Unfortunately President Lee will have to wait for another time to meet with President Trump because he is busy right now trying to determine whether to end the Iranian regime:
President Lee Jae Myung’s envisioned meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Canada won’t take place as Trump abruptly left the Group of Seven (G7) summit earlier than scheduled, Lee’s office said.
Lee’s office had been arranging the first in-person meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit, but the White House said Trump will return home Monday night due to the deadly Israel-Iran conflict, dashing hopes for Lee to have talks with Trump during the gathering.
“As Trump suddenly returned today, it has become difficult to hold the Korea-U.S. summit that was scheduled for tomorrow. It appears to be related to the military conflict between Israel and Iran,” National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac told reporters in Calgary.
You can read more at the link, but on the topic of ending the Iranian regime does anyone else find it despicable how many American leftists are on social media cheering on the Iranians against Israel? Ironically these same people cheering on the Iranians probably have coexist stickers on their cars and wave gay pride flags.
I am not sure why a South Korean would want to be in Iran in the first place, but it is probably a good time to get out there because the end of the regime could be near:
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday raised its travel advisory for Iran and Israel, urging its nationals to leave the countries immediately in response to ongoing missile strikes between Israel and Iran.
Effective from 1 p.m. Wednesday, Seoul time, the updated travel alert expands the existing Level 3 advisory — which recommends departure — to cover the entire country.
Previously, the Level 3 alert, part of the four-tier travel advisory system in which Level 4 constitutes a travel ban, applied only to certain regions within Iran.
“Accordingly, South Korean nationals currently staying in Iran are advised to leave the country as quickly as possible, following guidance from the diplomatic mission, while paying special attention to their personal safety,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
You can read more at the link.
Via a reader tip comes this news that North Korea is discharging enriched uranium wastewater into a river that flows into the West Sea potentially polluting South Korean waters:
North Korea operates a critical uranium refining facility in North Hwanghae province’s Pyongsan county that serves as a critical link in its nuclear weapons chain. The plant converts mined uranium ore into yellowcake concentrate—essentially purified uranium ready for the next stage of weapons production. This yellowcake then travels to the Yongbyon Nuclear Complex, among other facilities, where scientists enrich it to the high levels needed for nuclear bombs.
Waste generated at the Pyongsan uranium facility has historically been sent to a reservoir across the river for sedimentation. However, satellite imagery has captured evidence that as the sedimentation pond reached capacity, North Korea began discharging wastewater directly into the river system.
You can read more at the link, but interestingly I have heard nothing from the Korean left denouncing this pollution unlike what we saw when Japan discharge far less dangerous wastewater from their nuclear facility far from Korean waters.
It appears that the North Koreans are doubling down on their military cooperation with Russia:
North Korea will send 5,000 military construction workers and 1,000 sappers to Russia’s Kursk region, Russian media reports said Tuesday, in another possible sign of their deepening military alignment as Moscow’s security chief visited Pyongyang for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The announcement came as Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu visited the North Korean capital on a special mission from Russian President Vladimir Putin and held talks with Kim earlier in the day, as the two countries prepare to mark the first anniversary of their mutual defense treaty.
“Chairman of the State Affairs of the DPRK Kim Jong-un has decided to send 1,000 sappers to Russia to clear mines on Russian territory, as well as 5,000 military construction workers to restore infrastructure destroyed by the occupiers,” Tass quoted Shoigu as saying, referring to the North by the acronym of its official name.
You can read more at the link, but I think it can be argued that North Korea’s involvement in the war with Ukraine has been highly successful for them. The Kim regime has received much needed monetary and military aid from Russia and their troops received much needed combat experience. Additionally when their troops do eventually return they can say they defeated the Ukrainians which they have actually largely done in Kursk province.
With the Ukrainians largely defeated in Kursk province now it will be interesting to see if the North Korean Soldiers are used anywhere else on the frontlines of this war:
A wounded soldier, suspected to be North Korean and captured by Ukrainian forces in Russia’s western Kursk region, is seen in this file photo posted on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s X account on Jan. 12, 2025.
North Korea is estimated to have sustained more than 6,000 casualties in fighting against Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region, more than half of the troops Pyongyang initially deployed, according to Britain’s defense ministry.
The ministry shared the assessment in an X post Sunday, two months after its earlier estimate of over 5,000 North Korean troop casualties in Russia’s western front-line region of Kursk in early April.
“The total casualties amount to more than half of the approximately 11,000 DPRK troops initially deployed to the Kursk region,” it said. “Significant DPRK casualty rates have almost certainly been sustained primarily through large, highly attritional dismounted assaults.”
You can read more at the link.
It looks like former President Yoon’s wife is trying the tried and true hospitalization tactic to avoid investigations and going to court:
Former first lady Kim Keon Hee, the wife of ousted President Yook Suk Yeol, was hospitalized on Monday at a medical center in Seoul for an undisclosed illness.
She was admitted to Seoul Asan Medical Center in eastern Seoul, where she has been receiving outpatient treatment for health issues. Her health condition was reported to be not critical.
Kim’s hospitalization came after President Lee Jae-myung named Min Joong-ki, former chief of the Seoul Central District Court, last week to lead a special counsel probe into Kim over various allegations, including stock price manipulation, her acceptance of a luxury bag and interference with the election nomination process, with preparations under way for the official launch of the probe.
Her health has reportedly deteriorated since November, when allegations of influence peddling in the 2022 parliamentary by-elections emerged.
Last month, she failed to comply with a summons from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office regarding the case, submitting a letter explaining health issues as the reason for her absence.
You can read more at the link.
