the issue on the government level including the ministerial-level talks as well as the Red Cross talks.’’
It is an absolute embarrassment that South Korea has done so little to secure the release of so many of their illegally kidnapped citizens, especially after Japan was able to win the release of some of their kidnapped citizens.
I wonder if this development has anything to do with this?:
South Korea has informed North Korea that it will provide 150,000 tons of free fertilizer to the impoverished communist country to help it enhance its agricultural productivity, the Unification Ministry said Wednesday.
Seoul’s decision came three weeks after the North requested 450,000 tons of fertilizer from South Korea, which has so far provided 1.9 million tons to North Korea since 1998.
The ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said decision was made “on humanitarian grounds to ease food shortages of North Koreans by increasing agricultural productivity.”
Coincidence? I think not. South Korea gives aid in return for meaningless talks of reconciliation from North Korea to show the “Sunshine Policy” is working though it really isn’t. I have seen this game one to many times but the South Koreans love to fall for it so I can’t blame the Norks for continuously scheming to get aid from the South Koreans.
Here is an interesting article from Yahoo News that talks about the protest culture in Korea. Here is a sample:
Down the street from the Japanese embassy protest, a group of about 20 South Korean victims of World War Two and their relatives demanded more compensation from the government.
Less than a minute away, a solitary man was holding a protest in front of a mobile telephone company over a high telephone bill he says led his son to suicide.
At the next building, there was a protest against an insurance company over perceived unfair practices.
Those protesters would change places at the spot by the nearby U.S. embassy with a new group of demonstrators attempting to thwart free trade negotiations between Seoul and Washington.
Diagonally across the street, Chinese residents of South Korea were protesting at a building that houses Taiwan’s mission, while a group of Taiwanese faced the crowd of about 100 and held their own signs in protest against the protesters.
“Protests are just a part of life in Seoul,” shrugged one police official.
What I am wondering is how is the cell phone company responsible for the suicide of someone with a high phone bill?
