Despite Japan’s cancellation of participation in naval exercise at Jeju Island due to the Rising Sun flag controversy, they have decided not to retaliate and welcome ROK Naval ships to Sasebo:
This file photo shows South Korean naval destroyer Dae Jo Yeong. (Yonhap)
Three South Korean naval ships carrying hundreds of military cadets will make a port call at Japan’s Sasebo naval base early next month, officials said Sunday.
The flotilla of three ships — comprising the lead vessel, 4,000-ton destroyer Dae Jo Yeong, and two amphibious landing ships, the Cheon Wang Bong and Il Chul Bong — will depart from the Korean naval base of Pyeongtaek to Sasebo via Jeju Island as part of a training cruise. The ships will visit ports in neighboring countries from Oct. 28 through Nov. 18.
About 600 students from South Korea’s national military, naval and air force academies will be on board the ships, according to the Ministry of National Defense. It is the first time the cadets from the three academies will have taken part in a joint cruise exercise.
After Sasebo, the ships will sail to the Russian port of Vladivostok, the ministry said. [Yonhap]
I am willing to bet that Lieutenant General Eyre is saying things that US generals are not allowed to express:
Lt.-Gen. Wayne Eyre, right, who was a brigadier general at the time of this photo, speaks with Lt.-Gen. Paul Wynnyk, commander of the Canadian army, left, in the Wainwright Garrison training area in 2016. Eyre has now been appointed deputy commander of the UN Command in Korea. (DND Combat Camera/Master Corporal Malcolm Byers)
A senior officer in the United Nations Command is urging caution about a declaration to end the Korean War, warning it could be a North Korean ploy to pull the South Korea-U.S. alliance apart.
Canadian Lieutenant-General Wayne Eyre is quoted as calling the prospective declaration a “slippery slope” in terms of the U.S. troop presence in South Korea.
In remarks at a Washington seminar, Eyre described the North Koreans as experts at “divide and conquer.”
Abut 28-thousand-500 U.S. troops are based in South Korea to deter or defeat a repeat of North Korea’s 1950 invasion or other provocations.
He said it needs to be questioned why North Korea is pushing so hard for an end-of-war declaration.
While noting that the recent climate of negotiations offered hope for a lasting peace, he suggested that a war-ending declaration would lead the public to question seriously the need for a continued U.S. troop presence on the peninsula. [KBS World Radio]
I have said this repeatedly that after a peace treaty is signed the South Korea left will then mobilize to make life difficult for US troops in South Korea. Every traffic accident, parking ticket, drunken fight, etc. will become a national headline to increase anti-US sentiment. It will be the 2002-2004 timeframe all over again and this time the Korean left will hope that the US president decides to pull out USFK on his own accord.
Very sad news to share that the recently retired and former 8th Army Commander Lieutenant General Thomas Vandal has passed away from cancer:
Lt. Gen. Thomas S. Vandal, the commanding general of the 8th U.S. Army, speaks next to a statue of Gen. Walton H. Walker, a Korean War hero, at Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul, Tuesday. The U.S. Army began the relocation of its base from Yongsan to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, with the transfer of the statue. / Yonhap
A former commander of the Eighth Army and 2nd Infantry Division died over the weekend, according to a message posted Tuesday on Eighth Army’s official Facebook page.
Retired Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal, who oversaw the highest Army headquarters unit on the Korean Peninsula from February 2016 until his retirement earlier this year, died Sunday, officials told Stars and Stripes. No other details were provided.
“LTG(R) Thomas S. Vandal … you were a tremendous leader and a charismatic mentor,” the Facebook message said. “You were the epitome of the Eighth Army Motto: “Fight Tonight!” The hearts and prayers of the Eighth Army go out to the family and friends of LTG Vandal.”
The 1982 West Point graduate served prominently as one of the Army’s top generals in South Korea this decade, first taking the reins of 2nd ID in 2013 before becoming the Army’s top general in South Korea a few years later. He retired shortly after handing command to Lt. Gen. Michael Bills in January. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read more at the link, but first of all condolences to LTG Vandal’s friends and family. It is shocking how quickly cancer can kill someone, even someone as fit as LTG Vandal was.
Besides being highly involved in completing 8th Army’s move to Camp Humphreys LTG Vandal was also a key player in the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea. These were definitely two major legacy efforts he was part of during his time at 8th Army.
Even if this is the cause of the fire, I have to wonder what the safety measures are around these fuel tanks if a “sky lantern” can blow one of these oil tanks up:
A blaze erupts at a gasoline storage tank operated by a state-run oil pipeline company in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 7. Yonhap
The police have arrested a Sri Lankan national in its probe of a recent explosion at a local oil storage facility, police officials said Monday.
