So far North Korea has been using lofted trajectories to test their ICBMs so they land in the East Sea. However, they have fired missiles over Japan before, the most recent test in 2017. This would undoubtedly greatly increase tensions. However, they have also fired a space launch in 2016 pointing south towards the Philippines. It seems they would use this trajectory instead of firing over Japan to avoid ratcheting up tensions too much:

South Korean Defense Minister nominee Lee Jong-sup on Tuesday raised the possibility of North Korea test-firing a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at a standard angle to prove its atmospheric reentry technology.

In a written answer to a lawmaker’s question, Lee said that the North could conduct another test of the Hwasong-17 ICBM to verify the technology required to ensure the missile’s warhead can withstand extremely high temperatures during reentry to Earth’s atmosphere.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Compared to past anti-US protests targeting the MacArthur statue this is actually pretty mild:

South Korean police arrested a man Thursday suspected of defacing a bronze statue of the late General of the Army Douglas MacArthur in Incheon.

Detectives from the Incheon Jungbu station took a 60-year-old Korean man into custody following a 2:50 a.m. disturbance call at Freedom Park, an Incheon police official told Stars and Stripes by phone on Thursday. Police did not identify the man but said he belongs to an activist group called the Peace Agreement Movement Headquarters.

The group describes itself on its website as a peaceful organization that opposes the deployment of American troops in South Korea and their joint military exercises.

The man is suspected of destroying public property by writing “Deport U.S. troops” in red paint at the base of MacArthur’s statue located at the park, the police official said.

The man is also accused of chiseling a nearby inscription honoring MacArthur’s place in South Korea’s history, as well as defacing MacArthur’s face on a separate memorial with red paint.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but tearing down the MacArthur Statue has been a long time goal of the Korean radical left to tear down the MacArthur Statue. They even attempted to do this on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Unsurprisingly it was found that past attempts to tear down the statue were led by a North Korean spy.

The big news here is not that the Yoon administration may be stepping back from wanting an additional THAAD battery; it is the fact they want to improve access to the existing site:

 South Korea’s foreign minister nominee stressed the need Monday for “in-depth” deliberations on whether to deploy additional U.S.-made THAAD missile defense systems here, in an apparent sign of cautiousness on the geopolitically charged issue.

During his confirmation hearing, Park Jin responded to a lawmaker’s question about President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s campaign pledge to bring in more THAAD systems, which opponents say would undermine ties with China, South Korea’s top trade partner.

China has opposed Korea’s hosting of the THAAD system, arguing the anti-missile asset undermines its security interests. The installation of a THAAD battery here in 2017 triggered apparent Chinese economic retaliation.

Yonhap

Here is the part where he discusses the existing THAAD battery:

Despite his cautious stance, Park highlighted the “first task” of ensuring U.S. Forces Korea can normally operate its THAAD unit in the southeastern county of Seongju.

Since the THAAD battery was installed here, it has been in the status of “temporary installation” pending South Korea’s environmental impact assessment.

“I think that there needs to be an environment for the normal operation of the THAAD battery, as access to the unit has been restricted, while living conditions for troops there are also poor,” he said.

You can read more at the link, but the current Moon administration has allowed protesters to block the road since the THAAD battery was put in, which causes daily logistical support to the site to be conducted by helicopter. Only when materials that cannot be moved by helicopter need to be brought in does the police open the road. I have always been concerned that over an extended period of time this could increase the chances of a helicopter crash happening.

It is probably going to be a while before everyone takes off their masks because of the group culture in South Korea where many people don’t want to stand out from the crowd:

It may be that news of the mandate’s lift on Monday hasn’t reached all, as some wearing masks may still think the measure is in place. Or it may be that the eased quarantine regulation simply needs more time for more members of the public to put themselves at ease and expose their faces more comfortably.

“I feel weird that I don’t have to wear it anymore,” one of the passers-by wearing her mask in Seoul told The Korea Times, asking not to be named. “I think I’ve become accustomed to wearing it so I was reluctant to go outside without it this morning. I want to take time and see how others are doing before I decide to go mask-free.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but once the weather heats up more people will probably be clamoring to take their masks off.

I have to wonder why any long rifle hunting is allowed on Mt. Bukhan considering it sits adjacent to Seoul and is packed with hikers and visitors every day. Maybe this incident will cause a change to bow hunting where you really need to focus on what you are aiming at:

A 70-something hunter in Seoul came under investigation by police for allegedly mistaking a taxi driver on a mountain roadside for a wild boar and killing the driver with a rifle, officials said Saturday.

Police sought a formal arrest warrant for the suspect on charges of involuntary manslaughter, after the hunter allegedly fired three shots at the taxi driver, also in his 70s, who was urinating on the road near Mt. Bukhan in northern Seoul at around 8 p.m. Friday.

The driver was taken to a nearby hospital but died early Saturday. The hunter reportedly said he mistook the driver for a wild boar.

According to police, the suspect was a registered hunter with a license issued by Seoul’s Eunpyeong Ward. He has reportedly admitted to the allegations.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It seems like the Kim regime is rhetorically building up towards a near term nuclear test. With the new ROK President taking office this month and activists restarting propaganda balloon launches into North Korea it seems like almost a certainty a major provocation is coming:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stressed the need to bolster the country’s military power to “preemptively and thoroughly contain” nuclear threats from hostile forces, according to Pyongyang’s state media Saturday.

He met with top military commanders who organized a massive street parade in Pyongyang earlier this week, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

Kim was quoted as calling on his military commanders to maintain the “absolute superiority” of the armed forces and constantly develop in order to “preemptively and thoroughly contain and frustrate all dangerous attempts and threatening moves, including ever-escalating nuclear threats from hostile forces, if necessary.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.