After what has seemed like never-ending negotiations the US and the ROK have agreed to finally deploy a THAAD missile defense system to South Korea:
Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy Ryu Je-seung, right, shakes hands with Eighth U.S. Army commander Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal after a joint press conference at the defense ministry building in southern Seoul, Friday. The two agreed to deploy a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here. / Yonhap
South Korea and the United States agreed to deploy a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here, the two allies announced Friday, drawing protests from China and throwing the Korean Peninsula into geopolitical turmoil.
“The Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States made an alliance decision to deploy THAAD to U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) as a defensive measure to ensure the security of the ROK and its people,” the Ministry of Defense and the USFK said in a joint statement.
It said the deployment of the advanced U.S. missile defense system is to protect alliance military forces from North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile threats.
The two are “working closely to ensure the swift deployment of THAAD” and will develop specific operational procedures, it said.
Several hours after the announcement, China denounced both Seoul and Washington, with its foreign ministry expressing “strong discontent and firm opposition” against the two countries’ agreement. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but according to the article the locations being considered for hosting the THAAD site are Pyeongtaek, Wonju, Waegwan and Eumseong County in North Chungcheong Province. It will be interesting to see if the Korean left will try and demagogue and launch Camp Humphreys expansion style protests against the building of the THAAD site.
It will also be interesting to see if the Chinese try to retaliate against the ROK in some way? Considering how the Chinese continue to funnel cash and goods to the Kim regime despite sanctions, they have no creditability to oppose this deployment.
I like school uniforms considering some of the people I see now a days dressed like slobs going to school. School should be a professional learning environment which school uniforms help create. Really the only issue I see is the cost. Whatever uniform is selected should not cost parents more than it does to buy regular school clothes:
Seoul American High School is considering a new dress code that would require students to wear uniforms.
The draft proposal prompted heated debate, with supporters saying more needs to be done to rein in students who dress inappropriately and critics calling it too strict. Many on both sides complained the uniforms would be expensive and get little use since most students will likely be moving soon as part of the relocation of most U.S. forces in Korea.
Students would have to wear collared polo or button-down dress shirts in a choice of three colors — blue, white or black — with chino-style pants, according to a draft copy obtained by Stars and Stripes.
The policy would ban shorts, skirts and jeans, as well as flip flops, shoes with wheels and headgear. The principal reserved the right to make exceptions based on a student’s religious beliefs or documented medical conditions. [Stars & Stripes]
Considering all their recent missile test activity conducting increased reconnaissance makes sense:
The United States’ forces stationed in South Korea have expanded their aerial reconnaissance along the inter-Korean border following North Korea’s recent launch of Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM), official sources said Monday.
On June 22, North Korea fired two Musudan missiles from its eastern coastal city of Wonsan. The first missile reportedly blew up shortly after launch, but the second one soared to an altitude of some 1,400 kilometers before flying 400 km and hitting the East Sea. Pyongyang has declared the second launch a success, and with a range of 3,000 to 4,000 km, the IRBM could reach as far as the U.S. territory of Guam.
Since the latest launch, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) had been sending two U-2S ultra-high altitude reconnaissance aircraft to conduct daily surveillance missions along the inter-Korean military demarcation line, USFK officials said.
Before the launch, only one U-2S was sent into the air to conduct reconnaissance.
The reconnaissance aircraft, nicknamed Dragon Lady, monitors, videotapes and sometimes wiretaps North Korea’s military activities from an altitude of some 20 km on a flight mission that could last up to eight hours. The U-2S can see 60-70 km inside North Korea while still flying outside the country’s airspace. [Yonhap]
It looks like ISIS wants to spread their war against the West all the way over to South Korea now:
The Islamic State jihadist group has designated U.S. Air Force installations here and South Korean citizens as targets for attacks, Seoul’s state spy agency said Sunday.
In a press release, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) said that the group incited terrorist attacks against them through Telegram, a messaging service, and revealed location data of 77 Air Force installations of the United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and of individuals in 21 countries.
The extremist group, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), obtained the location data from its own hacking group, named the “United Cyber Caliphate,” the spy agency explained.
“While disseminating the location data of the installations and information on the individuals, (the group) incited (its sympathizers around the world) to retaliate for the benefit of Muslims,” the NIS said.
Through the messaging program, the IS unveiled the locations of U.S. Air Force units in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, and Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, and of one employee of a South Korean welfare organization. [Yonhap]
You can read the rest at the link, but ISIS is a bunch of fools if they think the location of US military bases in South Korea is secret information.
Condolences to the family of this sailor that died in an incredibly strange accident down in Changwon:
A U.S. sailor died after plunging more than 120 feet down an elevator shaft at a South Korean hotel, officials said Monday.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Jason James “Jimmy” McLaughlin, 28, apparently was trying to climb out of the elevator after it got stuck between floors at the Hotel International in the city of Changwon over the weekend, police and fire officials said.
He was in cardiac arrest when rescue crews arrived and died after being taken to a hospital, they said. [Stars & Stripes]
I feel bad for the Korean employees that may lose their jobs due to the Camp Humphreys relocation, but this has happened before when camps in 2ID between 2005-2005 were closed. Times change and from what I have heard most of these employees will have the opportunity to still have a job with USFK if they agree to move to Pyeongtaek:
Hundreds of Korean civilians who work on U.S. bases, many for decades, rallied Saturday outside the U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan amid rising fears about possible job losses and benefits when most American forces move south.
