When debating North Koreans, it's best to be well-prepared for all contingencies. pic.twitter.com/CbkZHCxruy

— Bruce Klingner (@BruceKlingner) June 4, 2017

Participants at Hand in Hand in Seoul 2017, a regional queer choral festival, sing in central Seoul on June 3, 2017. (Yonhap)

Here is a win in the courts for the foreign English teacher community in South Korea:

A court has recognized foreign tutors at a private language institute as “employees” entitled to severance pay, rejecting the institute’s claim that they were self-employed.

Judge Oh Sang-yong of the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of five native English teachers at an unidentified private language institute in Seoul, Monday.

He ordered the institute to offer them 180 million won in severance pay and other unpaid allowances.

The institute had claimed the tutors were”self-employed” teachers paid by the hour so they were not entitled to severance pay. But the court ruled that the five were “employees” who had to act upon their contracts regulating their working hours, curriculum and other details. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but I would think the hagwons in South Korea will just modify the contracts in some way to get around this court ruling.

It looks like the propaganda goons over in Russia are busy spreading disinformation for Korean leftists to point to in order to claim THAAD is an offensive weapon system:

A top Russian defense official on Sunday accused South Korea and the U.S. of escalating tensions in Northeast Asia by deploying the powerful Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) on the Korean Peninsula.

Deputy Defense Minster Lt. Gen. Alexander Fomin claimed the missile system can be used for launching “long-distance attack missiles,” and should not be viewed exclusively as a defensive system.

“That’s why we are alarmed. It’s a direct threat to Russia,” he said, speaking at a plenary session of the 16th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

He pointed out the deployment of the THAAD system in South Korea has already begun.

“We are convinced that (the) ongoing (move) in the region under the auspices of the United States to deploy elements of a global missile defense (system) will not only not solve the existing problems on the Korean Peninsula, but, on the contrary, will only exacerbate them,” he said in English.

He added THAAD in Korea would also trigger a regional arms race and provoke the North to attack its enemies.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but to claim THAAD is an offensive system would be the same as claiming the Patriot missile defense batteries spread throughout South Korea are offensive systems well.  They are of course not offensive systems, they just for missile defense.  Why would the US military need these as offensive systems when there is already plenty of offensive strike capability in and around the peninsula?  The Russians know THAAD is not an offensive system, but they want leftists in South Korea to believe it is in order to stoke civil discontent against the deployment of the system.

Russia does not see the US-ROK alliance as being in their interest and are using the THAAD issue to drive a wedge in the alliance especially with the left wing President Moon Jae-in now in power.

Lest we forget. pic.twitter.com/wxxZ6jM9Yo

— Sam Crane (@UselessTree) June 3, 2017

Some 300 cattle are feeding on grass in a pasture in Daegwalnyeong, 182 km east of Seoul, on June 1, 2017, after being released from their sheds where they stayed during the long winter season. (Yonhap)

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

The THAAD battery already has what is called an initial operational capability, so this doesn’t stop the deployment of the THAAD battery as claimed.  All this announcement of an environmental assessment means is that the four additional launchers cannot be installed.  This ultimately means less THAAD interceptors to defend the country to appease those against the deployment:

The government will conduct a full-scale environmental study on the U.S. military’s deployment of a controversial antimissile battery in Korea, a senior security adviser to President Moon Jae-in said Thursday, stressing that the probe will delay the installment of the battery.

Chung Eui-yong, head of the National Security Office of the Blue House, addressed the latest controversy surrounding the U.S. deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or Thaad system. An investigation of top security officials from the previous administration is currently ongoing to find out if they intentionally withheld from the Moon government information on the delivery of four additional launchers for the system.

“In order to conduct a more thorough environmental-impact study, I think [the deployment] may take more time than originally planned,” Chung said. “But I cannot predict how long the environmental study will take.”

Chung made the remark as he arrived in Washington to meet with senior U.S. officials to prepare for the upcoming summit between Moon and U.S. President Donald Trump.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but does anyone else find it interesting that a one year environmental assessment needs to be done on a golf course that was dug into the top of the mountain whatever natural vegetation and wildlife there has already been developed over?  Are they going to assess the potential damage the launcher back blast area will have on the putting greens before it can be installed?

America should celebrate the Battle of Midway's anniversary but realize the next Pacific clash won't be so easy. https://t.co/oIqVDLLRlp

— Foreign Policy (@ForeignPolicy) June 2, 2017

An exhibition on Turkish soldiers who took part in the 1950-53 Korean War opens at the War Memorial Hall in Seoul on June 2, 2017, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. The event, jointly arranged by the hall and the Turkish Embassy, runs through Aug. 1. About 15,000 Turkish soldiers fought for South Korea against North Korea under the U.N. flag during the war. Of them, 765 were killed in action and 2,147 wounded. (Photo courtesy of War Memorial Hall) (Yonhap)