The alcohol restriction for US military personnel in Japan due to a recent deadly drunk driving incident has been relaxed:

U.S. Forces Japan has loosened alcohol restrictions imposed after a fatal Nov. 19 vehicle accident involving a 21-year-old Marine on Okinawa.

The revised rules, which took effect at 4:30 p.m. Thursday local time, allow servicemembers to purchase alcoholic beverages on base and drink them in their on- or off-base homes, Maj. George Tobias, a 5th Air Force spokesman, told Stars and Stripes.

“The purchase or consumption of alcohol off-base is still not permitted with the exception of one’s own off-base residence,” he said.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but if personnel in Japan think the current restrictions on alcohol are bad, at least leadership in USFJ has not resorted to blood alcohol tests at the gate like we have seen in the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea many years ago.

Here is an interesting read from the Associated Press about what experts are saying about North Korea’s new ICBM:

North Korea released dozens of photos Thursday of the Hwasong-15, a new intercontinental ballistic missile it claims can reach any target in the continental United States. The photo dump, published in the paper and online editions of the ruling party’s official daily, is a goldmine for rocket experts trying to parse reality from bluster.

Their general conclusion is that it’s bigger, more advanced and comes with a domestically made mobile launcher that will make it harder than ever to pre-emptively destroy. But there’s a potentially major catch: it might not have the power to go much farther than the West Coast if it is loaded down with a real nuclear warhead, not a dummy like the one it carried in its test launch on Wednesday.  [Associated Press]

You can read more at the link, but experts are skeptical that the North Koreans have miniaturized their nuclear warhead to a low enough weight to where this ICBM can deliver it to the US West Coast.

In today’s day and age you have to be careful about every word you say as the ROK Defense Minister recently found out:

Of all the remarks to boost the morale of South Korean soldiers protecting the inter-Korean border, he picks the wrong one.

Making a sexual remark may boost male soldiers’ morale, but Defense Minister Song Young-moo chose the wrong place at the wrong time when he visited the Joint Security Area (JSA) Monday.

Two weeks after a North Korean soldier was shot five times when he dramatically escaped to the South through the JSA in the Panmunjeom truce village, Song visited the scene.

Besides checking out the scene, he met and encouraged South Korean soldiers for managing the incident well.

Song met the soldiers at a lunch in a mess hall, where he arrived late. Being apologetic, he cut short his talk so the soldiers would not have to wait long before eating.

“It’s not fun to listen to someone haranguing on and on before a food table,” Song said. “People say that the shorter speeches and miniskirts are the better, right?”

The soldiers replied with a thunderous “Yes, sir. ” Song finished his speech by saying he had come to the JSA to deliver the public’s praise for them for saving the badly wounded North Korean.

But Song’s “miniskirt” comment made headlines that suggested his choice of words was sexually offensive.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but add that to the list of banned speech that you can’t tell people you like miniskirts.

That's quite the trajectory pic.twitter.com/vQWWATN8Wc

— Scott LaFoy (@wslafoy) November 28, 2017

A visitor experiences a Virtual Reality survival game at “Play Box” at a theme park on Jeju Island on Nov. 29, 2017. (Yonhap)

It will be interesting to see how this plays out because I would think Korean Air probably retaliated against him after closely consulting with an army of lawyers on how to legally do it:

The whistle-blower who exposed the actions of the Korean Air chairman’s daughter who forced a plane to return to its gate in a tiff over macadamia nuts is suing her and the airline, accusing them of illegally demoting and ostracizing him.

“My case illustrates how those who say no to economic power in South Korea come under a systematic attack from their organization,” the whistle-blower, Park Chang-jin, said during a news conference on Monday. “I hope my case will help our society to think about the dignity and rights of common workers.”

The 2014 episode, which became known as a case of “nut rage,” led to international condemnation and ridicule of the chairman’s daughter, Cho Hyun-ah, after she became angry that a first-class flight attendant served the nuts without first asking her, then in an unopened package rather than on a plate, according to court documents.

