A ship that sunk off of Ulleungdo in 1905 that had previously fought in the Russo-Japanese has been discovered by Korean treasure hunters:

A Russian battleship that sank 113 years ago in waters off South Korea’s Ulleung Island ― allegedly carrying tons of gold coins and bars ― has been located.

The rusty hull of the Dmitri Donskoii was found on the seabed a kilometer from the island’s Jeodong-ri and 434 meters underwater, said Shinil Group, a South Korean company which has endeavored to find the ship for years.

“We found the body of the Dmitrii Donskoi 434 meters deep in seas 1.3 kilometers off Ulleung Island at around 9:50 a.m., Sunday,” Shinil Group said.

The vessel’s shape and details were “confirmed to be identical with the Dmitri Donskoii,” the company said. It inspected the wreckage with two manned submarines on Saturday.   [Korea Times]

You can read the rest at the link, but the ship was rumored to be filled with gold worth $133 billion today. The treasure hunters are in the process of trying to lift the ship to look for the gold.  If a billions in gold is discovered, I think it may pose an interesting legal challenge from the Russians because it is technically their property.

Because nothing bad has ever happened to tourists who visited North Korea, and it's absolutely guaranteed that nothing bad will ever happen to those who visit in the future. https://t.co/cKBrbnTAnU

— John Lee (The Korean Foreigner) (@koreanforeigner) July 18, 2018

Friends and family gathered at Knight Field, US Army Garrison Yongsan, to welcome newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, Harry Harris, and to say goodbye to Marc Knapper, outgoing , July 17.  Knapper served as Chargé, d’Affaires for more than a year replacing former ambassador, Mark Lippert.(Photos by Staff Sgt. David Chapman, UNC-CFC-USFK)  [USFK Facebook page]

Now there is supposedly not a time limit on North Korean dencuclearization:

U.S. President Donald Trump says that there is “no time limit” on North Korea’s denuclearization, reiterating that negotiations with Pyongyang are a process.

Trump made the remarks to reporters on Tuesday at a meeting with members of Congress at the White House, explaining the outcome of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.

Trump said that discussions on dismantling North Korea’s nuclear weapons program are ongoing and progressing well, but stressed that there is “no rush for speed” to achieve the goal.

He added that the sanctions against Pyongyang are still in place and referenced the improving U.S.-North Korea relations as the North has refrained from missile tests for nine months and released three U.S. detainees in May.   [KBS World Radio]

You can read more at the link, but it may seem like more of the same in regards to North Korea negotiations.  However, I would not hit the panic button on this as long as the sanctions remain in place. The big question though is what is Kim Jong-un’s time limit?  At some point the regime is going to want the sanctions dropped for little to nothing in return.

A possibility is that the Trump administration’s new strategy may be to wait out the Kim regime.  Maybe the Trump administration understands now that the Kim regime will not denuclearize and instead just play along with negotiations while keeping the sanctions in place.  If North Korea eventually returns to making provocations this could be the excuse the Trump administration needs to take other actions against the regime.

Another example of USFK soldiers helping a Korean civilian injured in a traffic related accident:

Three American medical soldiers were in the “right place at the right time” on Friday the 13th.

Two Army nurses and a command driver were headed from the main U.S. military hospital at Yongsan Garrison in Seoul to a meeting at Camp Humphreys when they saw a woman injured in an accident on the highway near Osan, about 30 miles south of Seoul.

The trio, assigned to the Brian Allgood Army Community Hospital, stopped to help.

Col. Editha Ruiz, deputy commander for nursing, and 1st Lt. Alexander Seawright, a nurse, performed first aid while Spc. Won Seok Kim, the command driver, translated and helped keep others on the scene calm until an ambulance arrived.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but for those not familiar with Korea it is not uncommon to see other Koreans not assist other injured people due to concerns of liability lawsuits.

Condolences to the families and friends affected by this tragic helicopter crash:

A Marine Corps helicopter crashed at a military airport in the southeastern city of Pohang on Tuesday, killing five of the six Marines aboard and injuring the other, officials said.

The helicopter was on a test flight in Pohang, some 370 kilometers southeast of Seoul, after repair when it went down from a height of about 10 meters around 4:46 p.m. and caught fire, Marine Corps officials said.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

The English terms "liberal," "human rights," & "democracy" do not translate into analogous concepts in contemporary Korean society. https://t.co/ofAL4hT7q8

— Joshua Stanton (@freekorea_us) July 17, 2018

American actor Tom Cruise attends a publicity event in Seoul on July 16, 2018, to promote the 2018 American spy action film, “Mission: Impossible – Fallout.” The film will hit South Korean screens on July 25. (Yonhap)

It is bad enough that Russia and China actively undermine United Nations sanctions against the Kim regime, but now even South Korea is reportedly helping North Korea evade sanctions as well:

North Korea reportedly transported its coal to a third country via South Korea last year in violation of UN sanctions.

The Voice of America(VOA) issued the report on Tuesday, citing information released by an expert panel under the UN committee monitoring sanctions against North Korea.

The panel said that North Korea shipped its coal from Kholmsk Port in Russia to a third country two times via South Korean ports in Incheon and Pohang on October second and 11th last year.

Earlier this year, the panel said in its previous report that the South Korean ports were the final destinations of the North Korean coal. However, in the latest report, it said the shipments were likely headed to a third country, although it is unconfirmed.

Meanwhile, an official at the South Korean Foreign Ministry said that there is a need to confirm the findings of the report.

The UN Security Council Resolution 2371 adopted in August last year imposed a total ban on all exports of North Korean coal.  [KBS World Radio]

In honor of the 65th anniversary of the Korean War armistice it appears the North Koreans are prepared to hand over a large number of remains:

North Korea has agreed to hand over as many as 55 sets of remains believed to be from American troops killed in the 1950-53 war, and to allow the United States to fly them out of the country next week, a U.S. official said Tuesday.

The preliminary details emerged after U.S. and North Korean officials held working-level talks Monday in the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone.

The Americans planned to send transit cases via truck to the DMZ, where they would be given to the North Koreans to use for the remains. “They’re going to use our cases for the remains and give them back to us,” the official told Stars and Stripes.

A U.S. delegation was expected to retrieve the remains in North Korea and fly them out on July 27, either to Osan Air Base in South Korea or Hawaii, the official said, adding that the date may change as the two sides planned to iron out final details during another meeting in the near future.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but the North Koreans according to the article are supposedly not asking for anything in return for the remains.