North Korea is claiming its newest short range ballistic missile has completed testing and is ready for deployment:

The two missiles North Korea fired from an airfield near Pyongyang Monday morning appeared to be KN-24 tactical guided missiles that are in production for deployment, according to state media on Tuesday.  
   
The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that the Academy of Defense Science supervised the launch of the tactical guided missiles to test their accuracy and efficiency, and that both precisely hit their targets in the eastern waters off the Korean Peninsula.  
   
Descriptions of the “tactical guided missiles” in the state media reports suggested they were KN-24 short-range ballistic missiles, which would be their fourth test by the regime, following two tests in August 2019 and one in March 2020.  
   
The KN-24 is a single-stage missile powered by a solid propellant and launched from a mobile platform. Previous state media reports claim the missile is capable of maneuvering in mid-flight to avoid mid-air interception.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Well so much for all the false claims that Ivermectin was causing Japan to have such a low COVID rate:

The sixth wave of COVID-19 in Japan gained strength over the weekend, rising to a daily total of 26,801 new cases on Monday and exceeding the previous peak reached six months ago, according to the World Health Organization.

A government panel could recommend a modified state of emergency, or quasi-emergency, in 11 prefectures, including Tokyo, on Wednesday due to the spike in cases nationwide, Japanese media reported Tuesday. 

Three other prefectures, including Okinawa, are already under a quasi-emergency. The new emergency may last three weeks, according to reports. The government would ask bars and restaurants to close early and refrain from selling alcohol, among other measures.

The U.S. military in Japan as of 6:30 p.m. Tuesday had not reported its total COVID-19 infections from the holiday weekend around Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It last confirmed 715 new infections across 17 military installations on Friday. 

Yokota Air Base, the headquarters of U.S. Forces Japan in western Tokyo, reported 138 new cases between Jan. 12 and Tuesday, for a 273 active cases, according to the base website. Most new infections, 130, were acquired locally and eight tested positive after recently arriving in Japan.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but Japan now has a higher daily case rate than at any during the Delta Wave that hit the this past summer.

Considering the ROK’s past history of authoritarians seizing power, I think the five year term has been working very effectively for South Korea:

 Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday argued for a shift to a four-year presidential term, renewable once, from the current single five-year term, saying he is willing to opt for a shorter term if elected.

“For responsible politics, (South Korea) needs a double, four-year term under which power is decentralized,” Lee of the Democratic Party said during an interview with cable channel MBN. 

“Five years is not a span (sufficient for a president) to plan, enact and execute policies and see the results,” the presidential candidate said. 

He said a constitutional amendment for that shift is needed now, and he is more than willing to accept a shorter four-year term if elected president.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The Iranians though their Houthi rebel proxies in Yemen may have just sent a message to South Korea with this drone attack in the UAE:

The Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen attacked the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in an apparent drone strike Monday that killed three people while President Moon Jae-in was in the country. The Blue House confirmed the safety of the Korean leader.    
   
UAE authorities said that three transport tankers exploded at an oil facility, and another fire broke out at an extension of Abu Dhabi International Airport. Two Indians and one Pakistani were killed at the oil facility, while at least eight people were injured, including two airport employees, according to Abu Dhabi police.    
   
Moon had been visiting the UAE since Saturday, as a part of an eight-day tour of the Middle East, and had been attending an event in Dubai, some 100 kilometers (62 miles) away from the Abu Dhabi airport, at the time of the attack.    
   
Moon expressed to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the de facto ruler of the UAE, “deep condolences and sympathy” for the victims of the suspected drone attack in a 25-minute phone call Monday evening. 

“We express our serious concern over acts that threaten peace and stability in the Middle East region, including the UAE, and we strongly condemn attacks on civilians and the taking of lives as unacceptable acts of terrorism,” he added.    
   
The two leaders’ summit meeting in Abu Dhabi was unexpectedly canceled shortly before Moon’s arrival in the country, upon the request of the UAE side. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but the UAE and South Korea have a close defense relationship which includes a $3.5 billion deal to sell surface to air missiles to the UAE that was signed on Sunday. Those missiles are clearly being bought to protect the UAE from Iranian aggression and this attack is arguably sending a message to the Moon administration that the mullahs in Tehran are unhappy about this.

This feeds right into the narrative critics have launched for years that the military would be forced for political reasons to drop standards to allow more females into combat arms and special operations career fields:

The Air Force Special Operations Command’s handling of news that a female special warfare candidate received preferential treatment in the training pipeline has sparked a fierce backlash and proven accurate the warnings of a 2016 report that called for transparency in the military’s integration of women into special operations forces.

Last week, a letter written by an anonymous special tactics airman emerged detailing how a female special tactics officer candidate quit the challenging selection process and training pipeline multiple times, only to be reinstated by the leadership of AFSOC and the 24th Special Operations Wing. (……..)

Since then, details have emerged that cast more doubt on AFSOC’s handling of the situation. On Thursday, Air Force Times reported that the trainee herself protested the training standards being lowered for her.

Task and Purpose

You can read more at the link, but I am all for women in special forces, but it shouldn’t be because of special treatment. This just devalues the accomplishments of the women who do eventually make the cut.

It looks like North Korea needed to get some needed aid from China:

A North Korean freight train crossed the Yalu River railroad bridge into China on Sunday, multiple sources said, raising the prospect of the two sides resuming land transactions in earnest following more than a year of suspension attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The train from Sinuiju arrived in the Chinese border city of Dandong at around 9:10 a.m., they said, while it was not immediately confirmed whether it carried cargo or was empty, they said.

It is likely to return to North Korea on Monday, with “emergency materials” loaded, according to a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

It marks the first time that the secretive North has formally opened its land border with China in 1 1/2 years. It has closed borders, with all tour programs for foreigners and the operation of cross-border passenger trains halted, since the COVID-19 outbreak.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.