Ms. Cho was vice president at the company at the time.  (…..)

Mr. Park took a leave of absence to recover from a psychological trauma. And when he returned to work in May of last year, Korean Air demoted him from cabin crew chief to flight attendant, citing what it called his poor English. He and his lawyers said the demotion was an illegal retaliation against his whistle-blowing.  [New York Times]

You can read more at the link.

It looks like all areas of the continental United States are now at risk of being a target of a North Korean ICBM:

North Korea launched an apparent new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) early Wednesday that reached an altitude of about 4,500 kilometers and traveled 960 kilometers before falling into the East Sea inside Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

The missile launch, which broke a 75-day lull in the North’s provocations, drew strong condemnation from South Korea as well as the international community.  (……)

“The ICBM Hwasong-15 type weaponry system is an intercontinental ballistic rocket tipped with super-large heavy warhead which is capable of striking the entire mainland of the U.S. ,” the statement said.

It added the new system has much greater advantages in its tactical and technological characteristics than the Hwasong-14 missile tested in July.

The repressive state launched Hwasong-14s twice, July 4 and 28. The first one flew 933 kilometers in 39 minutes and reached an altitude of 2,802 kilometers, while the second one flew 998 kilometers in 47 minutes after reaching an altitude of 3,724 kilometers.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but experts report this ICBM if fired at a nominal trajectory could range 13,000 kilometers.  That would put all areas of the continental United States within range.

Here is how the Blue House responded to the launch:

Soon after the test, President Moon Jae-in presided over a National Security Council meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, during which he strongly denounced the North for its “military brinkmanship.”

“North Korea must stop making reckless choices that will only lead to its isolation and collapse,” Moon said, urging the Kim regime to come to the negotiation table.

“The government will never sit back and watch these provocations,” he said.

The Chinese have issued their usual statement about how concerned they are after the launch:

China voiced its strong objection and concerns over North Korea’s latest missile test Wednesday, joining South Korea, the United States and Japan in denouncing the North’s first weapons test in nearly 11 weeks.

“China expresses its grave concerns about and opposition to North Korea’s missile launch activities,” foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in a press briefing.

Referring to the U.N.’s ban on North Korea’s ballistic missile activity, the spokesman said, “There are clear regulations on North Korean ballistic missile launches in United Nations Security Council resolutions.”

He also said, “China wants North Korea to stop any action that escalates tension on the Korean Peninsula.” He called on “other concerned countries” to act cautiously and maintain peace and security in the regional community.  [Yonhap]

At this point I wonder if the ROK and the Chinese just change the date on their press releases after North Korean provocations because the statements are similar after every incident.

For those that didn’t know abortion is still illegal in South Korea, but the law is hardly ever enforced.  The Moon Jae-in administration is now going to conduct a review on whether to legalize the practice of abortion:

Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday it will review the legitimacy of the nation’s anti-abortion law.

Cho Kuk, the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, said the government will begin the task by collecting more facts through research next year.

The announcement came after more than 230,000 people signed a petition against the law, which carries a sentence of up to one year or a maximum fine of 2 million won ($1,850) for a woman who has an abortion.

“The fetal right to live is critical, but the current law pushes abortions underground,” Cho said.“Besides, the law holds women accountable only, excluding men who are also responsible.”

“Based on the outcome of the research, we can take a step forward and begin a new debate.”

According to the government’s latest survey conducted in 2010, about 169,000 abortions were performed that year ― most of them (94 percent) were done illegally, but only about 10 people were indicted.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

If the American taxpayer has been wondering where and how the Department of Defense has been spending its money,… https://t.co/2s7wwlhnbD

— tomcoyner (@tomcoyner) November 27, 2017

Members of a conservative civic group march toward Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul holding the Korean national flag, or Taegukgi, during a rally to demand the release of the ex-President Park Geun-hye on Nov. 25, 2017. (Yonhap)