A sales clerk explains to a female customer about the functions of air conditioners at a home appliance shop in Seoul on Aug. 16, 2016. According to industry sources, the sales of air conditioners this year are expected to post an all-time high of 2.20 million units thanks to a month-long sweltering heat. (Yonhap)
Condolences to the families of these ROK sailors killed this week in what appears to be a horrible accident:
Three South Korean sailors were killed and another seriously injured in an apparent gas explosion Tuesday at a southeastern naval base, military officials said.
The blast occurred about 8:30 a.m. when the men were trying to open the hatch of a midget submarine undergoing repairs at South Korea’s Jinhae naval base, the officials said. The force of the blast tossed one of the sailors into the water.
Military authorities are investigating the cause of the explosion, but it appears to have been an accumulation of gas in the hull, the officials said. [Stars & Stripes]
Welcome to Korea Finder. The way this contest works is that each week a new image is posted and the first reader to accurately describe or locate the image gets a point. At the end of the year the reader with the highest amount of points will win a Korea related book of their choice.
A North Korean diplomat stationed in Britain left his post to seek asylum in another country earlier this month along with his wife and child, the latest in a series of defections by senior North Korean officials.
According to a source with in-depth knowledge of North Korea on Monday, the diplomat embarked on a defection journey “following a scrupulous plan” and was in the process of “landing in a third country as an asylum seeker.” In matters of defection, “third country” signifies a country that is neither North nor South Korea.
“The North Korean Embassy in Britain tried to find him, but it is said that it has failed,” said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but I would think the North Korean regime will probably now consider not allowing these diplomats to serve overseas with their families to prevent defections.
South Korean women’s volleyball players pose for a photo after defeating Cameroon 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-20) in their last Pool A match at the 31st Summer Olympic Games at Maracanazinho in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 14, 2016. South Korea clinched the third seed in its group and advanced to the quarterfinals. (Yonhap)
You would think the Japanese would have done this long ago considering the territorial threat they are facing from China. Adding these missile systems will make the Chinese think twice about any military adventurism that will cost them many ships plus it complicates enemy targeting:
Japan has decided to develop and deploy a land-to-sea missile system designed to enhance defense in the East China Sea at the same time it is embroiled in a tense standoff with China over the disputed Senkaku island chain, according to Japanese media reports.
Vehicle-mounted, GPS-guided missiles with a range of about 186 miles will be deployed to major southern islands such as Miyako in Okinawa Prefecture, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Sunday, citing unnamed sources, which is customary in Japan. The system’s cost will be proposed in the fiscal 2017 defense budget request slated for release in mid-September.
The Ministry of Defense, which would not deny the move to procure the system when reached Monday, aims to deploy the missiles around 2023. [Stars & Stripes]
It looks like some Korean politicians needed a bump in the polls by making a Dokdo trip:
Taean County head Han Sang-ki (2nd from L) delivers a stone from South Korea’s westernmost island to Ulleung County head Choi Soo-il (2nd from R) during their visit to the nation’s easternmost islets of Dokdo on Aug. 15, 2016. (Yonhap)
A group of South Korean lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties visited their country’s easternmost islets of Dokdo on Monday as the nation celebrated the 71st anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule.
The group of 10 lawmakers, led by Saenuri Party Rep. Na Kyung-won, said the trip was intended to reassert South Korea’s sovereignty of the islets and was an “inherent” part of their parliamentary activities.
It is the first such trip by South Korean lawmakers since Aug. 14, 2013, when another group of lawmakers traveled to the islets to counter Japan’s territorial claims to Dokdo.
“(I) hope that there will be more such visits in the future,” Na told Yonhap News Agency over the phone. “More attention and support (for Dokdo) on the part of the National Assembly is needed.” [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but I think the assemblyman is right that they need to do more to show their support for Dokdo. First of all they should have taken picture of all them trying to eat a Japanese flag. After that one of them should have chopped their finger off, while another stuck a knife in their gut, followed by drinking weed killer. Finally one of them should have covered themselves in bees while holding a sign declaring Dokdo as Korean territory.
That is how real defenders of Dokdo show their patriotism! This group of National Assemblymen are just amateurs with much to learn.
This photo shows Lotte Skyhill Seongju Country Club in the namesake county, 296 kilometers southeast of Seoul. The club and its vicinity rapidly emerge as an alternative candidate site for the U.S. anti-missile system, called Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), instead of an originally-planned site in the same county amid local residents’ vehement opposition to the deployment, citing health problems. Lotte Skyhill provided the photo. (Yonhap)
