If Donald Trump does become President I think he will find out the same frustrations many other people have had in regards to trying to get China to fix North Korea:

Donald Trump said during the first presidential debate that “China should go into North Korea” to halt that country’s nuclear program and control its unpredictable leader, Kim Jong Un.

“China should solve the problem for us,” Trump said in Monday night’s debate. “China is totally powerful when it comes to North Korea.”

While China does hold a lot of sway over its belligerent communist neighbor and ally, what the Republican candidate said is very unlikely to happen. Here’s why:

• China is North Korea’s protector, chief trading partner and economic lifeline.Although China condemned North Korea’s latest nuclear weapons test on Sept. 9 — and agreed to sanctions in response to a test in January — Beijing shows no signs that it will actually crack down on North Korea.  [USA Today]

You can read the rest at the link, but from the Chinese perspective it makes perfect sense to back North Korea.  There would have to be major strategic shifts in the region for China to remove the Kim regime.

Over at Reddit I saw this link to a Daum blog that has some good historical photos of Seoul’s Myeongdong shopping district over the years.  For example here is a picture of Myeongdong back in 1930 during the Imperial Japanese colonial period:

You can see more photos at this link.

Here is an update in regards to one of the recent stories of senior military officers getting themselves in serious trouble.  This was the case that was going to be interesting going to trial because his lawyer was using the defense that the adultery regulation in the UCMJ is unfair because it only applies to heterosexual couples.  It would have been interesting to see how that defense would have played out which now we will never know:

The Air Force says a high-ranking officer who was charged with rape has been found dead in his off-base Colorado home.

Colorado Springs police Sgt. Tim Stanke says officers responded to a report of a suicide when they found the body of Col. Eugene Caughey on Sunday. Stanke says police are awaiting autopsy results.

The 46-year-old Caughey had been vice commander of the 50th Space Wing at Schriever Air Force Base outside Colorado Springs. The unit operates key military satellite systems.

Caughey was charged with adultery, indecent filming or photography, dereliction of duty and conduct unbecoming an officer.

Caughey is accused of raping a woman at Schriever Air Force Base, also in Colorado, in late 2014 or early 2015 while “holding her against the wall and floor using physical strength or violence,” court documents stated.

Prosecutors also accused him of photographing his exposed genitals while in uniform and groping women twice.

His court-martial was scheduled for Oct. 17.  [CBS News]

You can read more at the link.

After finding a stack of Jeju photos in his parent’s house, Pete DeMarco decided to follow in his father's footsteps https://t.co/P1Gw4wLfkl

— The Jeju Weekly (@JejuWeekly) September 26, 2016

I guess this makes sense considering how many soldiers are reportedly missing and the damage done to border checkpoints:

North Korea has hastily dispatched agents from its State Security Ministry to flood-damaged areas bordering China to block mass defections of residents there, a U.S. broadcaster, monitored in Seoul, reported Monday.

This summer, the North’s northeastern provinces adjacent to China were devastated by heavy rains accompanied by Typhoon Lionrock. The United Nations estimates that 138 North Koreans were killed and 400 others are missing in the country’s worst flooding in its history, with about 20,000 houses destroyed.

The North Korean authorities employed the step as defections have become easier as the heavy rains wrecked lots of border facilities, such as guard posts, and barbed-wire fences, the Radio Free Asia (RFA) said, citing a source in the North. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

This is an interesting idea where the city of Seoul is holding a flea market where foreign residents are the vendors:

A flea market opened in downtown Seoul on Sunday with foreign residents as vendors, as part of the city government’s efforts to provide them opportunities to integrate with citizens here.

About a hundred foreigners from some 40 teams selected by the Seoul Global Center gathered at Gwanghwamun Plaza early in the morning and sold various goods, ranging from used items to traditional handcrafts.

For graduate student Alex Gubo from Slovakia, the flea market was a platform to introduce his country’s culture to people living here. This was the second time for him to take part in the flea market event hosted by the Seoul Global Center.  (….)

Sunday’s event was the latest among similar ones that took place in April, May and June. The last flea market this year is slated for Oct. 23.

Any foreign residents can apply to take part in the event, free of charge, the center said, adding the application process is provided on its website on the first day of each scheduled month.

“This event enables foreigners and natives to come together as one by sharing diverse cultures,” said Shin Dong-hoon, an official at the center.

The regular foreigners’ flea market is part of a broader weekly market event run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government from April to October on every Sunday. The theme of the market varies every week.   [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

Condolences to all the friends and family members impacted by this training accident:

South Korea’s Navy said Tuesday that it had found the body of one of three crew members who were aboard a chopper that crashed into the sea off the country’s east coast a day earlier.

At around 6 p.m., the Navy found the body some 1,030 meters under the sea during its search operation that used a remotely operated underwater vehicle.

The body was confirmed to be the Lynx antisubmarine helicopter’s main pilot, identified only by his surname Kim. Along with Kim, a secondary pilot and a naval non-commissioned officer were aboard the crashed aircraft.

“Lieutenant Kim’s body was found just outside the helicopter, and we are trying now to find the rest of the missing crew,” a Navy official said, declining to be named.

The Navy also said it retrieved parts of the helicopter.

The helicopter sent out a distress signal and disappeared from radar eight minutes after it took off from an Aegis destroyer at 8:57 p.m. for a joint military drill between the South Korean and U.S. navies, a spokesman said in a briefing.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

This poll I think isn’t too surprising considering Ban Ki-moon’s name recognition within Korea and the fact he really isn’t tied to any bad scandals which makes him a safe pick in most people’s minds for President:

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon led in the latest support poll for South Korea’s next potential president, giving him yet another hopeful sign that he could defeat all other seasoned politicians now busy gearing up for the country’s highest office in next year’s election.

Ban topped the poll conducted by the JoongAng Ilbo of 1,000 adults nationwide by receiving 32.7 percent support from eligible voters, nearly twice that of Moon Jae-in’s 17.3 percent.

Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party received 8.1 percent while Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon received 4.2 percent, trailed by former Saenuri chairman Kim Moo-sung with 3.9 percent. Former Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon garnered 3.7 percent, followed by former Gyeonggi governor Sohn Hak-kyu with 3.2 percent.

The JoongAng’s poll, conducted on Sept. 20 and 21 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, comes at a time of growing speculation over whether Ban will declare his bid for presidential office upon completing his second term at the United Nations at the end of this year.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.

U.S., South Korea naval forces conduct exercise near North Korea border https://t.co/AiXHz1WcHY

— Elizabeth Shim (@GlobalAsianista) September 26, 2016