Considering North Korea’s long defense relationship with Syria to include trying to make them a nuclear reactor, it only makes sense that ISIS would have captured plenty of North Korean manufactured weaponry:

The terror group ISIS that is effectively in charge of vast swathes of Syria and Iraq is using North Korean-made tanks and portable missiles, the website NK News claimed Monday.

It cited intelligence sources as claiming tanks used by ISIS in an attack on a Kurdish region in northern Iraq in September were Soviet T-55 tanks upgraded in North Korea, and portable missiles used by militants are of a type manufactured in the North.

Earlier, German intelligence told lawmakers that ISIS has portable surface-to-air missiles that are capable of shooting down civilian aircraft. A photo of an ISIS militant brandishing the weapon was posted on Twitter.

At the time, German intelligence believed the weapon was Russian, Bulgarian or Chinese in origin.

But NK News said ISIS got its hands on North Korean-made weapons by capturing them from government forces in Syria. The two countries maintained close ties since the 1970s and the North exported various weapons to Syria, including the upgraded T-55 tanks and portable surface-to-air missiles.  [Chosun Ilbo]

The original NK News article for those that have a subscription can be read at this link.

If goods exports hit $600bn next year (KITA), South Korea may rise to #5 in world, overtaking Netherlands & France: http://t.co/8FqI1UnVbW

— Aidan Foster-Carter (@fcaidan) December 8, 2014

1st Lt. Alvin Anderson, one of the many repatriated POW’s to return home aboard the USNS Marine Phoenix, embracing his mother and sister as other members of his family look on. Fort Mason, CA, September 14, 1953. Herb Weiss. (Army)

This appeal court case depending on how it goes may end up helping this Special Forces Colonel who is being charged for getting a female partner infected with HIV:

A Kansas airman accused of aggravated assault for exposing multiple sex partners to HIV at swinger parties in Wichita will have his appeal heard this week before the nation’s highest military court.

The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces will on Tuesday take up the case against David Gutierrez, an appeal the defense contends could upend similar prosecutions in the U.S. military.

“This case will have the potential of decriminalizing sexual contact with someone with HIV,” defense attorney Kevin McDermott said.

Air Force prosecutors have declined comment.

Gutierrez was a sergeant at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita in 2011 when he was stripped of his rank and sentenced to eight years behind bars.

In addition to aggravated assault, Gutierrez also was found guilty of violating an order to notify partners about his HIV status and to use condoms. He was also convicted of indecent acts and adultery. He has not been accused of actually infecting anyone with HIV.

In his appeal, Gutierrez has challenged whether the risk to his sexual partners was high enough to constitute aggravated assault, arguing that laws covering exposure to the disease are outdated since the statistical probability of heterosexual transmission is low and medical advances have made the disease treatable.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link, but I do not see how giving someone HIV should not be considered a crime of some kind regardless of how treatable it is now a days.  It is something that at least permanently negatively alters the life of anyone who catches it and can lead to deadly consequences.  Also of interest with this story is that Gutierrez is also claiming he is not guilty of adultery since his wife participated in the swinger parties.  It will be interesting to see how this case turns out and its ramifications on the UCMJ.

I wonder if this brothel owner was not making the appropriate bribes to get raided like this:

“Put your clothes on,” shouted a police officer as he entered a small room during an evening raid on a massage parlor set up as a front to conceal a brothel in Gangnam, southern Seoul.

A man and a woman lying down on a single bed tried hastily to cover their naked bodies with a large bath towel.

The man turned his face away from the officer, while the woman bowed her head.

Four other officers entered another seven rooms connected by a network of underground corridors.
Five government human rights officers and a reporter from The Korea Times accompanied the raid conducted by officers from Gangnam Police Station on Nov. 18.

“You have the right to remain silent,” the officer began reading the couple their rights.

The brothel was located in a nondescript, three-story building located in Nonhyeon-dong.

A neon sign was on one corner of the building but it did not specify any of the services available or the activities conducted inside. Outside a man was standing guard with a walkie-talkie in his hand.

When the policemen told him to move aside, he offered little resistance.
A door was then flung open and the policemen ran downstairs.

