Hopefully this outgoing North Korean ambassador to Cuba doesn’t have a date with an anti-aircraft gun waiting for him when he returns to Pyongyang:

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel (R) meets with North Korean Ambassador to Cuba Ma Chol-su at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana on March 16, 2024, in this photo captured from the president’s X.

North Korea’s ambassador to Cuba has paid a visit to Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel before concluding his mission, the Cuban presidential office said, as Pyongyang is preparing to replace the envoy after Cuba’s surprising establishment of diplomatic ties with South Korea.

Diaz-Canel shared a brief video of Friday’s meeting with Ambassador Ma Chol-su on X, the former Twitter platform, saying he reassured the ambassador that Pyongyang could always rely on Cuba’s support, solidarity and friendship in all aspects. 

The president, who visited North Korea twice, also emphasized the brotherhood between the countries.

Ma is reported to have received the Friendship Medal from the president that day in recognition of his diplomatic service in Cuba for the past five years.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the timing of the change is making it look like he is being blamed for Cuba establishing formal diplomatic relations with South Korea.

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.

I can’t feel sympathy from anyone from the western aligned world who gets arrested while visiting or living in Russia. It is well known the risks of becoming detained whenever Russia needs a hostage:

The detention of a South Korean national by Russian authorities on espionage allegations has emerged as a significant diplomatic challenge for Seoul, particularly against the backdrop of strained relations between the two nations.

Observers suggest that the detainee could be caught up in Russia’s hostage diplomacy tactics, and anticipate that the situation could drag on for months, if not years. Moreover, this incident could signal a shift in Russia’s stance toward North Korean defectors, particularly considering the detainee’s purported involvement in assisting North Korean workers in the far eastern region of Russia.

Earlier this week, the Russian state-owned media outlet TASS agency reported that a South Korean man named Baek Kwang-soon, aged 53, was apprehended in January on charges of espionage in Vladivostok. He was subsequently transferred to Moscow’s Lefortovo detention facility in February, typically reserved for high-profile political detainees. The Lefortovsky Court has extended his detention until June 15.

This marks the first known case of a South Korean national being arrested on espionage charges in Russia, where such offenses carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Fortunately the designers of this tank made the hatch wide enough for Kim Jong-un to be able to get into it:

This photo, carried by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency on March 14, 2024, shows the North’s leader Kim Jong-un guiding “training matches” involving tank troops the previous day, as the country unveiled a new main battle tank. (Yonhap)

North Korea has unveiled a new battle tank during training exercises, state media reported Thursday, amid ongoing joint military drills between South Korea and the United States.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un drove a new tank himself during the “training match” between tank units Wednesday in a bid to inspect tank troops’ actual combat capabilities, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Calling them “the most powerful tanks in the world,” Kim expressed satisfaction over their striking power and maneuverability, it said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I don’t understand how this guy even thought his joke was funny in anyway?:

Former Democratic Party lawmaker Chung Bong-ju declares his candidacy for the April elections at the National Assembly on Jan. 8, 2024. (Yonhap)

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) on Friday canceled the nomination of an ex-DP lawmaker over his past remarks ridiculing South Korean soldiers who lost their legs in a 2015 bloody land mine explosion are stirring up criticism weeks before the April parliamentary elections. 

Chung Bong-ju was selected as DP candidate for Seoul’s Gangbuk-B constituency but he has been criticized for the comments he made on a YouTube channel in 2017 about the highly publicized incident for which a South Korean probe later concluded North Korea was responsible. (….)

The panel on the YouTube channel was talking about ways that the two Koreas could use the ski resorts in the North ahead of the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games that the South was hosting. 

Appearing as a guest, Chung said: “We have great stuff in the DMZ, don’t we? Ankle mines. We could all go into the DMZ and give out prizes. Give a set of crutches to each of those who step on the mines.” 

Chung’s remarks have come into the spotlight since he won the party primary. 

In a Facebook post Wednesday, Chung issued an apology over the comments and said he also apologized to the victims over the phone and deleted the YouTube clip. 

But the soldiers told some local media that Chung has never contacted them, much less given an apology.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Here is some different training for pilots in 2ID:

A U.S. Navy vehicle cargo ship recently took a rare opportunity to train with Army helicopter crews off the southern coast of South Korea. Crews aboard UH-60M Black Hawks from the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade qualified for deck landings aboard the USNS Dahl on March 7, 5 miles from Jinhae, Military Sealift Command, Far East said in a news release Monday.

“All flight deck operations are inherently dangerous but [deck landing qualifications] add the wild card of potentially novice crews who are not familiar with either the vessel or ship flight operations in general,” contracted mariner Capt. Deatra Thompson said in the release.

Stars and Stripes

You can read more at the link.