It looks like ROK intelligence must have had some chatter warning them of a possible upcoming cyberattack:

South Korea has upgraded its military information surveillance status in response to growing threats of North Korean cyber attacks, a military official said Sunday.

“We believe there’s a larger possibility that North Korea may launch cyber attacks on the South, and recently upgraded our Information Operation Condition,” the official said, without elaborating further.  [Korea Herald]

You can read more at the link.

Condolences to the friends and families of these ROK soldiers killed in this helicopter crash.  Judging by the below picture it looks like it crashed right outside the wall of the military base:

A South Korean military helicopter crashed in an eastern province on Monday, killing three of the four soldiers on board, officials said.

The helicopter went down in a farming field in the city of Chuncheon in the eastern province of Gangwon during a checkout flight, defense and army officials said.

The officials said that all four soldiers aboard the helicopter were initially rescued after the crash, but that three of them died while being treated in hospitals.

They said no casualties on the ground have been reported. The cause of the crash is under investigation.  [Washington Post via a reader tip]

You can read more at the link.

This just proves that the Chinese government is using North Korea to drive a wedge between the US and the ROK.  Declaring peace with North Korea would mean an end to the reason for the existence of US Force Korea (USFK) which is what the Chinese and North Koreans both want.  If China wants a more normal relationship how about they have North Korea stop threatening to nuke the US or turn South Korea into a Sea of Fire?  Or how about they get them to stop launching deadly provocations against South Korea and comply with United Nations resolutions?

The US and North Korea need to formally declare an end to 76 years of hostility if the international community wants North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to stop developing nuclear weapons, a top Chinese foreign policy official said.

“North Korea and the US still have not made peace, they’ve been in an extended cease-fire,” said Fu Ying, who chairs the foreign affairs committee of China’s National People’s Congress.

“You need to think how to bring an end to the war and enter a more normal relationship.”  [The Straits Times]

You can read more at the link, but in the fantasy land of peace in our time with North Korea does anyone really think the Kim regime would stop their provocations against South Korea?  Without the backing of the US, the provocations would likely get worse and more threatening.  The Kim regime has never accepted the legitimacy of the ROK and continue to be postured and train for the forceful reunification of the peninsula.

The Passing of a Supreme Court Giant – by @Peter_Wehner – https://t.co/5WRLd7txnJ pic.twitter.com/I4YnE4BZVv

— Commentary Magazine (@Commentary) February 14, 2016

Farmer Kim Gap-sul shows the rare triplet calves his 10-year-old cow gave birth to at a village in the southeastern town of Sancheng on Feb. 9, 2016, in this photo released by the Sancheong municipality on Feb. 12, 2016. (Yonhap)

Over at One Free Korea there is a post up that discusses some of the inside baseball involved with the passing of the North Korea sanctions bill that is set to hit the President’s desk.  I found it interesting that Senator Rubio had such an interest in North Korea that he read the entire bill and left his own track changes comments.  Even Senator Feinstein has come out in strong support of the bill:

By now, most of you know that the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act, the Senate’s version of H.R. 757, passed the Senate unanimously Wednesday night. The House is expected to pass the Senate’s version this morning and send it to the President’s desk.

In an election year, when floor time is especially precious, it was remarkable and humbling that the Senate spent an entire day debating this bill. Senator after senator came to the floor to give supportive speeches. If you read only one of them, read the moving speech of Senator Diane Feinstein (D, CA) about human rights, but be warned — this is the stuff of nightmares, and not for children’s eyes.

The speeches should be available on video here within the next few days.  [One Free Korea]

You can read the rest at the link, but the house approved the Senate’s bill with a vote of 408-2.  It appears that how to deal with North Korea has more bipartisan support now then even how to deal with ISIS.

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

Jung Ki-sup, chief of the association of 124 South Korean firms at the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North’s border city, speaks to reporters after meeting with lawmakers of the ruling Saenuri Party at the National Assembly in Seoul on Feb. 12, 2016. The Kaesong-based firms are expected to see huge losses, as the North expelled all South Korean nationals from the complex the previous day and froze the factory assets of South Korean firms in retaliation for Seoul’s decision to shut down the complex. (Yonhap)

It is looking more and more like the deployment to THAAD to South Korea is a done deal the way the Defense Ministry is currently talking.  The defense official in the article is right that THAAD has no capability against ICBMs.  The US has the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system that is used to defend against ICBMs.  Shooting down an ICBM requires a very large booster due to how high ICBMs fly which the THAAD does not have.  The THAAD system is used to defend against short and medium range missiles which North Korea threatens the South with.  THAAD does engagements at higher altitudes than the current Patriot system already deployed to the ROK.  This means the ROK would have a layered defense if the THAAD misses at a higher altitude the Patriot can still engage at a lower altitude.  Additionally when dealing with nuclear warheads you want to intercept them as high as possible:

The South Korean military will strategically focus on picking a candidate site for the U.S. missile defense system THAAD, rather than on a backlash from China and Russia, a high-ranking defense ministry official said Friday, as Seoul and Washington are poised to begin formal talks next week on the sensitive matter.

“Considering the stances of neighboring countries when (South Korea) picking an area to host the THAAD is not militarily (right),” the Defense Ministry official said on the condition of anonymity.

China has expressed “serious concern” over the deployment plan, which the country believes would put it within the range of the U.S. defense system. Russia is also unnerved by South Korea’s move.

The official stressed that the THAAD, if deployed in South Korea, would target North Korea alone over its growing nuclear and missile capabilities.

He also dismissed a view that South Korea is being drawn into the U.S. missile defense network.

“It does not necessarily mean South Korea joins the U.S. missile defense system,” the official said. “The THAAD does not intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles nor does it intend to defend the mainland U.S. or any other third country.”  [Yonhap]

You can read the rest at the link.

It is interesting that you don’t hear the Chinese or Russians complaining about the deployment of this Patriot battery to South Korea like you have about the THAAD battery when both systems have no capability to shoot down their ICBMs.  It will also be interesting to see how long it will take before a THAAD battery is deployed to South Korea as well:

 

The United States temporarily deployed an additional Patriot missile battery in South Korea in response to North Korea’s nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch, ahead of talks next week to set up an even more sophisticated U.S. missile defense in a move that has worried China and Russia.

The new tough stance follows South Korea’s decision to shut down an inter-Korean factory park that had been the rival Koreas’ last major symbol of cooperation, but that Seoul said had been used by North Korea to fund its nuclear and missile programs. North Korea responded by deporting South Korean citizens, seizing South Korean assets and vowing to militarize the park.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.