Not that anyone really cares or will do anything, but Russia is openly violating U.N. sanctions with their exports of petroleum to North Korea:

Russia delivered more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to North Korea in March alone, a White House official said Thursday, noting its shipments thus far have already exceeded Pyongyang’s annual import cap mandated by the U.N. Security Council (UNSC).

National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby made the remarks as Washington is working in tandem with South Korea, Japan and other partners to roll out new sanctions this month against those aiding in transfers of weapons and refined petroleum between the North and Russia.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The big thing with this agreed to bill is that the special investgation cannot issue warrants:

The ruling and main opposition parties agreed Wednesday to revise a special bill mandating a new investigation into the 2022 Itaewon tragedy that claimed 159 lives, both sides said.

The bill, which was initially railroaded by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) in January but vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol, calls for the formation of an investigation committee to look into the root cause of the tragedy, which took place amid a crowd crush in Seoul’s Itaewon district during Halloween weekend in 2022.

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the DPK agreed on the committee’s makeup, period of operation and method of investigation, and will reflect the agreements in a revised bill before passing it through a plenary parliamentary session Thursday, they said.

Under the deal, the committee will not have the authority to conduct investigations ex officio or seek warrants, operate for up to a year with the possibility of extending its term by up to three months, and comprise a chair who will be chosen following consultations between the rival parties and four members recommended by each party.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The American man who had been protesting around Seoul for years to get the Korean government to return his kidnapped kids did actually get them returned recently:

John Sichi, center, plays with his children at their home in San Francisco, Calif., after they returned to the United States on April 18. Courtesy of John Sichi

American citizen John Sichi was recently reunited with his two children after a years-long journey to retrieve them, following their abduction by his Korean spouse. Sichi’s family, originally based in California, experienced upheaval when his spouse vanished with their children in late 2019 after relocating to Korea.

Now resettled in San Francisco, Sichi and his two children — a seven-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl — are piecing their lives back together and envisioning a future that once seemed lost.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link to find out what he went through to get his kidnapped kids returned to him. I do feel really bad though for the kids, this has to be a shock for them to lose their mother like this. Considering this was a kidnapping case I would doubt the mother would have any visitation rights after what she did.

This is why the ROK wants to conclude cost sharing negotiations before any potential Trump presidency:

Former President Donald Trump has suggested that the United States could pull out its troops stationed in South Korea if the Asian ally does not make more financial contributions to support them, U.S. magazine TIME reported Tuesday.

TIME’s release of its interview with Trump came as Seoul and Washington recently launched new negotiations over South Korea’s share of the cost for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) under a deal, called the Special Measures Agreement (SMA). 

“We have 40,000 troops that are in a precarious position,” he was quoted by TIME as saying. “Which doesn’t make any sense. Why would we defend somebody? And we’re talking about a very wealthy country.”

He was apparently referring to the 28,500 USFK service members. 

Based on the remarks, TIME said in an article that Trump “suggests” the U.S. could withdraw its forces “if South Korea doesn’t pay more to support U.S. troops there to deter (North Korean leader) Kim Jong-un’s increasingly belligerent regime to the north.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but it will be interesting to see if this becomes a major campaign issue or not this year.

Here is the latest numbers on North Koreans defecting to the South:

The number of North Korean defectors who successfully reached South Korea came to 43 in the first quarter, marking an increase from the same period last year, government data showed Tuesday. 
  
According to the Unification Ministry, eight men and 35 women arrived in South Korea from the beginning of January to the end of March, bringing the total number of North Korean defectors who have arrived in the South to 34,121. 
  
The latest figure was lower than 57 tallied in the previous quarter but was higher than 34 in the same period a year earlier.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Some more interesting trails near the Korean DMZ are set to open this month:

Ten peace-themed trails near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), separating the two Koreas, will open to the public in mid-May, the government said Tuesday.

The trails are located across border towns and cities in the provinces of Gyeonggi and Gangwon, as well as the western border island of Gangwha, according to the defense and culture ministries.

The trails are set to open May 13. Visitors can sign up for trips on the government-run website (www.dmzwalk.com) and mobile app Durunubi, according to the ministries.

The DMZ, which is about 250 kilometers long and 4 kilometers wide, is one of the world’s most heavily fortified borders, with the rival Koreas technically in a state of conflict, as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.