It looks like someone may have had some mental issues:

The Russian Embassy in Seoul’s Jongno Ward (Yonhap)

 An SUV rammed into a guard post in front of the Russian Embassy in central Seoul, seriously injuring a police officer on duty, officials said Monday.

The incident happened at 10:10 p.m. Sunday, and the officer was taken to a hospital with serious injuries to his neck and shoulders, officials said.

The driver was not under the influence of alcohol, officials said.

Police are looking into the exact cause of the crash.

Yonhap

This would be a big development if true, however with the decrepit state of its submarine fleet it is doubtful this is a real functional wartime capability for the Kim regime:

This photo, carried by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on Jan. 29, 2024, shows the North’s firing of submarine-launched cruise missiles the previous day.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has overseen the test-fire of submarine-launched cruise missiles and reviewed a project to build a nuclear-powered submarine, state media reported Monday.

The new Pulhwasal-3-31 strategic cruise missile precisely hit an island target after flying over the East Sea for 7,421 seconds and 7,445 seconds, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, suggesting the test involved two missiles.

The flight time translates to two hours, three minutes and 41 seconds, and two hours, four minutes and five seconds, respectively. The KCNA did not give further details, including whether the missiles were launched from a submarine or a barge and how far they flew.

Yonhap

Kim Jong-un made sure to throw in the word “nuclear” to get the media’s attention:

Kim stressed Sunday that “the nuclear weaponization of the navy is an urgent task of the times and a core requirement for building the state nuclear strategic force,” the KCNA said.

“He set forth the important tasks arising in realizing the nuclear weaponization of the navy and expanding the sphere of operation of the state nuclear deterrence in a diversified way,” it said.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday it is weighing the possibility that North Korea might have “exaggerated” information on the missile’s flight time, adding that it is analyzing details of the launch platform.

The latest launch came as North Korea has been diversifying missile launch platforms to deliver nuclear weapons in a bid to bolster its capabilities to stage a surprise attack and evade the existing missile defense system.

You can read more at the link, but the ROK is probably right that this test is exagerated. However, it is clear what they are working towards because a submarine with cruise missiles would pose a challenge to missile defenses because you don’t know where it is to direct your missile defense radars against.

Even though Korea’s First Lady was setup to create a political scandal, she should not have accepted the handbag and that is what President Yoon should have stated shortly after this whole issue erupted:

This photo shows first lady Kim Keon Hee sending a prayer at a Catholic church in Sorokdo island in South Jeolla Province during her visit there in November. (Presidential office)

President Yoon Suk Yeol is facing mounting pressure to clarify his stance regarding the revelation of an alleged graft case involving first lady Kim Keon Hee.

A Gallup Korea’s poll on Friday showed that 63 percent of South Korean people disapproved of Yoon’s performance in the fourth week of January, up 5 percentage points from the week before.

Yoon’s disapproval rating has hit its highest point in nine months since April 2023, when his remarks suggested that the past during Japan’s colonial occupation of the Korean Peninsula in the early 20th century, including forced labor conscription, should be left behind. His approval rating also came to 31 percent, his lowest in three months.

Controversy surrounding Kim’s alleged breach of the Improper Solicitations Act, and Yoon’s poor communication with the public, were two of the three major reasons respondents to a recent poll gave for their disapproval of Yoon’s performance, along with high costs of living.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

It looks like the Kim regime really wants people to see they have a viable cruise missile threat:

 North Korea fired several cruise missiles from its east coast on Sunday, the South Korean military said, days after Pyongyang test-fired new strategic cruise missiles from the west coast. 

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the North’s launch took place around 8 a.m. in waters off Shinpo Port, but did not elaborate, citing an ongoing analysis.

“While strengthening our monitoring and vigilance, our military has been closely coordinating with the United States to monitor additional signs of North Korea’s provocations,” the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I don’t know how smashing someone over the head 15 times with a rock is an accident. With that said it appears this kid is a nutjob which was what I suspected when this first was reported:

This image, provided by People Power Party lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin’s office, shows the scene of the attack on her in Seoul on Jan. 25, 2024. (Yonhap)

 The teenage assailant of ruling party lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin has claimed that his attack was accidental, saying he had been waiting to be admitted to a hospital for worsening depression, police officials said Friday.

The 15-year-old boy was detained Thursday afternoon shortly after attacking Bae of the ruling People Power Party with a rock the size of an adult man’s fist in Seoul’s southern district of Gangnam for unclear reasons.

Bae, a television news anchor-turned-lawmaker, was struck on the head 15 times. She was taken to Soonchunhyang University Hospital and had her bleeding wound stapled. She remains hospitalized there.

Police questioned the suspect in the presence of his guardian the previous day, and collected his mobile phone and social media history to determine the exact motive behind the crime.

During the investigation, the suspect told the police that he left home about two hours before the incident, bumped into Bae and accidentally committed the attack, according to police officials.

He reportedly said he had been waiting, at a doctor’s order, to be admitted to a closed psychiatric ward due to a depression relapse.

He also said he was habitually carrying the rock with him.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

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