The defense ministers of South Korea and the United States are shown in this picture, provided by Seoul’s defense ministry, on Jan. 27, 2018, walking to the venue for a summit, in the U.S. Pacific Command in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Yonhap)
Here is yet another example of how the North Koreans are continuing to try and separate the ROK and the US:
North Korea strongly condemned the South Korea-U.S. alliance Saturday, accusing their joint defense efforts of being aimed at toppling its communist regime and saying such efforts may also lead to an end of ongoing dialogue between the two Koreas.
“The South Korean government must realize its foul military consultation with the U.S. may be a foolish act that will put out the hard-earned chance of improving the North-South relationship and ruin its own fate,” Rodong Sinmun, a daily newspaper published by the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, said in a signed commentary.
The commentary was largely aimed at criticizing the two-plus-two Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group talks held last week between Seoul and Washington, in which the allies agreed to continue maintaining U.S. defense assets around the Korean Peninsula.
However, it also came one day after the allies confirmed a resumption of their delayed joint military drills in South Korea immediately following the 2018 Winter Olympic Games to be held in South Korea’s PyeongChang from Feb. 9-25.
“The exact date and size of the planned joint exercises cannot be disclosed, but they will be carried out after the close of the Olympics,” Seoul’s defense ministry said Friday. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but what this all means that after the Winter Olympics expect more provocations which the Kim regime will use US-ROK military exercises as an excuse to execute.
South Korea celebrates the upcoming Olympics with torch relays while in comparison North Korea conducts a threatening military parade:
North Korea is gearing up for an “extremely large-scale” military parade that will likely fall on Feb. 8, its army founding day and the eve of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, South Korea’s Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said Friday.
Cho, speaking at a forum hosted by the Korea Peace Foundation in Jung District, central Seoul, confirmed local speculation that Pyongyang was preparing to show off its military even as both Koreas have been on convivial terms lately, saying there was a “high possibility” that the North would make it a “threatening” event by showcasing “nearly every troop and weapon” it has.
The parade, said Cho, is expected to be held at Mirim Airport on the outskirts of Pyongyang, as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un tries to solidify his leadership by using the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the Korean People’s Army and the regime. [Joong Ang Ilbo via reader tip]
Here is another great read from ROK Drop favorite B.R. Myers who discusses how the likely ultimate goal of the current Inter-Korean talks is to lead to Seoul being able to circumvent UN sanctions:
It seems very likely, then, that the North and South had discussed the Games and agreed on key points well before Kim Jong Un’s “surprising” reference to the event in his New Year’s address. In another sign of close coordination, key phrases from that speech turned up in the joint statement issued after the first talks.
I have seen a few American op-eds warning Moon not to be naive, but I don’t believe he seriously expects the current round of talks to make the North more amenable to discussing disarmament. Regardless of his astute rhetoric to the contrary, which is aimed at Washington, denuclearization is not a priority to him or the left in general, which has long seen the North’s nuclear program as America’s problem, and no serious threat to the South.
The two Korean governments are now getting on so well because they share the short-term objective of making the North look better despite its refusal to disarm — better to the South Korean people above all, but also to the world community, whose support is vital if the South is to regain its ethnic license to bypass UN sanctions on the North. It’s hardly unrealistic for Moon to hope for such a result. [B.R. Myers]
As I have been saying repeatedly the glamorization of North Korea’s Masik Ski Resort and Mt. Geumgang are all intended to convince both the domestic and international public that South Korea should be able to restart tours to North Korea. These tours were a major cash cow for the Kim regime before they were shut down in 2008 after a South Korean grandma was shot in the back and killed by a North Korean soldier.
Here is another passage from his article I think has a lot of truth to it in regards to describing the younger generation in South Korea:
It wouldn’t do, in any case, to make too much of young people’s dissatisfaction about either the hockey team or the planned entrance into the stadium under the peninsula flag. Moon is right in distinguishing it from principled opposition to inter-Korean reconciliation. (Not that he would be put off by that either.) As I have written before, the young here generally shift between nationalism and state spirit depending on which of the two requires less action or sacrifice from them at the time in question.
