The fall out from Chung Dong-young’s intelligence leak continues:
The commander of the U.S. military stationed in South Korea, Gen. Xavier Brunson, has lodged a protest against the unification minister’s recent remarks that allegedly leaked classified U.S. information about North Korea’s nuclear facility, a lawmaker said Tuesday.
You can read more at the link, but the ROK government appears to be in sweep it under the carpet mode right now on this issue.
This was a major misstep by Chung:
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Monday his referring to North Korea’s Kusong region as one of the sites hosting the country’s nuclear facilities was intended to explain South Korea’s North Korea policy, expressing regret over allegations that the remarks constituted an information leak. (……)
“I only (referred to Kusong) as part of a policy explanation meant to illustrate the seriousness of North Korea’s nuclear issue. Framing it as an information leak is very regrettable,” Chung told reporters.
The United States has reportedly complained about Chung’s disclosure of the information, which it believes was based on intelligence shared by Washington, and has ceased sharing satellite information on North Korea with Seoul.
You can read more at the link, but Chung claims his statement was based off of open source intelligence and not imagery from the U.S.
I would assume this tanker did not pay the toll since it was allowed to pass through the U.S. Navy’s blockade:
A tanker that breached the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is scheduled to arrive in South Korea, Reuters reported on the 20th.
According to Kpler, a maritime data analysis company, the Maltese-flagged Suezmax-class oil tanker Odessa (Odessa)ho passed through the Strait of Hormuz on the 13th and is heading to South Korea.
You can read more at the link.
When it comes to the Taiwan issue China can be very petty here is another example of this:
China has put Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s planned visit to Korea on hold, raising concerns over recent changes to Korea’s electronic arrival card system, according to local media reports.
Reports said Seoul and Beijing had been coordinating Wang’s visit since earlier this year, but the Chinese side objected after Seoul removed the label “China (Taiwan)” from the departure and destination section of the electronic entry form last month.
The issue emerged after the Korean government announced on March 31 that it would eliminate the departure and destination selection field altogether from the electronic arrival card, following complaints from Taiwan over the wording.
You can read more at the link.
It appears that North Korea is signaling that they have cluster munitions just like Iran has used against Israel:
North Korea has tested cluster bombs in its latest launch of surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, supervised by leader Kim Jong-un, state media reported Monday.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) published the report of the launch of the Hwasong-11 Ra tactical ballistic missile a day after South Korea’s military detected multiple short-range ballistic missiles launched toward the East Sea at around 6:10 a.m. from North Korea’s Sinpho area.
The KCNA said the purpose of the test-launch was to evaluate the power of the “cluster bomb warhead and fragmentation mine warhead” fitted to the weapon system.
You can read more at the link.
All I see is a lot of talk with no plan of action on what these countries plan to do to open the Strait of Hormuz other than wait for the U.S. to open it for them:
President Lee Jae Myung stressed the need for Korea and India to work together to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz in an interview published Monday, also highlighting the need for joint efforts to stabilize global supply chains.
In a written interview with The Times of India, held before his summit talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he noted that the effective closure of the critical shipping route due to the prolonged conflict between the United States and Iran has been driving up global oil prices while also disrupting supply chains for key industrial materials.
“Both the Republic of Korea and India depend on the Middle East for a significant share of their energy supplies, including crude oil and natural gas. Accordingly, ensuring the security of critical maritime routes is essential to the safety of our peoples and the very survival of our nations,” Lee said, referring to Korea by its official name.
You can read more at the link.
