I wonder if any of these people knew there were going to be arrested as soon as they got on the airplane:

South Korean nationals who had been detained in Cambodia arrive at Incheon International Airport, just west of Seoul, under police escort on Oct. 18, 2025. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

 A total of 64 South Koreans who had been detained in Cambodia over alleged online scams arrived home early Saturday on a chartered flight and most of them would face criminal probes as suspects, police officials said. 

The large-scale repatriation came after the torture death of a South Korean college student who was lured to work by a criminal ring in Cambodia that triggered public outrage in South Korea. 

The Korean Air plane carrying them arrived at Incheon International Airport at 8:35 a.m., about five hours after leaving Techo International Airport near Phnom Penh.

Their arrival came days after a South Korean government response team was dispatched to Cambodia to assist the Korean nationals implicated in online scams run by local crime organizations.

The South Korean nationals were reportedly placed under arrest once they boarded the plane and were set to be taken to police stations nationwide for investigations about their alleged involvement in criminal activity.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but it appears these Koreans are suspected of helping the Chinese gangs to lure Koreans to Cambodia to be exploited. Their defense will probably be that they were forced to it by the gangs. This is definitely a mess for the ROK authorities to figure out.

At this point there really is no reason for the Kim regime to pursue diplomacy with the U.S. They are currently getting all the aid and support they need from the Russians. If the Ukraine-Russia end then the Kim regime may look for a new source of aid. If that is the case diplomacy with South Korea and the U.S. would make more sense:

South Korea’s Ambassador to the United States Kang Kyung-wha speaks during a parliamentary audit at the South Korean mission to the U.N. in New York on Oct. 17, 2025. (Yonhap)

 South Korea’s top envoy to the United States said Friday that there is no indication yet that U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit set to open in Korea later this month.

Ambassador Kang Kyung-wha made the remarks during a parliamentary audit at the South Korean mission to the U.N. in New York, amid lingering speculation that Trump could seek reengagement with Kim when he visits Korea for the APEC gathering slated to take place in the southeastern city of Gyeongju on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.

“President Trump has said he is open to dialogue, and North Korea has also shown an indication (leaning toward dialogue). But there is no sign yet that something will materialize on the occasion of the APEC (summit),” Kang said during the audit session of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.

It makes sense that both these leaders would want to make official visits with President Lee since they will both be in Gyeongju for the APEC summit:

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are both likely to pay state visits to South Korea during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering later this month, diplomatic sources said Thursday. 

Seoul is in talks with Washington and Beijing over the arrangements for the highly anticipated trips by the two leaders and is fine-tuning details to host both with a state visit, the sources said.

A state visit is the highest form of diplomatic visit by a foreign head of state, during which the host country extends the utmost ceremonial protocol, including an elaborate official welcome with military honors and a state banquet.

If realized, their visits would take place in Gyeongju, the host city for APEC in southeastern South Korea, rather than Seoul, possibly in a simplified manner in terms of the protocol, considering the schedules coinciding with the multilateral gathering, the sources said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The popular U.S. burger chain In-N-Out held a one day pop-up store in Gangnam where people waited up to five hours for a burger:

In-N-Out pop-up store in southern Seoul on Oct. 15. [CHO YONG-JUN]

The customer first in line arrived at 3 a.m., according to the restaurant manager of Schedule Cheongdam. 
  
They lined up in Apgujeong in southern Gangnam on Wednesday, not for some boutique store, a K-pop pop-up event or a Michelin-starred restaurant, but for In-N-Out. 
  
However, there were only 500-or-so burgers prepared and by the time this reporter visited the restaurant, five minutes before 2 p.m., they were all long gone. 
  
In-N-Out returned to Korea — for just a half a day — on Wednesday as a half-day pop-up store. Despite being the fifth time the popular American hamburger chain has opened a pop-up store in the country, it still didn’t stop Koreans from lining up for the burgers.

“I’ve tasted many different burger brands, but I never had In-N-Out until today, and they are really good,” Cho Ha-young, a 22-year-old customer who waited for almost five hours for the In-N-Out pop-up on Wednesday, told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but In-N-Out hosts one day pop-up stores every 2-3 years in order to maintain their trademark in Korea. If they didn’t do this some other restaurant could use the name In-N-Out in Korea.

For all the people complaining about the U.S. selling aircraft to Qatar and other Muslim nations, here is the alternative China sells them the aircraft instead:

Indonesia’s top defense official said Wednesday that Jakarta will acquire at least 42 Chinese-made Chengdu J-10C fighter jets, marking the country’s first non-Western aircraft purchase deal. Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin told reporters in the capital, Jakarta, t

hat Indonesia would soon buy fighter jets from China as part of a plan to modernize its military. Analysts said the deal could touch regional sensitivities and have geopolitical implications. “They will be flying over Jakarta soon,” Sjamsoeddin said. He declined to provide further details of the purchase.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link