Since this is coming from the South Korean spy agency it is likely that they did receive some pretty good intelligence that this did happen:

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the execution of 15 senior officials this year as punishment for challenging his authority, South Korea’s spy agency told a closed-door parliament meeting on Wednesday.

A vice minister for forestry was one of the officials executed for complaining about a state policy, a member of parliament’s intelligence committee, Shin Kyung-min, quoted an unnamed National Intelligence Service official as saying.

“Excuses or reasoning doesn’t work for Kim Jong Un, and his style of rule is to push through everything, and if there’s any objection, he takes that as a challenge to authority and comes back with execution as a showcase,” Shin said.

“In the four months this year, fifteen senior officials are said to have been executed,” Shin cited the intelligence official as saying, according to his office.  [Reuters]

You can read more at the link, but I wonder what the Vice Minister of Forestry was complaining about?  The lack of trees to manage?

This reminds me of people complaining about aircraft noise after they build a home near an airport:

South Korean officials say they will replace portions of a 16.4-mile stretch of barbed wire along the northeast coast with electronic surveillance equipment after residents complained the fence is ugly.

The barbed wire was meant to protect the coast against sea infiltration by countries such as North Korea, a Ministry of National Defense spokesman said Tuesday on customary condition of anonymity.

The fence will be removed in 41 areas in Gangwon province, which borders North Korea, in the first half of 2015, according to the ministry. North Korean subs were discovered along that stretch of coastline in the 1990s near the cities of Sokcho and Donghae.

The MND spokesman said officials are not concerned about reduced security because the unmanned surveillance equipment has already been tested. He would not comment on whether removing the fence would affect South Korean troop levels along the eastern coast.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link.

As of this week the 2nd Infantry Division has a new commander:

CAMP RED CLOUD, South Korea (April 24, 2015) — Maj. Gen. Theodore “Ted” D. Martin assumes as the 2nd Infantry Division commanding general from Maj. Gen. Thomas S. Vandal. Vandal served as the commanding general for the 2nd Inf. Div. for 22 months.

The 2nd Inf. Div. hosted the change of command ceremony at the Indianhead Field at Camp Casey, South Korea, April 24.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to have served in this storied and proud Division at such a significant time of transformation in its history,” said Vandal. “In so many ways, it has been the highlight of my military career as we took on many challenges and opportunities.”

During his time in command Vandal carried out the initial establishment for the Combined Division; employed the first combined arms and aviation rotational battalions to serve on the Korean peninsula; and established the “Think Twice” Campaign, which focuses on emphasizing responsible behavior among Soldiers in the Division, among other things.

“To the Soldiers of the 2nd Inf. Div., you are proud professionals and I am honored to have served as your commanding general,” said Vandal. “I thank you for your service and sacrifice.”

Vandal also added that this July will be the 50th Anniversary of the 2nd Inf. Div.’s continued service on the Korean peninsula. “The friendship and mutual sacrifice is what makes this Alliance so great,” added Vandal.

Although the Vandal family will be leaving Warrior Country, they will not be too far away. Vandal will be assuming duties as the assistant chief of staff, C-3/J-3, at United Nations Command/Combined Forces Command/United States Forces Korea.

Before assuming command of the 2nd Inf. Div. Martin served as the commanding general for the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California.

Martin’s family military heritage goes back more than ten generations.

Martin said that as little boys he and his three brothers wanted to grow up to be just like their father: a Soldier who had experience serving in Korea. “Today the dream becomes a reality, as I now have the honor to serve where he once fought during the Korean War,” added Martin.  [Army.mil]

You can read the rest at the link, but that is pretty cool that MG Martin’s dad served during the Korean War and now he is in command of the last US Army division in Korea.

https://twitter.com/ZacharyKeck/status/592780225936805888

Members of civic groups tear a banner with a printed image of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s face during a rally in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on April 28, 2015, to demand Abe offer an unequivocal apology over Japan’s wartime sexual enslavement of Korean and other Asian women. (Yonhap)

A couple of USFK servicemembers have found themselves in trouble and it made the local news:

Police said Tuesday that they have arrested a U.S. serviceman over an alleged assault on a South Korean employee at a local club after being drunk.

The 29-year-old U.S. soldier, whose name has not been revealed, was arrested Sunday on accusations of hitting a South Korean employee’s face with a brick at a club located in the central Seoul.

Police said the sergeant was kicked out of the club after being too drunk and was protesting against the move when he made the assault.

He was immediately arrested and was handed over to the U.S. military police. Police said they will summon the soldier for further investigation in the near future.

In a separate case, another 28-year-old U.S. sergeant was also questioned by police on Sunday after fighting with three South Koreans. (Yonhap)

The sellout of the military retirement system to Wall Street is almost complete:

The old, reliable military retirement system is about to be retired.

House and Senate lawmakers are moving ahead with dramatic plans to replace the current 20-year, all-or-nothing deal with a “blended” compensation system, complete with a 401(k)-style investment plan that promises all future troops will leave the service with some money for retirement.

The moves echo recommendations from the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission earlier this year, which pushed for changes to recognize the estimated 83 percent of service members who leave the military with no retirement benefits.

But some outside advocates still worry that, while well-intentioned, the change could decimate the senior noncommissioned and officer ranks, by giving them too much incentive to start a civilian career earlier and not enough incentive to stay to 20 years.  [Army Times]

You can read the rest at the link, but can you imagine how much money the Wall Street crew is going to make from transaction fees for doing little to nothing to manage all the money that will be flowing to them for these 401k’s? They are going to have a financial windfall at the expense of less money going into the pockets of US servicemembers.

This document has been making the rounds in the Korean media, but really it doesn’t state anything we don’t already know:

Japanese police sexually abused female Korean protesters during the occupation of Korea from 1910 to 1945, an old report by an American missionary group shows.

The report details incidents where Japanese police stripped, tortured and even raped Korean women who took part in the March 1 independence demonstrations in 1919.

The Korean Methodist Church in New York on Saturday revealed the 27-page report compiled by the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America detailing the abuses by Japanese police based on accounts from American missionaries in Korea at the time.

Titled “The Korean Situation,” it explains the historical background that led to the protests, as well as Japan’s brutal crackdown on protesters and changes in Tokyo’s colonial policies after the demonstrations.

The Korean Methodist Church in New York was established in 1921 and served as the U.S. support base for Korea’s independence movement. It discovered the report in its archive while going through old documents to prepare for a book to mark its 100-year history.

The report contains statistics on the brutal crackdown. It shows that 631 Koreans died from March 1 to July 20, 1919 as well as nine Japanese, mostly police. Some 28,934 Koreans were arrested — 5,156 jailed and 9,078 released after being whipped.

“Among the tortures and brutalities dwelt on by writers and especially emphasized by the American press were those dealing with young women and school girls who were stripped and examined, tortured and maltreated,” it says. “No charge is made of rape under these conditions.”  [Chosun Ilbo]

The article opens about the Japanese police raping Korean women, but according to the quote from the document it said no charge is made of rape so I don’t know what is true.  However, the fact that Japanese police were generally pretty brutal against protesters is nothing new.  I recommend everyone read this article about the March 1st Movement that provides a more balanced account of what happened.

Chinese media has sought to extract maximum propaganda value from the withdrawal of China's citizens from Kathmandu. http://t.co/HI472iP4bO

— Foreign Policy (@ForeignPolicy) April 27, 2015

Visitors have fun at Haeundae Beach in Busan on Sunday.[Chosun Ilbo]