A tank with the North Korean flag and soldiers in North Korean uniforms cross the Nakdong River during a re-enactment of a crucial battle of the 1950-53 Korean War along the river in Chilgok, about 280 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Sept. 22, 2016. The event is designed to mark the victory which historians say decisively turned the tide of the conflict in favor of the U.N. forces fighting for South Korea. (Yonhap)

It looks like the US military is trying to find different ways to respond to North Korean provocations other than simply flying over the peninsula:

Two U.S. Air Force B-1B strategic bombers this week made the closest-ever flight to North Korea to warn the communist country against any further provocations, the U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) said Thursday.

North Korea conducted its fifth underground nuclear test on Sept. 9, despite international condemnations and sanctions imposed after the previous nuke detonation in January. The latest provocation came on the heels of the launch of three ballistic missiles four days earlier.

One of the two B-1B Lancers landed on Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, after flying over the skies of South Korea on Wednesday. The other returned to Andersen Air Base in Guam the same day.

“It was the first time a Lancer landed on the Korean Peninsula in 20 years (since 1996),” the USPACOM’s website showed.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

It appears the ROK has put a lot of thought into killing Kim Jong-un if war was to break out:

South Korea’s defense ministry is planning a special force that could remove Kim Jong Un from power.

Defense Minister Han Min-koo also said Seoul needs to maintain the number of full-time troops at 500,000 or more if it is to resist an armed North Korean invasion, South Korean news network YTN reported Wednesday.

Han told lawmakers at South Korea’s National Assembly there is “a plan” to assemble a unit that could target the North Korean leadership, referring to a plan known as the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation, or KMPR, local news service News 1 reported.

“If it becomes clear the enemy intends to use nuclear-tipped missiles, in order to suppress its aims, the concept [of the special forces] is to retaliate against key areas that include the North Korean leadership,” Han said Wednesday.

KMPR is part of a “three-axis system” in South Korea’s military that includes Seoul’s homegrown anti-missile systems, the Korean Air and Missile Defense, or KAMD, and Kill Chain, a pre-emptive strike system.  [UPI]

You can read more at the link.

I wonder how many people in the Kim regime even use this limited Internet service?  I also wonder what memes they post on their social network service?

Someone in North Korea is in a lot of trouble.

The secretive state somehow accidentally opened access to all the websites hosted on its servers, revealing that it only has 28 registered domains.

On Monday at around 10 p.m. Pacific time, North Korea’s nameserver – that contains information about all of the “.kp” websites – was misconfigured, allowing it to be accessed. This meant Matthew Bryant, a researcher, was able to access the domain names and some of the file data about the site.

Bryant dumped all of this on Github – a site that hosts computer code. It’s the first real look into the secret online world of the hermit state North Korea.

Some of the websites take a long time to load and some are inaccessible. Among the 28 sites listed is one called Air Koryo, a flight booking site, and one named Friend, presumably some sort of social network.

One website that has always been accessible outside of North Korea is the Korean Central News Agency – the state-run propaganda site.

A Reddit page lists all of the websites discovered and below are some examples of the sites.  [CNBC]

Holy-shit map of the day: China has area-denial capability over most of the South China Sea https://t.co/ZTBeexeKHs pic.twitter.com/jhxhcs3mky

— Max Fisher (@Max_Fisher) September 21, 2016

A B-1B Lancer bomber (L) deployed by the U.S. military and two South Korean F-15K fighters fly over Osan Air Base, south of Seoul, on Sept. 21, 2016, in this photo released by the South Korean Air Force. The bomber is one of the two B-1B Lancer bombers that the United States deployed the same day from Guam to show its strong commitment to its key Asian ally amid evolving threats from North Korea. It marks the first time for a B-1B Lancer bomber to have made a landing in South Korea. (Yonhap)

Considering how South Korea faces constant threats of nuclear annihilation from the North, it would be interesting to see what China’s complaints would be against a South Korean nuclear deterrent when they have done nothing to stop North Korea:

South Korea’s ruling and opposition parties on Wednesday continued to debate over whether Seoul should consider its own nuclear armament as an option to defend the country amid escalating tension on the Korean Peninsula sparked by Pyongyang’s provocations.

Following North Korea’s launch of submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) as well as its fifth nuclear test, a rising number of hawkish lawmakers, mainly from the ruling Saenuri Party, claimed that South Korea must consider developing its own nuclear weapon.

“We need to consider every option, including deploying tactical nuclear weapons, developing our own nukes, striking North Korea’s related facilities, and demolishing Kim Jong-un’s regime,” Rep. Lee Cheol-woo of Saenuri said during an interpellation session held at the National Assembly.

“South Korea should not delay the move in fear of international sanctions or possible discord with China. This is a chance to conclude North Korea’s nuke issue once and for all,” Lee added.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

It looks like the North Koreans are doing the Park administration a favor with their continued provocations:

Opposition parties are toning down their opposition to the Park Geun-hye administration’s plan to allow the deployment of a controversial U.S. antimissile system.

Following the North’s continuing nuclear and missile provocations, South Korea and the United States agreed that a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) battery will be deployed in the South.

China and Russia have protested the decision, expressing concern that its powerful radar could be used to spy on their territories.

“Our only bargaining chip with China is Thaad,” said Ahn Cheol-soo, former chairman of the People’s Party, during an interview on Monday. “If China agrees to sanction the North, we should recant the deployment plan. That should be our negotiation strategy.”

Ahn’s remark was a departure from the People’s Party’s adamant opposition to the Thaad deployment plan, as it can be interpreted that the party will not disagree with the deployment if China does not aggressively punish the North.

Rep. Joo Seong-yong, a senior party official, also told reporters on Monday that the party will follow the decision of the National Assembly.

The People’s Party formally expressed its opposition to the Thaad deployment as its party line in July. It has also urged other opposition lawmakers to join its protest. The latest remarks by the top party official, therefore, suggest a change.

Sources in the party said concern grew about reactions to its protests after the North’s fifth nuclear test. “Public opposition to Thaad weakened,” a party official said. “And there was a possibility of a sixth nuclear test. The sense of risk grew inside the party that we may gain nothing by insisting on our protest.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but it sounds like the Korean left is saying that they never did care about people’s health and their protests were all politically driven.

https://twitter.com/pearswick/status/776249653352214528

This photo, released by North Korea’s ruling party organ Rodong Sinmun on Sept. 20, 2016, shows a ground test of a new high-power rocket engine being carried out at the country’s Sohae satellite launch site. The (North) Korean Central News Agency reported leader Kim Jong-un supervised the successful test, which provides sufficient carrier capability to launch various kinds of satellites. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)