There may be only 300 JSDF personnel involved with this exercise, but the fact it is happening in the southern Ryukyus is sending a strategic message to China. The southern Ryukyus are the weak point to any Chinese blockade of Taiwan that the Japanese have been busy fortifying with both offensive and defensive fires over the past three years:

The Japanese army’s highest operational command will focus on remote southwestern islands near Taiwan for the first time in training that includes command-and-control drills with U.S. Marines. The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s Ground Component Command will practice deploying troops and transporting supplies in the Nansei Islands from May 17 to 22, according to a Ministry of Defense news release April 24.

The Nansei chain, also called the Ryukyus, includes Okinawa and stretches from Kyushu to Taiwan. The exercise will primarily take place on Ishigaki, Yonaguni and Miyakojima. About 300 Japanese soldiers from all regional armies will participate, a Ground Staff spokesman said by phone Tuesday.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It looks like the Iranians through a tantrum and went after a docked ship after the U.S. military successfully brought ships through the supposedly closed Strait of Hormuz. Fortunately it doesn’t appear anyone was hurt on the South Korean ship:

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran has taken shots at a South Korean cargo ship and other targets, noting that it is time for Seoul to participate in a mission to reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

Trump made the remarks in a social media post as the United States launched an operation, called Project Freedom, to guide commercial vessels stranded by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, out of the waterway, a key shipping route for oil, fertilizer and other commodities.

“Iran has taken some shots at unrelated Nations with respect to the Ship Movement, PROJECT FREEDOM, including a South Korean Cargo Ship. Perhaps it’s time for South Korea to come and join the mission!,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“We’ve shot down seven small Boats or, as they like to call them, ‘fast’ Boats. It’s all they have left. Other than the South Korean Ship, there has been, at this moment, no damage going through the Strait,” he added.

Trump’s comment on the South Korean vessel came after Seoul’s foreign ministry said that an explosion occurred on a Panama-flagged ship operated by HMM Co., a major South Korean shipping firm, in the Strait of Hormuz, and that the cause of the explosion is under investigation.

The ship was anchored in waters near the United Arab Emirates within the strait. It was carrying 24 crew members on board — six South Koreans and 18 foreign nationals. No casualties were reported.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the Iranians could sink a South Korean ship and I doubt the Lee administration would do anything about it other than issuing a strongly worded letter. Most of the world realizes the closure of the Strait is a major problem and breach of international law, but would instead prefer the U.S. to do the heavy lifting to open it. They blame the Trump administration for the current conflict while ignoring the fact what would happen if Iran acquired a nuclear weapon and then decided to charge tolls on the Strait? What would the world do then in that scenario? Issue lots of strongly worded letters?

Good news for U.S. troops in South Korea:

A new military mail terminal opened Thursday in Busan to improve speed and reliability of mail delivery to U.S. Forces Korea, according to the U.S. Army.  The facility is expected to strengthen “resiliency and efficiency” of military mail operations in South Korea, Col. Kimberly Pringle of U.S. Army Pacific said in a speech during the opening ceremony. “This facility enhances our ability to receive, process and distribute mail with greater speed and reliability,” she said.

Until the Busan facility opened, the joint military mail terminal at Incheon International Airport was the only military mail terminal in South Korea. Busan will process 40% of the total U.S. military mail that enters the country, which is more than 12 million pounds annually, according to an April 20 news release from the 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command. The terminal is expected to shorten by a day the delivery period for priority mail — from the typical 10 days to nine, James Register, Army Pacific chief of postal operations, told Stars and Stripes on Thursday.

Stars and Stripes

You can read more at the link.

These analysts make no sense when they claim that Korea could send ships to protect civilians vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz only if the safety of their Naval ships can be guaranteed. If there was no threat then there would be no need for a naval escort. A naval escort is needed precisely because there is a threat:

Under the current circumstances, a security analyst said, it is a good choice for Seoul to expand its participation in multinational coalitions, led by either the U.S. or the U.K. and France, but warned that it could “complicate the possible deployment of military assets when required.”

“We don’t have a clear picture of how the coalitions will develop, especially considering the unpredictable nature of Trump,” he said on condition of anonymity.

The analyst listed possible military operations, including protecting civilian vessels and conducting mine-clearing activities. “These activities should be carefully coordinated, considering the limited assets we can deploy, with guarantees on the safety of these assets as a prerequisite,” he said.

According to military and security sources, two feasible early-stage contribution options for the U.S.- and European-led coalitions may include sending liaison officers or personnel to multinational force headquarters to facilitate communication, or engaging in intelligence sharing.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

North Korean youths take part in a torchlight march at Kim Il-sung Plaza in Pyongyang on April 30, 2026, to mark the 11th Congress of the Socialist Patriotic Youth League, North Korea’s largest youth organization, in this photo released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency the next day. The letters formed by the torchlight read “Kim Jong-un,” the country’s current leader, and “the Youth League.” (Yonhap)

This phone call iwill accomplish nothing to reopen the Strait, but creates the appearance that the ROK government is “doing something” to reopen the Strait and lower gas prices:

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (R) shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during their meeting on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Sept. 25, 2025, in this file photo provided by South Korea’s foreign ministry.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun held phone talks with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, on Saturday and called for the resumption of safe navigation of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, the foreign ministry said.

During the talks, Cho noted that South Korean and other international vessels remain anchored in the crucial waterway, stressing the need to ensure their safe resumption of navigation, according to the ministry.

He also expressed hope for the swift restoration of peace and stability, citing the broader impact of the conflict on global security and the economy, while Araghchi outlined Iran’s position on negotiations with the United States.

The call marked the third conversation between the two ministers since the conflict began in late February following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, with the latest call made at the request of the Iranian side, the ministry added.

A total of 26 South Korean vessels, with more than 170 crew members on board, have been stranded in the Strait of Hormuz since the outbreak of the war.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

So where has this Lee been when his KCTU labor union buddies were busy assaulting police, raiding offices of politicians they don’t like, running extortion rackets, spying for North Korea, intimidating members of the media and families, disrupting USFK operations, and destroying property during conservative presidential administrations? Now that President Lee is in charge of the country he wants them to play nice:

President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday warned that excessive labor-related demands by unionized workers could end up doing more harm than good to the unions and other fellow workers, urging a more responsible approach from unions when dealing with labor issues.

“While companies should treat workers as valuable partners in corporate management, workers and labor unions must also have a sense of responsibility,” Lee said during a meeting with senior aides at Cheong Wa Dae.

“If certain labor organizations face public outcry for excessive or unfair, self-serving demands, it would harm not only the unions themselves but other workers as well,” Lee said, urging a sense of solidarity with fellow laborers. 

Lee’s remarks came as a major labor union of Samsung Electronics Co. has threatened to launch an 18-day general strike starting May 21, demanding high bonuses in proportion to the company’s record high revenue.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.