This is receiving way to much air time on US news channels:

A midday incursion Saturday by North Korean troops into the southern side of the no-man’s-land separating North and South Korea only stoked the unease.

South Korean soldiers rattled off 40 warning shots at the five communist troops who crossed the center line of the DMZ, the inter-Korean buffer.

It was unclear whether the North Korean advance was intended as a provocation, or was an attempt to go fishing at a nearby stream, an official at South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on condition of anonymity, citing official policy. No one was hurt, and the North Koreans retreated.

Border incursions by the North Koreans are nothing new.  Usually the North Koreans provoke an incident by firing at the South Koreans first.  This time it appears these soldiers were probably just trying to get a little fishing in since they didn’t fire at the South Koreans.  Who knows but this is definitely not worthy of the amount of news coverage it is getting.  What is even worse is when the US news coverage of this incident is followed up with a North Korea “expert” providing his analysis of how the US should bomb North Korea’s missile sites to prevent a North Korean nuclear attack on the US main land.

With “expert” analysis like this, is it any wonder why Americans appear to be more scared of Kim Jong-il than the people of Seoul who live within artillery range of North Korea?

More over at Nomad on this.  Maybe Frank can provide some fishing tips for the North Koreans.

It looks like the Arirang Taxi company that provides taxi service to USFK troops in Korea will have a little competition on post soon:

A second on-base taxi company soon may serve U.S. military bases in Area I and Area II, according to a top official of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service.

AAFES wants to provide 50 extra taxi cabs on Yongsan Garrison in Seoul and major bases in the Uijeongbu and Dongducheon areas during peak hours on weekdays and during the weekends, said Betty J. O’Brien, AAFES general manager for Korea.

The exchange service also wants to have a formal contingency plan in case of another drivers’ strike, she said Friday.

“This will help make sure our customers are taken care of when they need to be taken care of,” she said. “It’s possible we could have it before Christmas.”

Is North Korea running out of bridges to burn?:

North Korea may bring the date of a planned nuclear test forward after a contentious remark by China’s U.N. ambassador angered generals in the reclusive country, a source with close ties to Pyongyang said on Sunday.

U.S. envoy John Bolton said last week that while Britain, France and Japan had made clear a strong statement was needed to warn Pyongyang against testing, he was not certain “what North Korea’s protectors on the (U.N. Security) Council are going to do”.

In response, Chinese Ambassador Wang Guangya said: “I’m not sure which country he is referring to, but I think that for bad behavior in this world no one is going to protect them.”

Wang’s remark riled North Korean generals who bristled at the notion of needing China’s protection and urged their leader, Kim Jong-il, to bring the test date forward, said the source who requested anonymity.

“North Korea is especially unhappy with China,” the source told Reuters after speaking with senior North Korean officials.

“This is chauvinism. North Korea does not need Chinese protection. North Korea is no longer a dependency,” the source cited the North Koreans as saying.

Korea was a Chinese protectorate for several centuries until Japan seized it as a colony in 1910.

If true this will be a true turning point in Chinese policy if China turns it’s back on North Korea. That would leave North Korea ironically with it’s only ally who is at the same time officially it’s sworn enemy, South Korea. If China decides to cut back on aid to North Korea in response to a nuclear test than President Roh better get the pocket book out because the South Korean tax payers will be making up for the shortage.

I think China originally was just hoping to keep North Korea issue quiet until at least after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but it appears North Korea is determined to get a deal done over it’s nuclear program before the Olympics. This is a sign that the US financial sanctions are hitting North Korea hard if the North Koreans are even breaking ranks with the Chinese over their nuclear program. I think it is also a sign that domestic politics within North Korea concerning the military is all playing a factor in the current crisis since the military is willing to denounce the Chinese in order to conduct a nuclear test.

Also I have to say that Ambassador Bolton is doing a great job as the United States’ UN Ambassador because not only did he get a Security Council Resolution with teeth in it passed after the NK missile tests in July, but now he has even gotten the Chinese and the North Koreans at odds against each other. Plus I wouldn’t be surprised if he cut a deal with the South Koreans where the US would support Ban Ki-moon’s UN Security General nomination if the South Koreans took tougher actions against the North after any possible nuclear test. Just a theory but I think it’s plausible. Once again I think Bolton has been doing great and just think he probably won’t be the ambassador to much longer because the Democrats seemed determined to sink his nomination. It is sad that petty politics will probably cause a quality guy like Bolton to get sacked from this important position simply because they hate President Bush.

Oh a quick note, I wonder if VANK will take note of the Korea was a Chinese protectorate for many centuries comment at the end of the article?

