No matter how many times the Kim regime tells the Korean left no to engagement they will never believe they really mean it:

North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong-un, late Tuesday dismissed prospects for improving inter-Korean relations, rejecting the South Korean government’s assessment that her earlier remarks left room for engagement and calling such expectations a “daydream.” 
  
“As far as Seoul’s various hope-filled wild dreams called ‘repair of DPRK-ROK relations’ are concerned, they all can never come true,” Kim said in an English-language statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). “The present address of the DPRK-ROK relations can never change.” 
  
DPRK refers to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name, while ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea’s official designation.  
  
Her remarks were widely seen as a reiteration of Pyongyang’s stance to maintain a severance of inter-Korean ties based on Kim Jong-un’s doctrine of “two hostile states,” which frames the two Koreas as separate and adversarial countries rather than counterparts in a divided nation.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but the Kim regime only seeks engagement to extract concessions which they don’t need right now because the Russians are providing for all their needs.

President Lee and Prime Minister Takaichi continue to appear to get along quite well. Hopefully this continues:

President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday he has emphasized the need for trilateral cooperation among Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing as he held summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, amid heightened diplomatic tensions between Japan and China. 

“I emphasized the need for the three Northeast Asian countries — Korea, Japan and China — to identify as much common ground as possible in order to communicate and cooperate,” Lee said in a joint press announcement after the summit. 

The summit talks with Takaichi came after Lee held summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing earlier this month, at a time when tensions have been running high between Beijing and Tokyo over Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but it appears Lee is trying to position himself as a mediator between Beijing and Tokyo. I doubt Lee will influence China in anyway in regards to Japan. Taiwan is one of those issues where the CCP shows no flexibility and will always overreact on.

This would be a dream outcome for the Korean left if President Yoon receives the death penalty:

A special counsel team has requested the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed imposition of martial law, describing him as the ringleader of an insurrection who sought to stay in power by seizing control of the judiciary and legislature.

Special counsel Cho Eun-suk’s team made the request during the final hearing of Yoon’s trial at the Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday, just over a year after the then president declared martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, with the stated aim of eradicating anti-state forces.

The court plans to hand down its ruling on Yoon’s case on Feb. 19.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I doubt the Lee administration flew these drones so it is likely civilians that flew them. Even if they are civilian drones, this shows North Korea has poor defenses against drones:

 Cheong Wa Dae on Sunday reaffirmed that South Korea has no intention of provoking or irritating North Korea, after Pyongyang again blamed the South for drone incursions into the North and demanded an explanation. 

In a statement, the Office of National Security at Cheong Wa Dae said, “The government once again confirms that it has no intention of provoking or irritating the North side.”

“The government will look into the latest drone incident through a joint military-police probe and promptly disclose its results,” the office said, also pledging continued efforts to ease inter-Korean tension and build trust. 

On Sunday, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, called on Seoul to provide a detailed explanation, a day after the North Korean military claimed that the South violated the North’s sovereignty by sending drones in September and on Jan. 4. 

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Regardless of the political party, I wonder how many political seats in Korea are influenced by bribery?:

A former member of Seoul’s Dongjak Ward Council (R) appears at an office of the Seoul Metropolitan Police in the capital on Jan. 8, 2026, to undergo questioning about his alleged delivery of cash to Democratic Party Rep. Kim Byung-kee. (Yonhap)

Police on Thursday questioned a former local council member over his claim that he delivered 10 million won (US$6,900) in cash to ruling party lawmaker Kim Byung-kee in the hopes of a nomination for the 2020 parliamentary elections.

The former member of Seoul’s Dongjak Ward Council was questioned as a suspect at an office of the Seoul Metropolitan Police after disclosing the apparent bribe in a petition submitted to former Rep. Lee Su-jin of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) in late 2023.

Lee recently mentioned the petition to the press amid a snowballing corruption scandal involving Kim and his family. Kim stepped down as DP floor leader last week to take responsibility for the various allegations of misconduct.

In the petition, the former council member reportedly claimed that his wife offered a Lunar New Year’s gift and 5 million won in cash to Kim’s wife ahead of the 2020 parliamentary election but that they were rejected for being “too much for a gift and too little” for a nomination.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

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