Shown is Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, accompanying the leader to an orphanage in Pyongyang on Jan. 1, 2015. She wears a finger ring amid speculation she recently married a son of Choe Ryong-hae, a senior secretary of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party seen as the North’s second-most powerful man. (Yonhap)
A South Korean health care worker in Ebola-hit Sierra Leone left for Germany over a possible contraction of the highly contagious virus, South Korean officials said Saturday.
The evacuation by Phoenix Air, a U.S. air ambulance company, came after the worker was determined to be at risk of exposure to the virus while collecting blood from an Ebola patient, according to South Korean officials.
The health care worker’s left index finger “touched” a needle through a partly ripped glove. The worker did not sustain any external injuries and has not shown symptoms of infection such as fever or vomiting, they said.
Still, the health care worker will be closely monitored in an isolated unit at the unspecified hospital for up to 21 days, the maximum incubation period for the virus, they said.
The health care worker is one of the 10-strong medical team members sent by South Korea to an Ebola clinic built by Britain in Goderich, near Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown.
South Korea has reached preliminary deals with Europe and the United States to evacuate its health care workers from West Africa to Europe for treatment if they contract the virus.
Despite the evacuation, South Korea plans to send 20 other medical workers in coming months to the West African country. [Yonhap]
So does anyone think this latest sanctions announcement will do anything to change North Korean behavior?:
The United States is hitting North Korea with a new set of economic sanctions after determining the country was behind last month’s computer hack at Sony.
The White House said new rules would prevent leaders in North Korea’s government from accessing property and entering the United States. The isolated nuclear regime, which has denied involvement in the Sony hack, was already subject to a strict set of U.S. economic restrictions.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has maintained that North Korea was behind the broad computer breach at Sony, despite evidence from some technology experts that points instead to former employees of the studio. [CNN]
You can read more at the link, but I doubt the leaders of North Korea do much sight seeing and the buying of vacation condos in the US, but I could be wrong.
This is actually old news because the slave labor like conditions on some of South Korea’s remote islands has been reported on before. Now will the AP go and report an update on the near slave labor like conditions at the Kaesong Industrial Complex and other places North Korean workers are used?:
In this Feb. 19, 2014, lawmakers and human right activists look at salt farms as a part of human rights inspection on Sinui Island, South Korea. Slavery thrives on this chain of rural islands off South Korea’s rugged southwest coast, nurtured by a long history of exploitation and the demands of trying to squeeze a living from the sea. Five times during the last decade, revelations of slavery involving the disabled have emerged, each time generating national shame and outrage. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Slavery thrives on rural islands off South Korea’s rugged southwest coast, nurtured by a long history of exploitation and the demands of trying to squeeze a living from the sea.
Two-thirds of South Korea’s sea salt is produced at more than 850 salt farms on dozens of islands in Sinan County, including Sinui island, where half the 2,200 residents work in the industry. Workers spend grueling days managing a complex network of waterways, hoses and storage areas.
Five times during the last decade, revelations of slavery involving the disabled have emerged. Kim’s case prompted a nationwide government probe of thousands of farms and disabled facilities that found more than 100 workers who’d received no, or scant, pay.
Yet little has changed on the islands, according to a months-long investigation by the AP based on court and police documents and dozens of interviews with freed slaves, salt farmers, villagers and officials. [Associated Press]
You can read the rest at the link, but these islanders actually have recruiters that go around and pick up mentally disabled homeless people to bring to these islands as slaves. Due to the remote nature of these islands the Korean authorities appear to have difficulty stamping out this practice.
Something I really like about Korean political leaders is how much they focus on setting quantifiable goals to improve their economy:
President Park Geun-hye started off her New Year’s address wishing all Koreans a healthy and happy 2015, in the Year of the Sheep. She said her top priority over the coming year was reinvigorating the economy.
“The government will endeavor to change the fundamentals of the economy so that it is centered on creativity and innovation, ushering in an era of $40,000 per capita GDP.”
President Park also addressed national security matters, promising to open an era of unification for the two Koreas.
“I will work to put an end to the 70-year-long division by building up trust with North Korea and urging change. The government will establish substantial and specific groundwork to achieve unification.”
She also promised to root-out irregularities in society to make Korea a safer place to live.
President Park said due to the spirit of the Korean people, she was confidant that Korea would be able to overcome any difficulty or challenge in the new year. [Arirang News]
When was the last time you heard prominent American politicians set quantifiable economic goals like this? And even if they did how many Americans even know what per capita GDP is?
Via the Marmot’s Hole comes this article posted on War is Boring by Kyle Mizokami who advocates for the removal of US troops from the Korean peninsula:
Imagine you possess the 15th-largest economy in the world. You have world-class cars and consumer goods, glittering streets and a lifestyle as good as any in the industrialized world.
Now, imagine you are being threatened by a hostile country one third as wealthy as Ethiopia.
Ethiopia.
In order to protect yourself from this economic juggernaut, you require the presence of nearly 30,000 American troops, the overpowering might of the U.S. nuclear arsenal and an American general to take charge in case this mighty opponent attacks
Laughable, right? Not at all. Welcome to South Korea.
It’s time for the United States to leave the Korean peninsula. South Korea can defend itself. [War is Boring]
You can read the rest at the link, but the removal of US troops from Korea is an issue that has been discussed repeatedly and will not happen as long as keeping USFK in place is in each country’s national interest. I have posted about this issue long ago and these points are still valid:
Korean economic impact
Impact on foreign investment
Korean defense spending
Loss of Korean political influence in Washington
Moderating American reactions to North Korea
Political apathy
Power of the status quo
As far as the US military goes the North Korean threat justifies maintaining certain budget levels in the Pacific and an additional four-star command. For the US government USFK provides political influence with South Korea which prevents China from dominating South Korea’s foreign policy which has been the case for most of Korea’s history.
Then there is the nuclear weapons question. If the US military withdraws it suddenly becomes in the national interest of the ROK to develop nuclear weapons to counter-North Korea. If the ROK develops nuclear weapons would Japan do so as well? To further compound this issue is that China would have to increase the amount of nuclear weapons they currently have to counter the US to also counter the ROK and possibly Japan. A withdrawal of USFK could lead to a large nuclear arms race in the region.
Finally and most importantly people need to remember there hasn’t been a war on the Korean peninsula in over 60 years and there is a reason for that, USFK. The US military is the strategic balancer in the region that is preventing one of the other three great powers from seeking hegemony over the region which has historically been the case. Keeping a few thousand US troops on the Korean peninsula to maintain this balance is worth the cost to keep stability in such an economically important area of the world. If someone wants to argue we have too many or not the right amount of troops in Korea I am open to that argument, but to completely remove USFK I do not see the benefit to the US or South Korea.
Anyone else have any other points they want to share on why the US military should or should not stay in South Korea?
