According to the NIS, Kim Jong-un is not sick and instead must be hitting the local cross fit gym in North Korea:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has lost around 20 kilograms after previously weighing about 140 kg, but he appears to have no health issues, South Korea’s spy agency was quoted as saying Thursday.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS) gave the briefing during a closed-door parliamentary session, rejecting rumors that the communist regime was using a stand-in for Kim during recent public appearances, Rep. Kim Byung-kee of the ruling Democratic Party told reporters.

The NIS made the assessment after conducting a detailed study of the North Korean leader’s health using artificial intelligence and other scientific methods, the lawmaker said.

Kim’s health has been a frequent subject of speculation due to the political implications in the event that he is unable to perform his duties. No known successor has been appointed.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Maybe we will see some boyband haircuts in the ROK Army:

 The South Korean military is considering changes to “eliminate differences” in hair regulations between male officers and enlisted service members, a move welcomed by a human rights organization in the country.

Grooming standards vary across the ranks and branches. In the navy, for example, male officers may choose between a crew cut, with hair no longer than 2 inches from the front and 1.18 inches from the top; or a standard cut with a side part extending up to 3.15 inches long.

Meanwhile, male enlisted sailors are limited to a crew cut. 

In the South Korean air force, noncommissioned officers may part their hair “neatly” or wear a crew cut.

Women serving in the navy and air force must “do their hair up neat,” according to military regulations, and their lengths and styles “must not disrupt the wearing of military caps.”

A South Korean military official on Monday said the Ministry of National Defense was considering changes for men and women but that “nothing has been finalized yet.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Here was one final gesture by former President Roh to atone for his role in the Gwangju Uprising Incident:

Former President Roh Tae-woo used his last will to ask for forgiveness from victims of the military’s brutal crackdown on a pro-democracy uprising in the southwestern city of Gwangju in 1980, his son said Wednesday. 

Roh Jae-heon unveiled the will of his father, who died Tuesday of chronic illness at age 88, to reporters at a funeral altar for the late president in Seoul. 

“He thought he had infinite responsibility for all things that happened, whether it is good or bad, because he cared a lot about the country and his duty,” Roh Jae-heon said. “He was looking for forgiveness for his faults and responsibility, particularly related to the pain of the May 18 democratic movement victims and also various events that happened during his tenure.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the Moon administration is actually give Roh a five-day state funeral.

Here is some good news, it appears the Biden administration is not going to work with the ROK on an end of Korean War peace treaty any time soon:

Quickly developing discussions between South Korea and the United States on declaring a formal end to the Korean War appear to have hit a snag as Washington has made it clear that it cannot accept Seoul’s proposal, at least at this time, according to diplomatic observers, Wednesday. 

Since President Moon Jae-in once again floated the idea in a United Nations General Assembly speech in September, it has been gaining traction, as evidenced by six meetings occurring between South Korea’s top nuclear envoy Noh Kyu-duk and his U.S. counterpart, Sung Kim, since August.

However, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan seems to have stepped on the brakes amid the Moon administration’s push for an end-of-war declaration, Tuesday (local time).

“We may have somewhat different perspectives on the precise sequence or timing or conditions for different steps, but we are fundamentally aligned on the core strategic initiative here and on the belief that only through diplomacy are we going to really, truly be able to effectively make progress and that that diplomacy has to be effectively paired with deterrence,” Sullivan said during a press briefing. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but clearly the State Department understands that the North Koreans and the Korean left want this peace treaty in order to question the legitimacy of U.S. troops stationed in South Korea. If there is peace why are U.S. troops needed? If the Kim regimes wants a peace treaty they should agree to actions that actually makes it look like they want peace. For example removing all their artillery off of the DMZ would show the seriousness of their peace overtures. If they want peace why do they need artillery to target Seoul and other metropolitan areas?

Before any blockade or invasion of Taiwan would happen, the CNAS think tanks thinks the Chinese would first seize the Pratas Islands. It makes sense because the Chinese could use the international response to this as a trial balloon for them to see if they could get away with a follow on blockade of Taiwan:

The United States has “few credible options” to respond if China were to seize a set of islands administered by Taiwan in the South China Sea, underscoring the need for Washington and Taipei to build deterrence “against limited Chinese aggression,” according to the results of a war game conducted recently by foreign policy experts in Washington and the Asia-Pacific region.

The scenario was examined by the Center for a New American Security, a Washington-based think tank, and detailed in a report published Tuesday. It supposes that Chinese forces invade the Pratas islands, capturing the 500 Taiwanese troops who are based there and establishing a military outpost.

It’s a theoretical dilemma for the Pentagon that “many China-watchers view as increasingly plausible” – and one that “reinforces the need for regular planning exercises between Taiwanese and U.S. personnel,” the report says.

The report comes at a moment of heightened tension between Washington and Beijing, with the United States opposing China’s military expansion in the region and China calling on the Pentagon to cut ties with Taiwan. The standoff has spotlighted the challenge U.S. commanders would face in responding to an incursion of the islands without provoking a full-blown war.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Roh actually did a lot for modern day South Korea such as hosting a very successful Olympic Games in 1988, removing nuclear weapons from South Korea, and opening diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union. The most important thing he did is transition the ROK into a full democracy. However, his ties to former President Chun Doo-hwan’s military coup and the Gwangju Uprising Incident will mean he will never have a positive legacy that will be remembered:

Roh Tae-woo, South Korea’s last general-turned-president who played a key role in a 1979 coup before winning election through a direct vote at the start of South Korea’s democratization, died Tuesday, aides said. He was 88.

Roh, who served as president from 1988-93, was recently admitted to a hospital after his health deteriorated but failed to recover, they said.

The former president received surgery for prostate cancer in 2002 and was frequently admitted to hospitals while living at his residence in Seoul. He also suffered from cerebellar atrophy and asthma, which together kept him largely out of the public eye.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.