The way President Lee hasn’t tried to enflame anti-Japanese sentiment has been mildly surprising to me. His liberal predecessor President Moon was notorious for stoking anti-Japanese sentiment and preventing trilateral military cooperation. It is good to see President Lee has not followed suit on this so far:

Top naval commanders of South Korea, the United States and Japan gathered in Seoul on Wednesday to hold a series of talks aimed at strengthening their trilateral maritime security cooperation, the South’s Navy said.

The gathering brought together Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Kyung-ryul, U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Stephen Koehler and Adm. Akira Saito, chief of staff of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, for bilateral talks and a trilateral dinner meeting, according to the armed service.

The meetings came amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, raising speculation over whether their talks would address the ongoing U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

In the trilateral meeting, the three sides shared their perspectives on the regional maritime security environment in the Pacific and discussed ways to enhance cooperation. 

They also reportedly discussed ways to cooperate against North Korea’s efforts to strengthen its maritime prowess, as seen in the recent development of a 5,000-ton destroyer, Choe Hyon, and the test-firing of strategic cruise and anti-warship missiles from the naval destroyer.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Despite Korea’s dependence on oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz I would be very surprised if Korea takes any leading role in an international force to police it:

President Lee Jae Myung will attend talks led by Britain and France this week over freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday.

The virtual gathering, to be hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer late Friday (Seoul time), aims to ensure free and safe passage through the crucial waterway.

“As the freedom and security of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz serve the interests of all parties and are vital to our national interests, we are continuing efforts to work in solidarity with countries that share similar positions,” a senior official told reporters.

Lee is preparing a message addressing energy supply chains, Seoul’s stance on the Middle East situation, and the importance of international solidarity to ensure free passage through the crucial shipping route, the official said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like South Korea could soon have a competitor in the competitive global arms industry:

“Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling party approved the changes this week as she tries to invigorate the pacifist country’s military industrial base. Her government will formally adopt the new rules as soon as this month, three Japanese government officials told Reuters.

Despite largely isolating itself from global arms markets since World ‌War Two, Japan spends enough on its own military – $60 billion this year – to sustain a sizeable defence industry capable of manufacturing advanced systems like submarines and fighter jets.

Among the potential new customers are the Polish military and the Philippine navy, which are undergoing modernization amid regional security challenges, according to Reuters interviews with Japanese officials and foreign diplomats in Tokyo. Defence contractors Toshiba and Mitsubishi Electric (6503.T) are hiring staff and adding capacity to capitalise on demand, their executives said, providing previously unreported details.

One of the first deals Takaichi’s government will likely approve are exports of used frigates to the Philippines, which is locked in maritime confrontation with Beijing in the South China Sea, according to two of the Japanese officials. Reuters is the first to report the timeframe of the likely sale, which may be followed by missile defence systems, the officials said.

“Warsaw and Tokyo can help plug gaps in each other’s arsenals, cooperating in areas like anti-drone and electronic warfare systems, said Mariusz Boguszewski, deputy chief of mission at Poland’s embassy in Japan.”

Reuters

You can read more at the link.

The best thing about this oil is that it will all be shipped to South Korea without having to transit the Strait of Hormuz:

South Korea has secured 273 million barrels of crude oil by the end of this year from four nations in the Middle East, presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik said Wednesday. 

Kang, who returned home from his eight-day trip to Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kazakhstan, said the nation also secured 2.1 million tons of naphtha by the end of this year. 

“The 273 million barrels of crude oil, based on last year’s consumption levels, are sufficient to sustain the economy for more than three months under normal operating conditions without the need for additional emergency measures,” Kang told reporters.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This was a long time coming and a well deserved punishment that hopefully acts as a deterrent to all the other idiot social media influencers looking to act the fool in South Korea:

American YouTuber Johnny Somali, who sparked outrage in South Korea two years ago after kissing a statue symbolizing Korean victims of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery, was sentenced by a court Wednesday to six months in prison and remanded in custody.

Somali was indicted by South Korean authorities on multiple charges, including obstruction of business and violations of minor public order laws.

He is accused of uploading a video of himself kissing a “Statue of Peace” that commemorates the former sex slaves in Seoul and performing a lewd dance in front of it in October 2024. He also provoked public outrage by causing disturbances on buses, subways and an amusement park, vandalizing a convenience store in Seoul’s Mapo district and playing obscene videos in public.

The Seoul Western District Court sentenced Somali to six months in prison and 20 days of detention and barred him from employment at institutions related to children and adolescents for five years.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

An early sign that the blockade is already working:

South Korea has no plans to pay Iran to get its stranded ships out of the Strait of Hormuz, its top diplomat said Wednesday, noting that it does not intend to take any action that would run counter to the U.S.-led blockade of the shipping lane.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun made the remarks during a parliamentary session, in response to a lawmaker’s question about whether paying Iran a toll for transit would conflict with the U.S. Navy-led blockade aimed at preventing Tehran from taking control of the waterway.

“At this stage, we have no plans to pay Iran any form of compensation or to take any action that would run counter to what the United States has stated,” Cho told the National Assembly.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.