I hope everyone that celebrates it, has a great 4th of July weekend.

An Inter-Korean agreement from 2009 stated that the North Koreans are supposed to notify the South when they release flood waters from their dam so they can warn residents along the Imjim River. Here is yet another agreement the Kim regime has decided to not abide by:

North Korea appears to have released water from a dam near the inter-Korean border, while remaining unresponsive to Seoul’s request for prior notice, a South Korean government official Thursday.

“It is presumed that North Korea has recently opened the floodgates of Hwanggang Dam,” the unification ministry official told reporters amid reports that the impoverished North is suffering torrential rains in many parts of the country.

It is regrettable that the North did not give any prior notice before releasing dam water near the inter-Korean border despite Seoul’s request for such notice, the official added.

Earlier in the day, an informed military source said the reclusive neighbor appears to have discharged dam water, while authorities here have been on high alert. The North has discharged dam water without notifying the South in advance in the past, endangering the safety of local residents. 

The source, however, added the water levels of the Imjin River are currently stable, staying below 3 meters. 

It usually takes four to five hours for water released from the dam located at the upper part of the Imjin River to reach the Gunnam Dam in the South’s border town of Yeoncheon, 62 kilometers north of Seoul. The distance between the two dams is around 56 kilometers.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The recruiting environment out there is tough right now and the Army is adjusting its recruiting requirements to adjust:

The U.S. Army is doing away with its requirement that enlistees have a GED or high school diploma, a move designed to help meet recruiting goals.

In what it described as “limited eligibility,” U.S. Army Recruiting Command said it is moving to a “whole of person” approach, “understanding some quality candidates may have just reason for being unable to complete their education.” The change means a high school diploma or its equivalent won’t be required, but applicants must score 50 or greater on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery and meet all other standard enlistment criteria.

“This opportunity means that individuals who left high school prior to graduating due to uncontrollable circumstances, such as caring for a terminally ill family member or working to provide for their family, will not be considered ineligible for service solely because they were unable to graduate,” Recruiting Command said.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

This sounds like a positive encounter between President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida:

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol talked briefly with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a gala dinner for NATO summit participants in Madrid on Tuesday and expressed hope for the future-oriented development of relations between the two countries, officials said.

The encounter, which lasted three to four minutes at the dinner party hosted by Spain’s King Felipe VI, began as Kishida offered greetings to Yoon with congratulations on his inauguration and the local election victory of Yoon’s ruling party, according to Yoon’s office.

Yoon said in response that he wishes Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party good results in Japan’s upcoming upper house elections.

“After the upper house elections, I and my aides plan to resolve pending issues between Korea and Japan as early as possible and move forward in a future-oriented manner,” Yoon was quoted as telling Kishida.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

A very sad ending to the story of the missing family on Wando:

The family of three — a 10-year-old girl named Cho Yu-na and her parents — went missing last month while staying at a guesthouse in Wando, an island 362 kilometers south of Seoul. 

Following massive search operations, police found the Audi sedan the family rented upturned underwater near Wando a day ago and hauled it out of the sea Wednesday. 

Inside the vehicle, police found three bodies presumed to be those of the family, according to the Gwangju Metropolitan Police and the Coast Guard in Wando.

Police plan to confirm their identities through fingerprint examinations and an analysis of their belongings, officials noted. 

Cho had been absent from her elementary school in Gwangju since May 19 after reporting she would take part in an outdoor learning program on Jeju Island together with her parents for about a month.

Her school reported her absence to the police a week earlier as she did not show up for class upon the termination of her reported one-month leave.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but it is believed the death of family is related to the economic issues the father was experiencing when he lost his business. Assuming this was a suicide it seems very selfish to kill the kid.

This is not good for South Korea’s economy by becoming increasingly dependent on Chinese imports, especially semiconductors:

U.S. high-tech restrictions on China are taking a toll on Korea’s trade balance.  
   
For the first time in 30 years, Korea has recorded a trade deficit with China, its biggest trading partner.   

Exports to the country totaled $13.4 billion in May and imports $14.6 billion, resulting in a $1.1 billion deficit, according to the Korea Custom Service. This month, a $690 million shortfall is forecast.    
   
The government is concerned about the growing trade deficit with China, and the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) Beijing office has started to work on damage assessment.    
   
According to a KITA study, 16.5 percent of Korea’s imports from China were semiconductors, 10.3 percent fine chemicals for batteries and 5.5 percent computers.    
   
Last month, Korea imported $2.4 billion of Chinese semiconductors, a 40.9 percent increase year-on-year. Korea’s No.1 export to China was semiconductors. On year, semiconductor exports to China were up 11 percent.    
   
China has been speeding up its semiconductor localization after efforts by the United States to cut it off from certain key technologies.  
   
The development of semiconductors in China is being pursued much as the country pursued the atomic bomb, the hydrogen bomb and the satellite.   

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.