The lack of strong ideological education in support of the ROK nation before one’s self is something the Kim regime is clearly taking advantage of to push their agenda.
Anyway as alway I recommend reading all of B.R. Myers article at the link.
South Korean Oceans Minister Kim Young-choon (C) attends a ceremony at the King Sejong Station on King George Island, near the northern part of the Antarctic, on Jan. 23, 2018, to bury a time capsule to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the country’s first polar research institute in the continent, in this photo released by the maritime ministry. Members of the King Sejong Station sealed their personal belongings, equipment and photos in the time capsule, which will be opened 70 years later to mark the base’s centennial. (Yonhap)
Via a reader tip comes yet another example of how North Korea continues to violate sanctions:
Japan has told the United Nations about a North Korean tanker spotted in the East China Sea that it suspects was engaged in a transfer of goods with another tanker in defiance of U.N. sanctions, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons and missiles capable of hitting the United States has spurred deepening U.N. Security Council sanctions and stoked fears of a military conflict.
According to a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, the North Korean-flagged tanker “Rye Song Gang 1” – blacklisted by the United Nations last month for carrying banned cargo – was spotted by a Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force patrol plane with the Dominican-flagged tanker “Yuk Tung” tied up beside it in the East China Sea on Saturday.
The two boats were lit up and some kind of activity was taking place, the Foreign Ministry said, adding that the Japanese government strongly suspected them of transferring goods in violation of the U.N. sanctions. [Reuters]
You can read more at the link, but at some point it seems something has to be done to stop this activity instead of just watching it happen.
This photo captures a moment after firefighters put out a fire that broke out at a hospital in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, on Jan. 26, 2018. (Yonhap)
A fire gutted the ground floor of a hospital in southeastern South Korea and sent toxic fumes raging through the six-story building, killing at least 37 people and injuring 131 others in one of the country’s deadliest blazes in a decade.
Nearly 180 people were inside Sejong Hospital in Miryang, some 280 kilometers southeast of Seoul, when the fire broke out around 7:30 a.m. Witnesses said they first saw smoke coming from the hospital’s emergency room or a dressing room for nurses next to it.
The death toll was reported to have climbed to 41, but officials later corrected it, saying some victims were counted twice. Still, the toll could rise further as 18 of the injured are in serious condition, officials said.
The fire completely burned the hospital’s first floor, but didn’t reach the higher levels. But smoke was seen billowing from windows on higher floors, and most of the fatal victims were believed to have died from inhaling toxic gas. The dead included one doctor and two nurses. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but I wonder if we are going to find out later that emergency exits were blocked or locked contributing to the death toll?
Via a reader tip comes this article about another free agent signing by South Korea for the upcoming Olympic Games. At least he earned his spot on the team and did not have it handed to him like the North Korean female ice hockey players:
In 2013-14, without much to lose, he signed with Anyang Halla, a team based about 12 miles south of Seoul, South Korea. He was driven to his apartment directly from the airport but couldn’t sleep because of jet lag. So he walked around the city and took it all in — the skyscrapers, the frantic bustling on the streets, the colorful billboards, all in a language he did not recognize. “What did I sign up for?” he wondered.
Five years later, Testwuide’s hockey career has been revived. He has rediscovered his passion for the game. He’s playing some of the best hockey of his life. In fact, Testwuide is getting ready to play on the world’s biggest stage, as an Olympian — and with a South Korean flag stitched to his jersey.
The tale of how a kid from Colorado became a South Korean citizen — with no connections or roots to the country — is quite remarkable. That Testwuide is preparing to be an Olympian is unfathomable, even to him. [ESPN]
You can read the rest at the link, but it is unclear from the article if he still has US citizenship or not. If he has dual citizenship then he gets the benefits of both playing in the Olympics and still being an American.