The demonstration, which began with speeches outside the Korean War Memorial, came as the much-postponed relocation is gaining momentum. The move was originally scheduled to take place in 2008 but was delayed until 2012, then 2016, and most recently 2017.
But the military recently announced the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment will move from Camp Hovey near North Korea to Camp Humphreys in July, making it the first unit to relocate.
The 8th Army also said it is sending an advance team of about 100 people to Humphreys this summer.
With the end date in sight, many Korean nationals fear they may lose their jobs as the U.S. military reorganizes and hires new staff in preparation for the relocation to Humphreys in the port city of Pyongtaek and other regional hubs south of Seoul.
“I think they’re going to cut a lot of employees,” said Yi Kyong Nim, a housing management assistant who has worked at Yongsan for 21 years. Yi said his main concern is that U.S. forces will hire Koreans to staff the housing office at Humphreys and there will be no spots left for him because he will be needed at Yongsan until the last minute. [Stars & Stripes]
It is slowly happening, but it looks like the bulk of 2ID will eventually be on Camp Humphreys after all these years of delays:
The 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment will move from an area near North Korea this summer, becoming “the vanguard” for a massive relocation of U.S. forces to regional hubs south of Seoul, an Army spokesman said Tuesday.
The announcement is part of a flurry of activity as U.S. Forces Korea readies to finally shift the bulk of its operation to Camp Humphreys in the South Korean port city of Pyongtaek and other areas. The effort has been frequently delayed due to funding and construction problems. The move was originally scheduled to take place in 2008 but was delayed until 2012, then 2016 and most recently, 2017.
The Fort Hood, Texas-based battalion is slated to move from its base at Camp Hovey, which is near the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas, to Humphreys in July, said Lt. Col. Richard Hyde, a spokesman for the 2nd Infantry Division. [Stars & Stripes]
I am not sure what the union expects USFK to do; keep jobs that aren’t needed?:
A Korean employee at the main gate of Camp Red Cloud, a U.S. military base in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, stages a one-man protest, Sunday, demanding job security for all Korean workers there after the base is relocated to Pyeongtaek. / Yonhap
Thousands of Korean employees at two U.S. military bases in Korea are facing massive layoffs because of the planned relocation of the camps.
Under a plan signed between Korea and the U.S., the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) headquarters and 8th Army headquarters, located in Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul and the 2nd Infantry Division (2ID), north of Seoul, will be moved to Camp Humphreys, a U.S. Army garrison in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.
About 5,000 Koreans are working at the military bases.
There is a growing fear that at least half of the jobs of Korean employees might be on the line, but there has been no explanation from the U.S. military regarding its plans to cut jobs or reassign personnel, arousing anxiety among the workers, the USFK Korean Employees Union said Sunday.
On Thursday, the labor union began a one-person protest at Camp Red Cloud in Uijeongbu, scheduled to last for nine days, and will hold a rally against the layoffs at the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan on May 21.
“We will fight to protect our jobs,” a labor union official said. [Korea Times]
Via a reader tip comes this dramatic rescue story of US servicemembers saving a Nigerian family from a burning building outside of Osan AB:
The scenario, captured in mobile phone footage, is a mother’s nightmare. On the fourth story of a burning building in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, a woman dangles her baby out the window as smoke billows from two floors below. Onlookers scream and wave their hands as the 30-year-old mother holds out the terrified infant — the child’s legs kicking furiously — before dropping her to the crowd. Another child follows, then another, before the woman herself leaps from the window — the only escape route. Remarkably, all survived without injury Saturday, caught safely on blankets in a rescue effort orchestrated by passing U.S. service personnel stationed at nearby Osan Air Base.
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Daniel Raimondo told CNN he was walking to dinner Saturday when he saw clouds of smoke and set off in that direction. On assessing the scene, he and a colleague discussed how to help and resolved to get some blankets from a nearby store. They corralled others to help hold the blankets, then tried to persuade the mother to drop her children to safety. First Sgt. Melanie Scott said the woman was understandably reluctant to let go of her children, ages 1, 3 and 4.
“You could tell she was scared. She didn’t want to.” Raimondo said that the “last baby was the most difficult in my eyes, she just wouldn’t let her go for some reason.” He said he repeatedly begged the mother: “Please just throw the baby down!” “I remember her screaming (at) the baby, ‘I love you, I love you. …’ Next thing you know she dropped the baby.” [CNN]
You can read the rest at the link, but quick thinking and great job by everyone involved in this rescue effort.
Over the weekend USFK had a change of command with General Vincent Brooks taking over for General Scaparrotti. Being the prior US Army Pacific Commander he should be well familiar with all North Korea issues so I expect this should be an easy transition for USFK:
Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti, left, and Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, inspect the troops during a change of command ceremony on Knight Field, South Korea, April 30, 2016.
Gen. Vincent Brooks warned of rising challenges as he took the helm of U.S. Forces in Korea on Saturday, while North Korea reportedly called joint military exercises in the South “tantamount to an open declaration of war.”
In a ceremony at U.S. Army Garrison-Yongsan’s Knight Field, Brooks took over from Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, who will become the next commander of U.S. European Command and supreme allied commander for NATO forces.
The change of command came as the U.S. and its ally South Korea face unprecedented threats from the North, which staged its fourth nuclear test in January, followed by a long-range rocket launch that prompted harsh new U.N. sanctions. [Stars & Stripes]
