I never had the chance to see the K-2 cross a river before, but having this capability is needed in South Korea with its many deep rivers:
A South Korean K-2 “Black Panther” tank sports an unusual-looking piece of equipment in this YouTube video. The tank, crossing a 13 foot deep river during a military exercise, is using a so-called fording kit to allow it to drive across the river bottom.
Bridges are often destroyed in wartime, and the pace of operations may mean only a limited number of portable bridges may be available. The solution to a potentially deadly traffic bottleneck: unlike many military vehicles, tanks are usually waterproof and their tracks still work underwater-so why not drive them underwater? (………….)
Modern fording kits typically consist of a single smokestack-like pipe that connects to the tank commander’s hatch. This allows the tank commander to sit at the top, where he can keep an eye on the tank’s progress. The stack also serves as an escape hatch for the crew in case of emergencies. [Popular Mechanics]
South Korean and U.S. marines run through a snow-covered field carrying each other over their shoulders at a mountain training center in Pyeongchang, east of Seoul, on Jan. 28, 2016. The marines from the two countries conducted the joint drill, set in extreme cold winter conditions, to enhance their combined military capability. The U.S. maintains about 28,500 troops in South Korea as a deterrent against North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. (Yonhap)
The house shown in the photo, owned by Lee Myung-hee, chief of the Shinsegae Group, is the most expensive “standard” private home in the country, according to the appraisal released by the land ministry on Jan. 28, 2016. Standard houses are selected samples whose prices serve as the basis against which other houses are appraised. The official price of Lee’s house, with 2,861.83-square-meter floor space that sits on 1,758.9 square meters of land in central Seoul, was valued at 12.9 bilion won (US$10.7 million). Lee is the daughter of Lee Byung-chull, the founder of Samsung Group, and the younger sister of Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee. (Yonhap)
Reading the details of this bomb found at Incheon International Airport makes it sound like this may have been more of a hoax then some warning from a Islamic extremist group. I am sure the ROK authorities are scouring over video footage to try and pin point who left the device and hopefully we will get answer soon:
Police said Saturday that they have found a warning message written in Arabic inside a box recently discovered at South Korea’s main airport that raised terror alarms in the country.
The message, which was written in Arabic on a sheet of paper half the size of A4, reads, “This is the last warning to you. God will punish.”
It was not a handwritten but a printed sentence with some grammatical errors, according to the police, who suspected that it could have been translated by a computer program or by a person whose Arabic skill is not that good.
The discovery was announced a day after the police found a box suspected to contain explosive devices in a men’s bathroom in Incheon International Airport.
The area was cordoned off, but no explosives or detonators were found, just with two butane canisters and one bottled water taped to it.
Also found inside the box, along with the warning message, were guitar strings, electric cords, batteries and some pieces of vegetables, the police said. [Yonhap]
This will be a great innovation for which ever smartphone manufacturer is able to perfect this technology:
Apple is working with partners in the United States and Asia to develop new wireless charging technology that could be deployed on its mobile devices as soon as next year, according to people familiar with the plans.
Apple is exploring cutting-edge technologies that would allow iPhones and iPads to be powered from further away than the charging mats used with current smartphones, the people said, asking not to be identified as the details are private. The iPhone maker is looking to overcome technical barriers including loss of power over distance. A decision on implementing the technology is still being assessed, they said.
With iPhones and iPads generating more than three-quarters of Apple’s revenue, new technologies can give its devices an edge and help the company sell products at a premium in a slowing market. Samsung Electronics, Sony and Google are among rivals that have released wirelessly charged smartphones that still require proximity to a charging plate. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
What a mess this entire Burger King murder case has been over the past 2 decades, but fortunately some justice appears to have finally be served in this case. Still 20 years in prison still seems too lenient for this guy:
Arthur Patterson
A Seoul court on Friday convicted U.S. citizen Arthur Patterson of murder in the lurid Itaewon murder case and sentenced him to 20 years in prison, almost 19 years after the murder.
The Seoul Central District Court found the 36-year-old guilty of fatally stabbing Hongik University student Cho Jung-pil on April 3, 1997, in a Burger King in the capital’s popular Itaewon district.
Cho was found dead in the restroom of a fast food restaurant, stabbed nine times in the neck and chest.
“There was credibility in confessions by Edward Lee, while Patterson’s comments were inconsistent and contradicted evidence,” the Seoul Central District Court said in the ruling.
Patterson was extradited to Korea in September to face charges in a reopened investigation into the case and maintained his innocence throughout.
Patterson has denied the murder charge, blaming Lee. The two men were both in the restaurant at the time of the murder, and both accused the other of being the killer.
The court said Patterson’s bloodstained clothes and hands pinpointed him as the assailant. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
Government officials attend a ceremony at a port in Gunsan, southwest of Seoul, on Jan. 29, 2016, for the first rice export to China. The first shipment of 30 tons will leave the port next month for Shanghai, where they will be marketed at Lotte Market outlets. South Korea has been working for the last seven years to have rice exported to the neighboring country, hindered by quarantine requirements. (Yonhap)