It looks like one 2ID soldier got more than he could chew on in Itaewon:

A 2nd Infantry Division soldier is back in U.S. military custody Monday after being arrested by South Korean police late Sunday night in Itaewon, 8th Army officials confirmed.

South Korean police officials said Spc. Jeffrey Allen Hayden was arguing with the staff at the Goldfish Bar about how much he would pay for beer he had ordered and consumed.

Another foreigner exited the bar and asked Korean National Police and U.S. military police for assistance, according to detective Kim Young-dae.

Hayden refused their request to show identification, Kim said, and in an ensuing altercation the soldier kicked one soldier and bit a South Korean police officer.

All I can say is that at least he did not bite a taxi driver.

From Yonhap:

 Japan’s new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is believed to have promised China not to visit a controversial war shine “for the time being,” ahead of his planned summit meetings with China and South Korea, diplomatic sources said Friday.

Abe, who aims to improve ties with the Asian neighbors, will meet China’s President Hu Jintao on Sunday in Beijing and South Korea’s President Roh Moo-hyun on Monday in Seoul, the Japanese government confirmed on Wednesday.

Before accepting the scheduled summit, China demanded Japan’s Abe to promise not to visit the Yasukuni shrine that glorifies Japan’s war criminals before and during World War II, the sources said. The Japanese government responded somewhat positively, saying Abe won’t pray at the shrine for the time being, they said.

Right now Korean politicians are thinking, “Oh Sh__!, We can’t play up the shrine issue anymore to get people worked up against the Japanese and to overlook our own governmental failures.  Well there is still the Dokdo issue we can play up.  Dokdo is Korea!”

More of course at Japundit.

FYI for all you soldiers out there:

In a move officials say acknowledges the fact that women come in different body shapes, the Army has raised its weight standards for females across the board.

The new regulations, which went into effect Monday, allow female soldiers to weigh anywhere from six to 19 pounds more than was previously permitted, depending on their height and age.

By increasing the maximum allowable weights, but not the maximum allowable body fat percentages, the Army is “identifying what’s really out there in society” but not compromising the Army’s standards, Timms said.

For example, women 17 to 20 years old who are 67 inches tall, or 5 feet 7 inches, can now weigh up to 159 pounds, instead of 145 pounds.

A woman that height who is 21 to 27 years old can weigh up to 161 pounds, instead of 149 pounds.

A female soldier who is 28 to 39 years old can now weigh 163, up from 154, and one who is more than 40 years old can weigh up to 166 pounds, instead of 159 pounds.

Maximum allowable body fat percentages for women in the following age groups are: for 17-20, 30 percent; for 21-27, 32 percent; for 28-39, 34 percent; and for women 40 and older, 36 percent.

 This is actually long overdue because often I have seen more women that need to be taped during a weigh-in than men but the vast majority of the women make the body fat percentage.  So basically this new regulation will just make weigh-ins move along faster since not as many females will need to be taped.

Who knows where in Korea this image is from?

The Korea Liberator has an article posted on the Washington Post website concerning the latest nuclear test crisis with North Korea.  Here is a sample of what they have to say:

Count us among those who ardently hope Kim Jong-il conducts a nuclear test.

For decades, highly regarded diplomats have seen Kim Jong-il and his father as men who, but for their brutality and bellicosity, were motivated by the same interests and restraints that would guide normal diplomats were we in their place. Our policies have been shaped by our own concept of what a “rational” North Korean tyrant would do, based on the belief that Kim would rejoin the civilized world in return for incentives.

Go check it out.

Chuseok is supposed to be a happy time of year for Korean families but for some families it is a time painful rememberance.

For background information click here.

Maybe this explains the amount of hikers in Korea:

Pocket books that identify exact calories and nutrients of 93 kinds of foods that Koreans eat most frequently will be distributed to people for free, the Ministry of Health and Welfare recently said.

The pocket books, aimed at preventing people from becoming fat by having a balanced diet, have been written following a nationwide survey on Koreans’ eating habits conducted in 2001. A total of 400,000 copies of the book will be given to people across the nation.

The pocket book provides information on the amount of exercise needed to consume calories gained from various types of foods. The book especially offers detailed information on nutrients and amounts of oil, sugar and salts used in various types of foods that are often served in an average Korean meal.

According to the health pocket book, a two-hour walk is recommended to burn off the 540 kcal gained by drinking one bottle of soju.

I would by no means consider Korea on the verge of becoming a fat society as this article seems to claim, but for the most part Koreans are avid hikers and will often drink the one bottle of soju while they are on their hike.  So as far as burning off soju calories I think the Koreans got that one well covered.