This photo carried by the North’s ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun on June 29, 2016, shows top leader Kim Jong-un posing with the people who contributed to the June 22 missile launch that the country claims was successful. Experts say flight analysis of the intermediate-range ballistic missile Hwasong-10, known as Musudan in the outside world, suggests advancement in the North’s missile technology. (Yonhap)

I wonder if the activists are willing to accept 6 out of 7 females failing the fitness test or will they they try and force the Marines to change the test to let more women qualify to be in frontline combat jobs?:

New physical standards established so women can compete for combat posts in the Marine Corps have weeded out many of the female hopefuls. But they’re also disqualifying some men, according to data obtained by The Associated Press.

In the last five months, six out of seven female recruits — and 40 out of about 1,500 male recruits — failed to pass the new regimen of pullups, ammunition-can lifts, a 3-mile run and combat maneuvers required to move on in training for combat jobs, according to the data.

The tests, taken about 45 days into basic training, force recruits who fail into other, less physically demanding Marine jobs. And that, the Marine commandant says, is making the Corps stronger.

The high failure rate for women, however, raises questions about how well integration can work, including in Marine infantry units where troops routinely slog for miles carrying packs weighed down with artillery shells and ammunition, and at any moment must be able to scale walls, dig in and fight in close combat.

The new standards are a product of the Pentagon’s decision to allow women to compete for front-line jobs, including infantry, artillery and other combat posts. But Marine leaders say they are having a broader impact by screening out less physically powerful Marines — both men and women.  [Marine Corps Times]

You can read more at the link, but remember this is just the fitness test; there is a lot more training that occurs that will further reduce the number of females who want frontline combat jobs.  I have always said that women who want to work frontline combat jobs should have the opportunity to do so, however be prepared for very small numbers which is exactly what is happening.

In the least surprising news of the day, the spies over at the NIS have disclosed that Kim Jong-un is fat and out of shape:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is currently suffering from insomnia, as well as diseases caused by obesity, South Korea’s intelligence agency said Friday, adding he has gained 40 kilograms over the past four years.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) said in its report to a meeting of the parliament’s intelligence committee that Kim is presumed to weigh 130 kilograms, a jump from 90 kilograms when he took office in 2012.

Rep. Lee Cheol-woo of the ruling Saenuri Party, who chairs the committee, said Kim is currently under great stress due to his safety, which has led to excessive binge eating and drinking.

Kim also fears that overseas media reports on his childhood may spread throughout Pyongyang, which may hurt his legitimacy as the leader of North Korea.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

It looks like the North Koreans could be up to no good again in the western islands:

South Korea’s military is on high alert for possible North Korean military provocations after the communist country increased the amount of weapons and troops on its western islands, government sources said Wednesday.

“North Korea has deployed weapons, surveillance assets and troops to its islands, Galdo and Arido, north of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea,” one government source said, asking not to be named. “Our (South Korean) military is mindful of the possibility of sudden provocations by the North in the region.”

The NLL is a de facto maritime border between the Koreas.

Possible provocations could include shelling attacks on South Korean warships or seizing South Korean fishing boats in the tense border areas, other sources indicated.

In response, the South Korean military has placed its troops on alert and increased its sea border surveillance using unmanned aerial vehicles, including Israel-made Heron drones, the sources said.

They said the North has recently installed military bunkers on the previously uninhabited Galdo and deployed about 60 military forces and six 122-millimeter multiple-launch rocket systems there.

A squad of 20 soldiers has been deployed on Arido, also formerly uninhabited, along with surveillance radar and a camera, according to the sources.  [Yonhap]

Internship Available at Law Firm in Seoul, Korea: We are looking for a dedicated intern that will work either… https://t.co/gzflSxWw5k

— Sean Hayes (@SeanHayes_) June 29, 2016

Visiting South Korean Vice Defense Minister Hwang In-moo (L) and his Laotian counterpart, Onsi Sensuk, pose after signing a letter of intent on the dispatch of military attaches to each other’s country at their talks in Vientiane, Laos, on June 30, 2016. The defense ministry provided this photo. (Yonhap)

This issue between the ROK government and Google continues:

South Korea will not give Google a license to use South Korean maps unless the company blurs out sensitive military installations on its mapping service, Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Wednesday.

Earlier this month, the United States search engine provider requested permission from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to access South Korea-supplied maps as part of efforts to upgrade its Google Maps service on South Korea.

It was Google’s second attempt to gain access to South Korean maps following its first unsuccessful trial in 2010.