They reached a lounge where a hidden corridor was discovered after an air conditioner was removed.

The operation was made possible by two undercover officers inside the building who posed as customers and text-messaged reports to colleagues waiting outside.

Although the remaining seven rooms were also occupied, officers struggled to break the locks on the doors. By the time they gained entry, men and women inside the rooms were fully clothed and officers were unable to find physical evidence such as used condoms in the room and had to let them go.

“We just had a chat,” said one man, who was accompanied by a woman.
“I was unlucky,” said the man who was caught in bed with a woman, as he was escorted into an unmarked police van.

Also taken into custody was a blind man who managed the premises, but officers said he was just a front man and not the real owner.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

Via a reader tip comes this news that the daughter of the Chairman of Korean Air decided to have a airplane returned to the gate to boot a stewardess she was unhappy with:

The daughter of Korean Air Lines Co. Chairman Cho Yang Ho ordered a plane back to the gate so she could remove a crew member who gave an incorrect answer to a question on how to serve macadamia nuts, the airline said.

Heather Cho, 40, a vice president of the airline, ordered the head of the service crew on Flight 86 from New York to Seoul to deplane after an attendant earlier had served Cho macadamia nuts without asking, the carrier said. Cho then summoned the purser to ask a question about the airline’s policy on serving nuts. Cho ordered the man to leave the plane when he couldn’t answer. Under the carrier’s rules, passengers must be asked first before serving.

The purser didn’t know the company’s procedures and “kept on making up lies and excuses,” Korean Air said in a separate statement late yesterday.

The aircraft had already left the gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport for takeoff on Dec. 5. It took no more than 2 minutes to return to the gate to deplane the crew member, according to the airline. The flight was 11 minutes late when it arrived in Seoul on Dec. 6.

Korean Air in its statement late yesterday apologized to passengers for the inconvenience the incident caused. It noted the plane was less than 10 meters from the gate at JFK when the decision to return was made.  [BusinessWeek]

You can read more at the link, but I can understand her unhappiness because serving nuts for example to a kid without asking could cause an allergic reaction and open the airline to a lawsuit.  So I understand where she is coming from, but with that said what gives her the right to turn around a plane?  Shouldn’t the pilots due to an emergency be the ones to make that decision?  I would not classify this as an emergency and just something that the airline could of took care when the plane arrived back in Korea.

Kim Jong Un Inspects Air Force Unit | @KCNAWatch http://t.co/p8xWrjlnUD pic.twitter.com/hnkckRFLCy

— NK NEWS (@nknewsorg) December 8, 2014

People climb Mt. Sobaek in Danyang, North Chungcheong Province on Thursday. /Newsis

Here are the November 2014 court martial results that were posted on the USFK website.

Results of Courts-Martial for November 2014

On 7 November 2014, at a General Court-Martial, SSG Randal C. Rucker, 65^th Medical Brigade, was convicted of one specification of maltreatment of a subordinate (UCMJ, Article 93), four specifications of abusive sexual contact (Article 120), and one specification of assault consummated by a battery (Article 128).  He was sentenced to be reduced to E-1, to be confined for 12 months, and to be discharged with a Dishonorable Discharge.

On 11 November 2014, at a Special Court-Martial PFC Brandon L. Hall, Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 2d Infantry Division, was found guilty of one specification of aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon (UCMJ Article 128) and one specification of assault consummated by battery (Article 128).  He was sentenced to reduction to E-1, six months confinement, and to be discharged with a Bad Conduct Discharge.

On 13 November 2014, at a General Court-Martial, SFC Gregory McClain, 210th Field Artillery Brigade was found guilty of one specification of failure to obey a general regulation (UCMJ, Article 92).  He was sentenced to reduction to the grade of Sergeant (E-5) and three months confinement.

On 19 November 2014, at a General Court-Martial, SGT Duane R. James, 65th Medical Brigade, was convicted of one specification of adultery (UCMJ, Article 134).  He was sentenced to a Bad-Conduct Discharge.

On 20 November 2014, at a General Court-Martial, CPT John G. Birdsong, 65th Medical Brigade, was found guilty of one specification of sexual assault (UCMJ, Article 120) and one specification of failing to obey a lawful general regulation (UCMJ, Article 92).  He was sentenced to confinement for 24 months and to be dismissed from the service.

