It is always amazing to see that even after all these years the US military continues to identify remains of servicemembers from the Korean War.  The latest remains identified were of Sergeant Wilson Meckley Jr. from Pennsylvania.  His remains were turned over by the North Koreans back in the 1990’s and were just recently identified through DNA analysis.  Welcome home Sergeant Meckley:

The Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Army Sgt. Wilson Meckley, Jr., 22, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, will be buried April 4 in Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C.  In November 1950, Meckley was assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, and was assembled with other soldiers into the 31st Regimental Combat Team, historically known as Task Force Faith.  While operating along the eastern banks of the Chosin Reservoir, elements of his unit were overwhelmed by Chinese People’s Volunteer Forces and were forced to withdraw to more defensible positions at Hagaru-ri.  During this withdrawal, Meckley was reported missing on  Dec. 2.  [Fox 43 via Twitter tip]

You can read the rest at the link.

You would think the Army would have waited to promote a story like this until after she had completed the basic infantry course.  You would think the PAO types would have learned this lesson after the embarrassment of the first female combat engineer enlistee who went AWOL:

A Louisiana woman is seeking to make history, enlisting to be the first female infantryman in the United States Army.

25-year-old Tammy Barnett raised her right hand in Shreveport, Louisiana, opting to join the US Army Infantry, a deviation from her original plans when she found out she could be first.

“I was going to go military police, but infantry is similar, and they are more on the front lines, like law enforcement here and I said that’s what I want to do,” said Barnett, a former police officer.

Barnett hopes to make history and lead the way for more women who want to go into the infantry.

“They told me that I would be the first female in history to go infantry in the military,” said Barnett.

“I hope that I give them the courage, because I’m a small female, if I can do it, they can do it too, this could give them the courage to step out of their comfort zone,” explained Barnett.  [Popular Military]

You can read more at the link, but she is going to be in for a rude awakening when she finds out that the infantry is nothing like being a policeman other than they are both proficient with shooting weapons.  Just for the record I continue to support women in combat arms roles as long as they meet the same standards as men.  For example I wonder if Ms. Barnett will have to pass the same physical fitness test and other physical requirements as her male infantry recruits?

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.

S. Korea polls put conservatives near double support ratings of main opposition. They won fewer seats. (Gallup data) pic.twitter.com/UkAknhQFCY

— Alastair Gale (@AlastairGale) April 14, 2016

It looks like President Park must have put some pressure on the Mexican government to go ahead and seize the North Korean ship they detained two years ago when it ran aground on a reef and the North Korean government refused to pay fees for its release:

Mexico has confiscated a North Korean commercial ship affiliated with a North Korean firm blacklisted by the U.N. Security Council for suspicions of shipping weapons of mass destruction, an official notice revealed Friday.

In an official gazette, the Mexican prosecution said it has decided to seize the 6,700-ton Mu Du Bong, adding the decision will immediately take effect.

The prosecution said the decision was largely based on consideration for government expenses such as mooring fees, which North Korea has been refusing, or unable, to pay.

However, decision also comes after the Mexican president, in a meeting with his South Korean counterpart earlier in the month, said his country will handle the North Korean ship in a manner that faithfully carries out its obligation as a member of the United Nations.

The North Korean freighter had been detained at Mexico’s Tuxpan port since July 2014 when it was rescued after becoming aground on a reef off the Mexican city. The ship was later determined to be affiliated with a North Korean firm blacklisted under U.N. Security Council resolutions aimed at punishing the communist North for its military provocations.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but I maintain that the US should pursue sanctions that not only allow the seizing of North Korean ships conducting illicit activity, but also the selling of them to pay reparations to the victims of the Kim regime’s various terrorist attacks and deadly provocations over the decades.

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.

Who knows where this Google Earth image is located and its significance?

2016 Korea Finder Leaders Board

1. Comfortable Chairs – 6
2. Smokes – 2, Dd – 2
3. MTB Rider – 1, JoeC – 1, Setnaffa – 1

This is the down side of free trade deals that Korean businesses are now experiencing which is competition with foreign brands to include in the tobacco industry:

Local tobacco-makers and farmers on Thursday questioned the Defense Ministry’s approval of foreign cigarettes on Korean military bases, saying it hurts national pride.

A welfare committee of the ministry approved the sale of foreign tobacco brands for the first time.

They include Marlboro Gold Original by U.S.-based Philip Morris, and Mevius LSS Wind Blue by Japanese maker JTI, according to Defense Ministry sources.

This will be the first time that foreign cigarettes are being sold at post exchange stores, effectively challenging the monopoly of KT&G. The move comes 10 years after the bidding process was opened up to foreign manufacturers in 2006.

The new brands approved by the ministry also includes Raison French Black and Bohem Cigar Slim Fit Brown by KT&G.  [Korea Herald]

You can read more at the link.

For NKorean defectors, the USB is mightier than the nuke. https://t.co/XOAqZnMj9g w/ @AlastairGale pic.twitter.com/35HNoh4OsK

— Sokeel Park 박석길 (@Sokeel) April 14, 2016

This undated photo shows a passport and Chinese documents held by one of the 13 North Korean restaurant workers stationed in China who participated in a successful group defection to South Korea last week. The photo, taken and kept by the restaurant operator, shows that the passport is marked as being for official use, as is commonly issued to North Koreans sent abroad to work. The document shows a foreigner’s registration of resident address in China. China’s foreign ministry had said that the defectors left the country carrying valid passports. (Yonhap)

Could you imagine what would happen to the US military if it soldiers were limited to a 41 hour work week?  Imagine what the over time bill would like after a year long deployment:

The German military, once the most feared fighting force in Europe, is being forced to lay down its weapons by restrictive new overtime limits.

German soldiers taking part in a four-week Nato exercise in Norway earlier this year had to leave after just 12 days because they had gone over their overtime limits, it has emerged.

Troops have complained to a parliamentary watchdog that they are being forced to spend entire days doing nothing under the new rules.  (…..)

Under the latest reforms, in force since January, the military working week has been reduced to 41 hours and troops can no longer be paid for working overtime.

Instead they must be compensated with alternate time off.

Mr Bertels, an MP appointed to oversee the armed forces, said the new rules had forced training camps to close at 4.30pm and left soldiers stranded on base.  [The Telegraph via reader tip]

You can read more at the link.