White House calls for 'final resolution' of Korea-Japan history issues http://t.co/orIcEB6tJZ

— Yonhap News Agency (@YonhapNews) April 24, 2015

The number of cigarettes released in the domestic market dropped 44.2 percent following price increases in January, data showed Tuesday.  [Korea Herald]

it looks like Kim Jong-un can now add climbing a snowy mountain peak in a black trench coat and loafers to his resume of incredible feats:

Kim Jong Un scaled Mount Paektu, the highest mountain on the Korean peninsula, on Saturday, according to North Korea’s state-controlled newspaper, Rodong Sinmun.  The Rodong Sinmun further reported that Kim delivered a speech, three days after the celebration of Kim Il Sung’s 103rd birthday, on the significance of Mount Paektu.

Climbing the 2,744 m (9,003 ft) Mt. Paektu is no mean feat; doing so in a double-breasted wool overcoat and oxfords is… wait for it… legend-ary.

The western press has lapped up Kim Jung-un’s precious use of pabulum as reported in the Rodong Shinmun:  “When one climbs snow-stormy Mt. Paektu and undergoes the blizzards over it, one can experience its real spirit and harden the resolution to accomplish the Korean revolution. Climbing Mt. Paektu provides precious mental pabulum more powerful than any kind of nuclear weapon and it is the way for carrying forward the revolutionary traditions of Paektu and giving steady continuity to the glorious Korean revolution.”  [The Marmot’s Hole]

You can read the rest at the link,such as how amazed I continue to be at how poor the North Korean propaganda department’s photoshop skills are.  Isn’t there like a 16-year old teenager in China they can outsource this to?

Great job Major Hull!:

A 2nd Infantry Division aviation officer who leapt into an out-of-control boat to save five people from drowning has been awarded the Soldier’s Medal.

On leave from a tour to South Korea, Maj. Richard Hull, 35, of St. Petersburg, Fla., set out last Sept. 2 in a friend’s boat on a fishing trip from Nantucket Harbor, Mass.

As they headed for open water, the pair spied a small, inflatable, hard-bottom boat approaching an opening in a rock jetty. The vessel struck the jetty, and three men and two women were flung into the water, Hull said.

“They were calling for help, and their boat was going around in circles with the engine running,” he recalled.

To everyone’s horror, the pilotless boat nearly struck the people in the water, Hull said.

“The adrenalin was similar to being in Iraq,” said the veteran of two desert deployments.

Thinking fast, Hull’s friend, John Perone, maneuvered his boat to slow the stricken craft, allowing Hull to leap into it and bring it under control.

Hull then maneuvered the inflatable boat to rescue the people in the water. He stayed aboard, bailing water, while the Coast Guard arrived and towed it to shore.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link.

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt describes what the Internet is like in North Korea http://t.co/C0jH1ybPHA pic.twitter.com/2Dj6d3HH7J

— Business Insider (@BusinessInsider) April 22, 2015

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Choi Yoon-hee (L, front), accompanied by Thomas S. Vandal (R, front), head of the 2nd Infantry Division of U.S. Forces Korea, tours the division in the city of Dongducheon, north of Seoul, on April 20, 2015, in this photo released by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (Yonhap)

If the report is true this just goes to show that when ever the collapse or final showdown with North Korea ever does come, it is going to even deadlier and messier then anyone wants to deal with now; that is why everyone’s foreign policy with North Korea is to just keep pushing the can down the road:

North Korea’s nuclear weapons capability may be larger and advancing more rapidly than either the United States or China had estimated, according to Chinese experts cited in a US news report.

A report by the Wall Street Journal says Chinese specialists on North Korea who met with US officials in February told them “that North Korea may already have 20 warheads, as well as the capability of producing enough weapons-grade uranium to double its arsenal by next year.”

US officials have warned over the past year about the North’s progress in “miniaturizing” its nuclear arsenal to fit atop a missile, as well as its gains in three separate long-range rocket programs. One such rocket is an intercontinental missile designed to carry a payload more than 5,000 miles, theoretically putting it within range of California.

Sigfried Hecker, a Stanford professor who attended the meeting in February, confirmed the contents of the presentation. Pyongyang allowed Mr. Hecker to visit in 2010, when he reported seeing a large uranium-enrichment facility.

“Some eight, nine, or 10 years ago, they had the bomb but not much of a nuclear arsenal,” the Journal quoted Hecker as saying. “I had hoped they wouldn’t go in this direction, but that’s what happened in the past five years.”  [Christian Science Monitor]

You can read the rest at the link.

Condolences to the family of this deceased USFK soldier:

A 2nd Infantry Division soldier died after being found unresponsive in his barracks at Camp Hovey, South Korea, 8th Army officials said Wednesday.

Sgt. 1st Class Stephen C. Perry, 35, was pronounced dead after being transported Wednesday to Saint Mary’s Hospital.

Perry, of New Orleans, was assigned to the 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.

“We are keeping Stephen’s family in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time,” said Col. Matthew Eichburg, commander of 1st ABCT. “Stephen was a passionate soldier and a valued member of the Iron Team.”

The death remains under investigation, 8th Army officials said.  [Stars & Stripes]

Once again I ask why is the Korean taxpayer being asked to pay for this while Chonghaejin Corp. was fined less than $10,000.

South Korea announced plans Wednesday to salvage the ferry that sunk off the country’s southwest coast a year earlier, claiming 304 lives.

The retrieval will likely begin in September and take up to 18 months, the Ministry of Public Safety and Security said after a meeting of the relevant government agencies.

After making a sharp turn, the 6,825-ton ferry Sewol capsized off Jindo Island on April 16 last year en route to the southern resort island of Jeju from Incheon, west of Seoul.

Most of the victims were teenage students on a field trip, with nine bodies still missing.

President Park Geun-hye Thursday vowed to raise the sunken ferry as soon as possible and to take all measures to recover the bodies of the victims who remain missing.

Some of the families of the victims, however, insisted that the government immediately come up with plans for the salvage of the wreckage.

Thousands of demonstrators staged a violent rally at Seoul Plaza in front of Seoul City Hall Saturday after a ceremony to mark the first anniversary of the Sewol sinking, leaving scores of police officers injured. Police rounded up more than 100 violent demonstrators.

In a news conference, Public Safety Minister Park In-yong said priority will be given to preventing the loss of the bodies of the nine people still missing and minimizing any possible damage to the hull.

As the bodies of the missing people are believed to be inside the hull, the vessel will be lifted from the sea bottom without changing its current position, according to the ministry.

The main part of the recovery will involve divers drilling scores of holes into the hull that’s lying on its left side and chaining it to two cranes that will pull the vessel out of the sea, the ministry noted.

About 100 divers will likely be employed for the underwater work, according to experts.

Up to 150 billion won, or about $139 million, will likely be required for the recovery, although the cost could increase further if the project is delayed or any unexpected technical issues arise.

Still, the retrieval also has safety risks and uncertainties, including the possible destruction of the 20-year-old vessel, typhoons in the summer and a strong current in the shipwreck’s location, Park said.  [Korea Times]

You can read the rest at the link.

Our latest Korea Chair Snapshot covers the new U.S.-ROK 123 agreement, announced on April 22. http://t.co/iAWdtbownm

— CSIS Korea Chair (@CSISKoreaChair) April 22, 2015