A South Korean millionaire who founded & runs file-sharing sites notorious for sharing revenge porn/spycam porn videos is under probe for beating & abusing workers by forcing them to eat a handful of raw garlic, dye their hair red/green & kill live chickens with crossbows. https://t.co/icEI5raOxG

— Hawon Jung (@allyjung) November 1, 2018

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the construction site of the Wonsan-Kalma resort area on the country’s east coast in this photo capture from the North’s Central TV on Nov. 1, 2018. The country’s media said Kim berated the international sanctions on his country during the visit, blaming them for standing in the North’s “way toward the promotion of people’s wellbeing and development” and for forcing its submission. (Yonhap)

I think this can be interpreted in showing how important the US Army considers missile defense for Japan that it stood up a brigade headquarters there:

The Army has reactivated a brigade to oversee missile-defense units on mainland Japan, Okinawa and Guam.

The 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade was reactivated in a brief ceremony Wednesday at Camp Zama, headquarters of U.S. Army Japan in Kanagawa prefecture near Tokyo.

The brigade, based at Sagami General Depot, about 25 miles west of the Japanese capital, will oversee the 1st Battalion, 1st Air Defense Regiment at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, as well as the 10th and 14th Missile Defense Batteries on mainland Japan and a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, battery on Guam.

The unit, which will include about 115 personnel at full strength, is purely a headquarters unit, said U.S. Army Japan spokesman Kevin Krejcarek.

“It’s just personnel. There won’t be any missile batteries at Sagami,” he told Stars and Stripes ahead of Wednesday’s ceremony as protestors gathered outside Zama’s main gate.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but for those wondering USFK has its own air defense artillery brigade headquarters based at Osan Airbase.

Apartheid South Africa was banned from the Olympics for their human rights abuses, but North Korea may get the opportunity to host them with a far worse human rights record?  I would hope the IOC would laugh this proposal out of the building, but considering the IOC’s history of corruption enough white envelopes may make this a reality:

South Korea and North Korea agreed on Friday to inform the International Olympic Committee (IOC) formally of their intention to co-host the 2032 Summer Games.

The two sides reached that agreement during their sports talks in the North’s border town of Kaesong.

Following their first sports talks in four months, the Koreas issued a joint communique, detailing other areas of cooperation.

The Koreas said they will try to field a joint team at next year’s men’s handball world championships.

The Koreas also agreed to form unified teams at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics and to work with the IOC and international federations of summer Olympic sports to make that happen.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but any bets on who will pay for all the new infrastructure, stadiums, hotels, etc. in North Korea to support hosting the Olympics?

The darker blue "peace zone"–no armed ships, no military exercise, no large weapons use. People /Marines on islands isolated, not allowed to defend. Han River estuary, historically an invasion route, to be joint use/patrol, wide open for #NorthKorea to enter Seoul. https://t.co/3pBZ3je8x7

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) October 31, 2018

This photo, provided by South Korea’s defense ministry, shows military officials from the two Koreas and the U.N. Command carrying out joint work to verify the disarmament of the Joint Security Area inside the Demilitarized Zone. (Yonhap)

I have a hard time seeing these sex robots causing a decrease in sex crimes and prostitution any time soon in South Korea, but some people think they will:

Sex robot “brothels” have emerged as a potentially lucrative business as sex doll manufacturers offer more sophisticated, individually tailored models, thanks to advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies.

With many shops that offer sex with these robots popping up in Europe and Canada, some technology pundits here are cautiously suggesting Korea may have to deal with this controversial issue in the near future.

Advocates say sex with robots can reduce the need for sex workers and help disabled people enjoy the same sexual pleasure as others do, in the privacy of their own room.

But opponents argue that sex robots cannot replace women and they will dehumanize the relationship between men and women.  (…………..)

Sex robots are banned from import to Korea. Under article 234 of the customs law, goods that disrupt the constitutional order, disturb public safety and order or corrupt morals shall not be exported or imported.