On 24 November 2014, at a Summary Court-Martial, SFC Christopher L. Martinez, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, was found guilty of one specification of abusive sexual contact (UCMJ, Article 120) and one specification of failure to obey a lawful general order (Article 92).  He was sentenced to reduction to E-6 and forfeiture of two-thirds pay for one month.

Results of ROK Criminal Prosecutions for November 2014

In Seoul Central District Court on 7 November 2014, Airman Willie S. Ford, Jr., 51st CPTS, Osan Air Base, was convicted of Obstruction of Performance of Official Duties and Infliction of Bodily Injury.  His adjudged sentence was imprisonment for 6 months, suspended for 2 years.

In Suwon District Court on 20 November 2014, MSgt Reginald G. Burks, 51st AMXS, Osan Air Base, was convicted of DUI.  His adjudged sentence was a 1,000,000 Won fine.

In Suwon District Court on 20 November 2014, MSgt David R. Sands, 607th SPTS/CSS, Osan Air Base, was convicted of DUI.  His adjudged sentence was a 1,500,000 Won fine.

In Suwon District Court on 20 November 2014, SSgt David J. Torrey, 303d IS/DOA, Osan Air Base, was convicted of DUI.  His adjudged sentence was a 2,000,000 Won fine.

In Seoul Central District Court on 21 November 2014, SSG Alan D. McNicholas, HHC, 2/9th Infantry, USAG Casey, was convicted of Assault.  His adjudged sentence was a 1,000,000 Won fine.

In Seoul Central District Court on 21 November 2014, SGT Crisoforo T. Trujillo, HHC,  2-2 Assault, USAG Yongsan, was convicted of Larceny and DUI.  His adjudged sentence was imprisonment for 6 months, suspended for 2 years.

In Suwon District Court on 26 November 2014, PFC Nico A. Pierce, 4-58th AOB, USAG Humphreys, was convicted of DUI.  His adjudged sentence was a 1,500,000 Won fine.

In Suwon District Court on 26 November 2014, SFC Nathaniel J. Goza, A Co, 719th MI BN, USAG Humphreys, was convicted of DUI.  His adjudged sentence was a 4,000,000 Won fine.

In Seoul Central District Court on 4 February 2014, SGT Walter L. Thomas, B Btry, 1/15th FA, USAG Casey, was convicted of Infliction of Bodily Injury, Assault and Destruction of Property.  His adjudged sentence was a 2,000,000 Won fine.  The Soldier demanded a formal trial but withdrew the request on 24 November 2014.

I am a bit surprised that London did not have a memorial of any kind in it in recognition of the United Kingdom’s valiant soldiers who fought in the Korean War until now:

The first public memorial in London to British soldiers who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War was unveiled in a ceremony Wednesday along the banks of the River Thames.

The memorial incorporates a bronze statue of a British soldier by award-winning Scottish sculptor Philip Jackson that stands in front of an inscribed Portland stone obelisk on a base of Welsh slate.

The 5.8 by 3.1 meter (19 by 10 feet) memorial is just outside the headquarters of the U.K. Ministry of Defence. It is the last such monument to be erected in the capital of one of the 16 countries that allied with South Korea during the war. Over 300 members of the British Korean Veterans Association (BKVA) attended the unveiling ceremony in Victoria Embankment Gardens in central London.

The ceremony was also attended by 200 British and Korean officials, including the Duke of Gloucester and Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se. The memorial is a gift from the Korean government to express thanks to the 81,000 British soldiers who served in the Korean War, which includes 1,106 troops killed and 1,060 who were prisoners of war.

Queen Elizabeth II sent a congratulatory message that was read by the Duke of Gloucester. “The memorial is a fitting tribute to the veterans of that fierce conflict,” she said in the message, “and will ensure that they, and their fallen comrades, are never forgotten.”

“The Korean War was the first UN action against aggression,” reads an inscription on the obelisk. “Although exhausted and impoverished after the Second World War, Britain responded immediately by providing strong naval, army and air forces and became the second largest contributor after the United States. A distant obligation honorably discharged.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link.