“Because of (security) concerns, security-related ministries are insisting that (a license) would be possible only after proper measures are taken,” Han told the parliamentary committee on defense affairs, indicating key military facilities should be blurred out first before Google is allowed to use South Korean maps.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

Times are a changing and I am looking forward to the new recruiting commercials:

Transgender men and women can serve openly in the United States military following the repeal Thursday of Pentagon policies that forced them to keep their gender identities secret or risk a discharge.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter said those policies discriminated against “talented and trained Americans,” and did not represent the values of the United States military as he announced his decision at the Pentagon nearly a year after he vowed to repeal the ban. Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers blasted Carter’s decisions as “politics over policy” during a time of war.

“Our mission is to defend this country, and we don’t want barriers unrelated to a person’s qualification to serve preventing us from recruiting or retaining the soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine who can best accomplish the mission,” Carter said. “We have to have access to 100 percent of America’s population for our all-volunteer force to be able to recruit from among them the most highly qualified and to retain them.”

The new policy will be rolled out over a one-year period. Effectively immediately, Carter said, troops cannot be discharged, denied reenlistment or involuntarily separated solely because of their gender identity. But it will be about a year before the military begins to openly recruit transgender individuals to join the service. Even then it will only allow transgender individuals who have completed any gender-related medical treatment to join the military, and it will require certification from a doctor that they’ve been “stable in their preferred gender for 18 months,” according to Pentagon documents.  [Stars & Stripes]

Here is part of the policy I have concerns with.  Considering all the pay and benefits currently being taken away from troops the DoD some how found the money to pay for expensive sex change surgeries and hormone treatments?:

Also beginning Oct. 1, the Military Health System will begin providing transgender troops “all medically-necessary care” related to gender transition, Carter said. A military doctor will determine what medically-necessary care is needed for such individuals on a case-by-case basis. That care could include gender reassignment surgery or hormone therapy, a senior defense official said. It will not include any cosmetic surgery, added the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the policy publicly.

The costs to the military associated with allowing open transgender service will be relatively low, the defense official said. The military was only likely to incur about $4 million to $14 million per year in additional medical costs to provide the medically-necessary transition care.

You can read more at the link, but I also think this is all the more reason why there has to be one physical fitness standard now.  How is it fair that someone biologically male, but identifies as a female gets to take the female physical fitness test?  This puts them at an advantage against both male and female troops by taking an easier fitness test and thus scoring more points for promotion.

Is it time to scrap the KORUS FTA?  US Presidential candidate Donald Trump thinks so, but the ROK finance minister disagrees:

Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho refuted remarks by U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that the free trade agreement between Korea and the United States (KORUS FTA) undermines the American economy.

Minister Yoo made his remarks a day after Trump lambasted the KORUS FTA as “a job-killing deal” and said the deal “doubles our trade deficit with Korea and will destroy nearly 100,000 American jobs.”

Yoo also said joining the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is “very important” for countries in the Pacific region, a stance in stark contrast with Trump’s pledge that he will pull the U.S. out of the 12-nation body if he is elected.

“That will not help any people in the world,” Yoo said during an American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM Korea) General Membership Meeting.

Yoo said that Seoul acknowledges that some criticize the KORUS FTA citing the increased U.S. current account deficit, but stressed that the deal’s advantages “easily outweigh” the disadvantages.

“Trump’s remarks show that he does not understand the KORUS FTA,” Yoo said. “The sales of American automobiles in Korea soared by 28 percent annually, which makes Korea the second largest market for U.S. carmakers,” he said, adding that Samsung Electronics and Lotte Chemical have invested some $15 billion and $3 billion in the U.S., respectively.

Over Trump’s remarks, widely translated as protectionist, Yoo urged that the deal ― which marks its fourth anniversary this year ― should be consolidated further. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

Hopefully the relationship between Korea and Japan continues to improve where this summit does take place:

President Park Geun-hye plans to travel to Japan for a trilateral meeting with her Chinese and Japanese counterparts, according to Lee Joon-gyu, the nominee for Seoul’s ambassador to Tokyo, Wednesday.

This will be Park’s first trip to Japan since her inauguration in 2013. The visit is expected to spur normalization of the ties between the two countries, according to analysts.

This year, Japan holds the rotating chair of the trilateral talks, expected to take place in November following their foreign ministers’ talks in October, according to Japanese media outlets.

“The trilateral talks between Korea, China and Japan are scheduled to be held in the second half of the year in Japan and President Park’s visit for the meeting is expected to play an important role in bettering bilateral relations,” Lee said in a diplomatic forum.

“Both countries need to take advantage of this visit as an opportunity to advance bilateral ties.” [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.