Serving with Korean Augmentees to the US Army (KATUSA) is an experience with a long history for US military servicemembers in Korea.  So when I was recently browsing through the Stars & Stripes archives this article about a KATUSA leading a US Army infantry squad caught my attention:

From the November 8, 1967 edition of the Stars & Stripes.

The KATUSA Sergeant J.S.Song due to his competence was chosen as a squad leader for Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division that served on the Korean Demilitarized Zone.  Back then just like today most KATUSAs are not given positions with such responsibility due to language and cultural differences.  The fact that Sergeant Song was given such a position especially back then when combat on the DMZ was a common occurrence shows how competent of a KATUSA Sergeant Song was.  Here is what his Platoon Sergeant Guy E. McKean and Sgt Song himself had to say about be given this leadership opportunity:

It is stories like this that makes me wonder if Sergeant Song ever did return to being a farmer after his service was completed.  If so he would be an old man now, but hopefully he still has good memories about his time leading US troops on the DMZ.

Beauty meets art in #AmorePacific R&D Centerhttp://t.co/USwKoHpnOT pic.twitter.com/gs3oCqSt7h

— The Korea Herald 코리아헤럴드 (@TheKoreaHerald) August 23, 2015

A U.S. high-altitude manned surveillance plane, the U-2, is ready to make a sortie at an airbase in the Seoul metropolitan area on Aug. 22, 2015, as North Korea has given a 48-hour ultimatum for South Korea to end propaganda broadcasts along the heavily fortified border and dismantle all loudspeakers, otherwise it will launch “a strong military action.” (Yonhap)

Not much really since the ROK is trying to balance showing action to their domestic audience and not broadcasting things that would upset the Kim regime to where it would make it very difficult for them to deescalate.  The propaganda speakers are also a bargaining chip because the ROK right now is broadcasting little propaganda, but could threaten to broadcast more if things do not deescalate:

The loudspeakers that the military is using consist of 40 or so high-output 500 watt digital speakers that are around 4m by 3m in size. During the day, the broadcasts can be heard more than 10km away in the Kaesong Industrial Complex. At night, the sound carries as far as 24km. At the moment, the messages are broadcast intermittently. North Korea also began broadcasting propaganda into South Korea on Aug. 17. Since North Korea is using antiquated analogue loudspeakers, its broadcasts are reportedly hard to even understand in South Korea. The broadcasts that the South Korean military is sending into North Korea typically are not very political, focusing more on news in North and South Korea, world affairs, and the weather. One female defector from North Korea also takes part in the broadcasts, telling the story of how she defected and talking about her life in South Korea. But the fact that South Korea could use the broadcasts to criticize the North Korean regime if it so chose appears to be putting pressure on North Korea.  [Hankyoreh]

You can read more at the link.

It looks like it will be a rainy week for everyone in South Korea as Typhoon Goni passes through:

Typhoon Goni is expected to strike Japan’s southern island Kyushu and move north along the East Sea.

The Korea Meteorological Administration forecast Sunday that the 15th typhoon of the season will hit Kyushu on Tuesday morning before moving northeast to pass the East Sea near Dokdo Islet on Wednesday.

The weather agency forecasts the typhoon will bring rain to Jeju Island and the eastern parts of Korea on Monday.

Rains are expected for the entire nation on Tuesday, with strong winds and heavy rains of up to 200 millimeters expected for the coastal areas of the East Sea.

The tropical storm is also expected to bring strong winds and waves in the southern and eastern seas, putting residents in the coastal areas on alert.  [KBS World Radio]

First of all you have to be stupid to believe you are being drafted into the military based on a random text message that pops up on your phone.  With that said the prankster deserves whatever punishment the authorities give him:

South Korean police vowed Sunday to sternly take action against the spread of groundless draft rumors amid escalating tensions between the two Koreas.

The move came after a series of false conscription text messages and rumors were massively circulated after the North fired artillery across the border last Thursday.

A 23-year-old college student surnamed Kim was arrested Thursday for spreading massive draft texts. The message said “discharged men aged between 21 and 33 will be drafted once the war is imminent,” adding that all should check their designated military camp’s website on the ministry’s homepage once the war declaration is confirmed. The message was sent under the name of the Defense Ministry.

Kim reportedly claimed that it was a prank. [Korea Herald]

You can read more at the link.

https://twitter.com/AskAKorean/status/634492729238667265

This photo taken on Aug. 21, 2015, shows military trucks and other mobility equipment ready at a U.S. Army unit in Dongducheon, northeast of Seoul, amid heightened tensions raised by the two Koreas’ shelling across the inter-Korean border the previous day. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered front-line troops to have full combat readiness against South Korea as he declared a “quasi-state of war.” (Yonhap)

If any ROK Heads have a few billion dollars lying around you could use it to buy the Korean retail giant Homeplus if you are interested.  It will be interesting to see what changes will be made once Homeplus is sold off:

Private equity groups are expected to submit final bids to take over the nation’s second-largest supermarket chain Homeplus, valued at about 7 trillion won ($5.86 billion), amid growing speculation that two Korean retail firms are mulling to join the deal when the preferred bidder is announced, according to sources on Sunday.

Five shortlisted private equity firms formed three consortiums for Monday’s final bidding for Homeplus, wholly owned by Tesco. The British retail giant put up its Korean unit for auction in a bid to scale back the mounting debt and fund a turnaround plan.

Sources said the Korean confectionery company Orion and local retail giant Hyundai Department store are eyeing to join the bid as strategic investors.

“As Orion continues to show a strong will to buy Homeplus, there’s potential that it will link up with a private equity fund to be selected as a preferred bidder,” an official at an investment bank said.

The snack-maker, which failed to make the final list of five bidders, has been seeking a foray into the supermarket industry as its growth slows.

The preferred bidder is expected to be announced in September while the takeover deal to be wrapped up by the end of this year.  [Korea Herald]

You can read more at the link.

I don’t see anything surprising about North Korea pushing out its forces.  The Kim regime needs its population to feel that it is in a constant state of near war with the US and only the military genius of the Kim regime is keeping the “Imperialist Yankees” at bay.  Plus it is just a good training exercise to keep his military busy:

More than 50 North Korean submarines are apparently away from their bases for operations, a sign that the North is gearing up for combat while participating in high-level talks aimed at easing tension, an official here said Sunday.

“Seventy percent of North Korea’s submarines left their bases, and their locations are not confirmed,” the South Korean military official told reporters.

The North is known to have around 70 submarines.

The unpredictable communist nation has also doubled the number of its artillery troops on the border, with the command to be combat ready, according to the official.

Top government officials from the two Koreas were supposed to resume their talks at the truce village of Panmunjom at 3 p.m. Sunday. It has not been confirmed yet whether they began the meeting as scheduled.  [Yonhap]