It looks like USFK’s airpower could see a signficant increase if this news become reality:

The U.S. military is considering the permanent deployment of advanced F-35A radar-evading fighter jets to South Korea, a source said Sunday.

The deployment, if realized, would mark a major addition to U.S. air assets in South Korea, which consist mostly of older-generation F-16 fighter jets. F-35s have previously only been temporarily deployed for joint training.

“The U.S. military has a concept of permanently deploying F-35As at Kunsan Air Base,” the source said. “It will first deploy one squadron, and there is a possibility of rotationally deploying another squadron.”

A squadron is an Air Force unit made up of around 20 aircraft.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Not that there was ever any doubt, but Lee Mae-myung is the official Democratic Party candidate now for the Korean Presidential election scheduled for June 3rd:

Former Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung, who has made economic recovery and talks with North Korea his top priority, won the party’s presidential nomination Sunday and solidified his stance as front-runner for the June 3 presidential election.

Lee, a human rights lawyer-turned-politician, won 89.77 percent of all votes cast in the party’s primary, becoming the party’s formal presidential candidate for the second time, after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office over his failed martial law bid. 

This marks the highest figure ever recorded in a presidential primary among DP-affiliated candidates since South Korea achieved its full-fledged democracy in 1987.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

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

That would be pretty impressive if South Korea becomes one of the first countries to secure and trade deal with the Trump administration. With that said what will be interesting is if it stays in effect when a new President takes over Korea:

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described high-level trade talks with South Korea in Washington on Thursday as “very successful,” noting that Seoul came with its “A-game” and anticipating that the allies will discuss “technical terms” as early as next week.

Bessent made the remarks in an interview with CNN, after he and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer met with Seoul’s Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun for their “two-plus-two” trade consultations at the Department of the Treasury.

“We had a very successful bilateral meeting with the Republic of Korea today. We may be moving faster than I thought,” Bessent said, referring to South Korea by its official name.

“We will be talking (about) technical terms as early as next week as we reach that agreement on understanding as soon as next week. So the South Koreans came early. They came with their A game, and we will see if they follow through on that,” he added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like former President Moon may continue the tradition of former Korean presidents going to jail:

Former President Moon Jae-in was indicted without detention Thursday on charges of bribery, according to the Jeonju District Prosecutor’s Office.

Moon has been accused of allowing his former son-in-law to receive preferential treatment in securing a job with an airline. Almost 220 million won ($154,000) in salary and relocation expenses to Thailand were paid between July 2018 and April 2020, which constituted a de facto bribe to the former president, according to the prosecution.

Prosecutors launched an investigation into former President Moon Jae-in’s alleged involvement in the case after Seoul-based civic group Justice People filed a complaint in December 2021, alleging a possible quid pro quo involving Moon, his former son-in-law, identified by the surname Seo, and Lee Sang-jik — a former two-term lawmaker from the then-ruling Democratic Party and founder of budget airline Eastar Jet.

Prosecutors pinpointed Lee as the source of the alleged bribe and confirmed that Seo’s appointment as executive director of Thai Eastar Jet was made despite his lack of airline industry experience and the company’s financial struggles. A separate civil affairs team under Moon’s presidential office was involved in the process, the prosecution claims.

“Seo frequently left his post for extended periods, flew to South Korea or worked remotely. He did not provide proper labor befitting his position as the executive director. But Seo received a monthly salary of 8 million won, almost twice the salary of the airline’s CEO,” the Jeonju District Prosecutor’s Office said in a press release.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but this was clearly a quid pro quo for his son-in-law to get this job he was not qualified for and apparently put little effort into. With that said imagine if the U.S. had the same corruption laws as Korea? Former president Joe Biden would be getting prosecuted for all the money his son has been making off of his dad’s name and position. Instead you have a whole political party and media establishment covering for him.

It sounds like the State Department may finally be recognizing reality when dealing with North Korea now:

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described North Korea as a “nuclear-armed” country in an apparent recognition of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons capabilities, despite the Trump administration’s stated commitment to the “complete denuclearization” of the North.

Rubio used the expression in a podcast interview released Wednesday, as he pointed to a series of security challenges facing the United States, including those from China, Russia and Iran.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the next reality the State Department needs to realize is that the Kim regime will never completely give up their nuclear weapons. Once the State Department completely recognizes reality when dealing with North Korea then maybe some kind of deal could be struck.