However, it is possible to purchase life-size sex dolls online here. Also, sex dolls made by local firms are available on the internet. While it is illegal to import or export sex dolls, there are no laws that forbid manufacturing and selling the dolls here.

While sex robots are still legally unavailable here, experts say possibilities are open for Korea to allow “robot prostitution.”

“The positive aspect of sex robots is that they will help decrease the number of women who sell sex illegally,” said Kang Dong-woo, director at the Korean Institute for Sexual and Couple’s Health (KISCH). The KISCH is a private clinic for sex counseling in Seoul.

“It is no secret that there are many men who use prostitution services. Prostitution is available everywhere here through the internet. In such circumstances, I think chances are open for the country to introduce robot prostitution in the near future as it can reduce sex crimes and illegal prostitution,” Kang said.   [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

Here is a fun but unusual story about a unit mascot deployed to South Korea:

A Texas-based unit’s youngest and furriest soldier is breathing easier, literally, thanks to a Halloween-night surgery in South Korea.

Pfc. Tank Chester, a 7-month-old Victorian bulldog who serves as mascot for the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division “Bulldogs,” had his soft palate trimmed and nostrils widened at Camp Humphreys’ veterinary clinic to ease the airways for the member of the notoriously hard-breathing breed.

“He’s the face and symbol of who we are,” Cpl. Mitchell Duncan, Chester’s handler, said at the clinic Wednesday.

Chester, along with the rest of the Bulldog brigade, arrived in South Korea last month taking the reigns as the 2nd Infantry Division’s sole brigade combat team on the peninsula.

While technically an elective surgery, it’s a nearly necessary one for the active mascot, who like his predecessors is expected to ride shotgun with the unit’s command team in everything from helicopters to tanks as they inspect and boost morale to the brigade’s troops.

“With these English bulldogs… we’ve bred in the smoosh face, which looks really cool, however it comes with its own complications,” said Camp Humphreys veterinarian surgeon Capt. Sean Curry. “It’s really a struggle for them to breathe.”

Chester is the ninth of his name since the first was donated in 1940 by the British as a “token of appreciation,” Duncan said. He comes with a full complement of soldiering gear, including identification cards, a passport and a rank he’s still living up to.

“He’s a Pfc. for a reason — he’s got an attitude, he’s a little stubborn, and he still does things his way,” the 24-year-old from Redfield N.Y., said jokingly. “He’s your typical bulldog. He loves people; loves attention. His idea of fun is sitting on the couch and watching TV with you.”  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

It looks like there is going to be a surge of Jehovah’s Witnesses in South Korea after this court ruling:

South Korea’s Supreme Court ruled Thursday that moral scruples and religious beliefs are valid reasons to refuse compulsory military service, a landmark change in the court’s decades-long stance on conscientious objection and one that’s expected to impact the fate of over 900 men.

Thursday’s verdict concerned only one defendant, a 34-year-old Jehovah’s Witness named Oh Seung-heon. In a nine to four vote, the full bench ordered an appellate court to retry his case, effectively clearing him of charges that he violated the Military Service Act.  (…….)

Conscientious objection has long been a subject of public debate in South Korea.

More than 19,000 conscientious objectors were criminally punished under South Korean law since the 1950s, mostly serving 18 months in jail. A majority of those objectors were Jehovah’s Witnesses, a Christian sect that bases its refusal to serve in the military on Isaiah 2:4, a part of which reads, “Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”

South Korea’s Supreme Court said Thursday that it “violates the practice of tolerance towards minorities, a spirit of free democracy, to uniformly force the implementation of mandatory military service and criminally charge those who fail to fulfill.” In that sense, the court continued, conscientious objection falls into the category of a “valid reason” not to comply with the military’s call for enlistment.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but the Jehovah’s Witness defendant did say he is willing to do mandatory civilian service.  I wonder if there is a religious reason not to be part of the riot police?

They've had enough. 320 patriotic figures in #SouthKorea issue a declaration seeking the ouster of President #MoonJaein. See https://t.co/FxKC4q2iG0. The forces of freedom and democracy are fighting back.

— Gordon G. Chang (@GordonGChang) October 29, 2018