The arrest came one day after an explosion at the oil storage facility in Goyang, just north of Seoul, consumed a large storage tank with 2.66 million liters of gasoline, enough to fill 250 tank trucks.
The police said the 27-year-old Sri Lankan is believed to have accidentally caused the fire by releasing a sky lantern in the vicinity of the oil storage facility.
The police believe the sky lantern may have started the fire when it fell on the lawn of the oil storage facility, causing flames that later spread into the ventilation system of the oil tank, causing the explosion.
The 27-year-old is said to be a construction worker currently working at a site near the facility. [Korea Times]
More satire. north Korea always has to one up everyone and in this case showing off their advanced fax technology. I do not know why they have to do this with a state radio speaker in every home so they can hear directly from their dictator. https://t.co/NxWf47HbPS
A large oil storage tank in Goyang, northwest of Seoul, likely exploded Sunday causing the facility to be engulfed in flames, firefighters said.
The local fire department said emergency service personnel are on site and trying to put out the flames. The storage tank is part of the oil pipeline system operated by the country.
“Because the explosion occurred when everyone was off, there are currently no reports of injuries,” a source said. He said the tank contained 77 million liters of gasoline. (Yonhap)
President Moon is pretty repeating the North Korean, Russian, and positions on the Korean peninsula:
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said a “new order” was in the making on the Korean Peninsula, with a rapidly changing diplomatic dynamic surrounding North Korea.
Remarking on an expected visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to Russia and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s possible reciprocal visit to Pyongyang in coming weeks, Moon said a new order was being “established on the Korean Peninsula,” which he said would pave the way for setting up a new order in Northeast Asia during a cabinet meeting at the Blue House.
“Aside from the second North-U.S. summit,” he said, “North Korean leader Kim is expected to visit Russia while Xi Jinping of China is expected to make a visit to the North. A North-Japan summit is also an open possibility.
“In other words, a new order on the Korean Peninsula is being established.”
Moon went on to say that what he described as a “new order” was a must for the two Koreas to set in place a permanent peace regime and achieve the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but the “new order” Moon is likely talking about is the confederation between North and South Korea on the Kim regime’s terms. Also notice how he says the “complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula”. This is the same terms the North Koreans have been using. South Korea does not have nuclear weapons so the term can only mean ending the US nuclear umbrella protection of South Korea and thus the end of the US-ROK alliance.
It seems it is becoming clearer and clearer that this is the ultimate end game for the Moon administration.
Here is more “pretend denuclearization” from the Kim regime:
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, right, talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo before their meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Monday. [AFP/YONHAP]North Korean leader Kim Jong-un invited U.S. nuclear experts to verify the permanent dismantling of the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site during his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday.
The U.S. State Department reported in a statement that Kim had “invited inspectors” to visit the Punggye-ri testing site, where all of North Korea’s six underground nuclear tests took place starting from 2006, to confirm that “it has been irreversibly dismantled.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but I would hope the US Secretary of State would realize that this is not denuclearization. It has long been reported that the Punggye-ri nuclear test site is largely unusable now due to the mountain beginning to collapse. For all we know the North Koreans could have their slave labor teams busy drilling caverns into another mountain right now for a new test site.
If the Kim regime was serious about confidence building measures they would ship some nuclear material out of the country. Of course that would be real denuclearization when what they want is “pretend denuclearization“.
This looks like quite a concert to celebrate the ROK military’s 70th anniversary:
Psy sings 2012 megahit “Gangnam Style” during the 70th Armed Forces Day in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Oct. 1, 2018. COURTESY OF MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE REPUBLIC OF KOREA
The South Korean military traded ballistic missiles for glowsticks and peace talk as K-pop stars helped celebrate the country’s 70th Armed Forces Day.
A ceremony Monday at the Korean War Memorial just south of the U.S. military’s Yongsan Garrison in Seoul marked the anniversary of South Korean forces crossing the 38th parallel during the 1950-53 conflict.
The event stood in stark contrast to last year’s ceremony, during which South Korean leaders spoke of nuclear deterrence and unveiled the Hyunmoo-2C — a ballistic missile with the range to hit anything in North Korea.
“Today, I am overwhelmed with excitement as I am able to discuss an era of peace,” South Korean President Moon Jae-in said at the ceremony, according to a translation of his remarks. “Now is the time for our military to stand at the forefront of peace on the Korean Peninsula,” he added. “Peace through strength is the mission of our armed forces.” [Stars & Stripes]
