A group of activists are floating a large balloon containing leaflets from Paju, north of Seoul, on May 28, 2016, to denounce North Korea’s sudden water discharge from Imjin River, located just north of the western demilitarized zone. This photo is provided by Fighters for Free Korea, an activist group composed of North Korean defectors. (Yonhap)
Here is an article that provides an update on the efforts by Thomas Hudner to repatriate Jesse Brown’s body from North Korea and have a US Navy ship named after him:
Thomas Hudner
Earlier this year, 91-year-old Thomas Hudner made a request to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus in a letter imbued with a sense of finality.
“It pains me to ask for any favor, but there is one last cause to which I must attend,” wrote Hudner, a Korean War Navy aviator, Medal of Honor recipient and namesake of a guided-missile destroyer to be commissioned in 2018.
Hudner requested a ship be named after fellow flyer Jesse Brown, the Navy’s first African-American aviator and among the first blacks to fly in the newly integrated armed forces. Brown crashed and died on a North Korea mountainside in 1950 during the infamous Battle of Chosin Reservoir.
Hudner was Brown’s wingman — the aviator who flies slightly behind to protect the lead pilot’s flank. Hudner spent the fleeting minutes after Brown’s crash trying to unpin him from his mangled Corsair fighter that ultimately was his deathtrap. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read more at the link, but I highly recommend reading the story about Hudner and Jesse Brown at the below link:
Hudner actually traveled to North Korea back in 2013 to help locate Jesse Brown’s remains, but was turned away from the search due to bad weather. He is now focusing his energy on getting a new US Navy ship named after his deceased friend.
Japan put its military on alert on Monday for a possible North Korean ballistic missile firing, while South Korea also said it had detected evidence of launch preparations, officials from Japan and South Korea said.
Tension in the region has been high since North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and followed that with a satellite launch and test launches of various missiles.
Japan ordered naval destroyers and anti-ballistic missile Patriot batteries to be ready to shoot down any projectile heading for Japan, Japan’s NHK state broadcaster said.
A Japanese official, who declined to be identified as he is not authorized to speak to the media, confirmed the order. A spokesmen for Japan’s defense ministry declined to comment.
A Patriot missile battery on the grounds of Japan’s Ministry of Defense had its missile tubes elevated to a firing position.
The South Korean defense official declined to comment on what type of missile might be launched but South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency said officials believe it would be an intermediate-range Musudan missile. [Reuters]
You can read more at the link, but what is significant about this is that the Musudan is the missile that the North Koreans have developed to specifically target the US territory of Guam and threaten US forces there with a nuclear strike. As it is now Kim Jong-un might just be happy if his Musudan gets up in the air much less reaching Guam.
That is what some experts in China believe when compared to his competitor Hillary Clinton:
China features prominently in the rhetoric of presumed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who accuses the country of stealing American jobs and cheating at global trade. In China though, he’s only just emerging as a public figure, despite notoriety elsewhere for his voluble utterances, high-profile businesses and reality TV shows.
Although the government has denounced Trump’s threats of economic retaliation, many Chinese observers see a silver lining in his focus on economic issues instead of human rights and political freedoms. That could make him an attractive alternative to his likely rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Trump “could in fact be the best president for China,” Hong Kong Phoenix Television political commentator Wu Jun said during a recent on-air discussion.
“That’s because the Republican Party is more practical and Trump is a businessman who puts his commercial interests above everything else,” Wu said. Clinton, on the other hand, “might be the least friendly president toward China.” [Associated Press]
You can read more at the link, but considering all of Clinton links to Chinese money it seems like she would be the preferred Chinese government candidate despite her human rights rhetoric.
Maybe this is the sign that the English language learning fervor in South Korea is beginning to decrease a bit:
Gyeonggi English Village, the first residential English camp in Korea located at Paju and Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi, is closing down after a decade of operation.
Gyeonggi English Village, which opened in April 2006, was created to give the public a place to experience English-speaking culture and learn the language in the context of everyday life.
The village has struggled with low attendance. Last year, approximately 22,000 people visited the English Village, or about 610 visitors per day. The village lent out ten of its 17 buildings to other organizations to augment its revenues. With the boom in private language academies and more students travelling abroad for language study, demand for the village’s more carefree classes was undercut. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
President Park Geun-hye meets with a South Korean soldier serving in South Sudan on a U.N. peacekeeping mission in a ceremony held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on May 27, 2016 to boost their morale, in this photo provided by her office. (Yonhap)
Does anyone think two weeks is enough training to make either a male or a female an infantryman?:
A sergeant in the Wyoming National Guard has become the Army’s first female enlisted infantry soldier.
Sgt. Shelby Atkins on Thursday graduated alongside 32 male soldiers from a two-week infantry qualification and transition course at Camp Guernsey Joint Training Center in Wyoming. The course was designed to train soldiers for the Wyoming Guard’s first infantry unit in more than 100 years.
“She’s the first female Army [noncommissioned officer] in the total Army to be granted the infantry [military occupational specialty],” said Jack Harrison, a spokesman for the National Guard Bureau. [Army Times]
It looks like if Ban Ki-moon wants the job as President of South Korea, it is his to lose:
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon pays his respects to seniors at the Hahoe Folk Village in Andong, North Gyeongsang, on Sunday. [JOINT PRESS COPRS]UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon led all potential presidential contenders in a poll after he made the strongest hint yet of a possible run in next year’s election.
In a poll conducted by the JoongAng Ilbo on Friday and Saturday of 1,000 eligible voters nationwide, respondents were asked who they would like to see as Korea’s next president. Ban topped the list with 28.4 percent, followed by Moon Jae-in of the Minjoo Party of Korea with 16.2 percent. Ahn Cheol-soo, co-leader of the People’s Party, came in third with 11.9 percent.
The poll was seen as a testament to Ban’s far-reaching appeal to voters and a favorable image formed by his 10-year leadership of the United Nations.
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who expressed an objection to Ban running, citing a UN resolution that calls on UN chiefs to refrain from taking government jobs, came in fourth with 7.2 percent, trailed by former Saenuri Chairman Kim Moo-sung with 4.2 percent.
In a three-way race with Moon and Ahn, both from the liberal bloc, Ban was far ahead of the two, with 45.7 percent of support, while Moon received 24.6 percent and Ahn had 20.1 percent. Of all respondents, 9.7 percent said they didn’t have a favorite. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read the rest at the link.
I have always liked Ban Ki-moon because when he was the foreign minister of South Korea he was the voice of sanity during the administration of Roh Moo-hyun. Even during the fervent anti-American years Ban Ki-moon would still visit US military installations in Korea to thank US servicemembers for their service. With that all said he is running the UN about as I expected. Ban is a consensus builder and not a change agent. He can run things low key and competently within an established framework which right now it appears this is what Korean voters want for their President.
