The Moon admin agreed to spend 3.56 bil won ($3.2 million) to provide enough Tamiflu medication for 200,000 people to #NorthKorea. It agreed to buy not SK-made generics, but the Swiss originals–much easier for NK to resell for hard currency. #sanctionshttps://t.co/xpDOmSqEYD
— Tara O (@DrTaraO) January 9, 2019
For those that have not been following this issue, the Japanese side does not dispute the forced labor claim, what they dispute is that they already paid compensation with the 1965 treaty. Instead of handing out money for individual compensation, the ROK government used the money to develop the economy instead.
A South Korean court said Wednesday it has ordered the seizure of local assets of a Japanese company after it refused to compensate several wartime forced laborers, in an escalation of a diplomatic brawl between the Asian neighbors.
Japan called the decision “extremely regrettable” and said it will push for talks with Seoul on the issue.
In a landmark ruling in October, South Korea’s Supreme Court ordered Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. to pay 100 million won ($88,000) each to four plaintiffs forced to work for the company when Japan colonized the Korean Peninsula in 1910-45.But the company refused to follow that ruling, siding with Japan’s long-held positon that all colonial-era compensation issues were settled by a 1965 treaty that restored diplomatic relations between the two governments. Japanese officials said they could take the issue to the International Court of Justice.
Associated Press
You can read more at the link, but is the ROK government going support someone who makes a compensation claim against China for their role in the destruction of South Korea during the Korean War that killed tens of thousands of South Koreans?
By the way Joshua Stanton over at One Free Korea makes a good point, I wonder how much the sagging Moon administration approval ratings have to do with this?
I haven't read the news today. Are the South Korean president's approval ratings down? https://t.co/Tway5G267Y
— Joshua Stanton (@freekorea_us) January 9, 2019
A ROK Drop favorite, David Maxwell recently had this to say in The Hill about the cost sharing negotiations between the US and South Korea:
Trump seems not to recognize that the ROK makes significant contributions to its own defense. In 2017, 2.7 percent of its GDP went to defense — a higher percentage than any member of NATO except the U.S. Furthermore, the ROK’s 2018 defense budget increased by 9.9 pecent, or $40 billion, the largest in history. It has an active force of 625,000 troops with 28,000 Americans stationed in South Korea. Under the current SMA, the ROK covers half of the roughly $1.6 billion basing cost for American troops, but according to reports, Trump wants Seoul to pay 100 percent.
The Hill
Yet South Korea already covers more than just annual basing costs. The recently expanded Camp Humphreys is now the largest U.S. military base outside of the continental U.S. It cost some $10.7 billion and the ROK provided 90 percent of the funds. The ROK government also agreed to a renegotiated Korea-U.S Free Trade Agreement, in response to pressure from Trump. Finally, from 2012 through 2016 the ROK purchased $19.8 billion in U.S. military equipment through Foreign Military Sales and Direct Commercial Sales.
It is essential for both sides to remember that the primary purpose of the alliance is to prevent war.
You can read more at the link.
I have ever seen anyone get court martialed and face a year in jail for incidents like this before:
If found guilty, the sentencing guidelines call for up to a year in jail and a bad conduct discharge. The charges against her stem from three incidents, which Kman described in his opening statement.
Stars & Stripes
Pointing a 9mm pistol at another sergeant during preliminary marksmanship instruction at the range near Allied Joint Force Command Naples in November 2017 constituted dereliction of duty, he said.
“She said, ‘Stay still so I can find my sight picture,’” the prosecutor said. “The government doesn’t care if SFC Barboza thought she was being funny.”
Repeatedly calling a specialist fat in front of other soldiers was maltreatment, he said, and Barboza had committed disrespect of a noncommissioned officer when she touched the hair of an African-American staff sergeant and made a derogatory comment.
You can read more at the link.
#XiJinping did not "invite" #KimJongUn, he summoned him. Kim rulers brag they are Korean nationalists, but they act like vassals to the Chinese. Xi pulled the string, and Fatty the Third came running to Beijing. Kim has gone to China four times, and Xi has gone to Korea no times. https://t.co/oGHHaYxXNH
— Gordon G. Chang (@GordonGChang) January 8, 2019
Probably wouldn't go as far as to say that Korea doesn't care, but it's been notable how comms from the ROK side have been largely siloed to MND, while those from Japan have often come from Abe's circle. One side is clearly eager to make a bigger deal out of this than the other. https://t.co/fLgg2XhQG9
— 이주민 / Chris Lee (@oldtype) January 7, 2019
Makes me wonder how big the market for fake refugee applications is in the US if this is even happening in South Korea:
A 34-year-old Ukrainian woman was sentenced to 14 months in jail for helping other foreigners draft fake refugee applications, Tuesday.
Korea Times
The Incheon District Court said the woman “repeatedly disrupted immigration processes” by writing false refugee applications for 57 foreign clients who arrived in Korea on temporary B-1 or E-9 visas.
According to court documents, the woman cooked up clients’ stories telling of prosecution in their home countries, including kidnapping, rape and unfair treatment by law enforcement, between March 2017 and June 2018. She was paid 200,000 won per application by a broker company that linked her with the foreign clients.
You can read more at the link.
Kim Jong-un has finished getting his marching orders from Emperor President Xi and is on his way back home:
After holding meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has left Beijing and is now headed for Pyongyang aboard his special train. Kim is expected to have coordinated strategies with Xi ahead of his envisioned meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.
KBS World Radio
Kim Bum-soo has more.
Report: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping for about an hour on Tuesday.
After their fourth summit, Xi hosted a banquet for Kim which lasted for more than four hours. Tuesday is believed to be Kim’s 35th birthday.
On Wednesday, Kim and Xi are believed to have met again for a luncheon at a hotel in Beijing.
You can read more at the link.
