Giant pot Models promote CJ CheilJedang’s new ready-to-eat cooked rice product with a giant pot and a wooden spoon at Time Square shopping mall in central Seoul on June 27, 2021. (Yonhap)
Listening to Kim Jong-un it appears they have had an outbreak of COVID somewhere in North Korea:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks at a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party, in this photo disclosed by the North’s state media on June 30, 2021.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said a “crucial case” has happened that could threaten the safety of his people and country in nationwide anti-epidemic efforts, state media reported Wednesday, spurring speculation that a coronavirus outbreak could have hit parts of the country.
Kim made the remarks as he presided over an extended politburo meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party on Tuesday, accusing senior officials of neglecting their duties in carrying out measures needed to fight the global pandemic, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
“Senior officials in charge of important state affairs neglected the implementation of the important decisions of the party on taking organizational, institutional, material, scientific and technological measures … associated with the worldwide health crisis, and thus caused a crucial case of creating a great crisis in ensuring the security of the state and safety of the people and entailed grave consequences,” Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA.
If you are an international student at the University of Seoul expect to pay double the current tuition rate:
Controversy has arisen over the University of Seoul’s plan to nearly double the tuition fees paid by foreign students starting next year.
Some students and members of the general public say the sudden hike is unfair and taking advantage of a minority group at the school. However, others say the school’s tuition fees are kept artificially low through subsidies from taxpayers and it is improper to provide such a benefit to foreign students who do not pay taxes.
You can read more at the link, but according to the article students at the University of Seoul have their tuition cut in half with the subsidy from taxpayers. Tuition is roughly $906 a semester with the subsidy meaning international students will pay twice that rate which is still extremely affordable compared to tuition rates in many U.S. universities.
The Korea Times has a review of a new book written by the former German ambassador to North Korea Thomas Schafer who spent 8 years living in Pyongyang. Here are some insights from Schafer from the book:
While Pyongyang is initially presented as home to a clash between extreme and moderate approaches, it is the former that have won the day, through their use of belligerent acts that include, but are not limited to, the sinking of the RAS Cheonan, the breaching of the Leap Day Agreement, the public execution of Jang Song-thaek, the closing and eventual destruction of parts of the Kaesong Industrial Zone and various military and border skirmishes. For Schafer, these acts are not carried out solely on the order of Kim Jong-un, but are often outside of his control and perhaps actually to send him the message: that he is imminently replaceable.
Schafer is also quick to discount suggestions that, following the examples of Libya and Iraq, the North’s nuclear missiles are but a defensive necessity in a world characterized by brutal and unilateral American imperialism. While they may serve that purpose, the book makes no secret of the fact that Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons have offensive intent and that their goals center on removing American troops from the Korean Peninsula (by force if necessary), as well as carrying out the oft-repeated desire for undefined international justice.
You can read more at the link, but the fact that North Korea’s nuclear weapons are also intended for offensive purposes is often forgotten about. Something else forgotten about that appears this book may not mention as well is North Korea’s acquiring of nuclear weapons to proliferate them for hard currency as we have seen before. Anyway this book seems interesting and I will likely pick up to read. It is not often that a foreigner lives 8 years in Pyongyang and writes a book about it.
South Korea announced that they will put their 2nd helicopter carrier into operation in October of this year:
This undated photo, provided by the Navy, shows South Korea’s new 14,500-ton amphibious assault ship, Marado.
South Korea’s new 14,500-ton amphibious assault ship will be deployed in October with improved combat capabilities developed with the country’s own technologies, the military said Monday.
Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Boo Suk-jong presided over a commissioning ceremony for the landing platform helicopter (LPH) ship Marado at the southern port of Jinhae ahead of the planned deployment, according to the military.
Named after the country’s southernmost island, the Marado is South Korea’s second large-scale transport ship following the Dokdo, which was deployed in 2007.
SK Telecom’s serving bot This photo provided by SK Telecom Co. on June 27, 2021, shows the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) powered serving bot, Servinggo, at Hotel Inter-Burgo in Daegu, 302 kilometers southeast of Seoul. SK Telecom said 10 serving bots will go into service in August at the hotel. (Yonhap)
Firefighters in protective gear examine a restroom at a shipyard in the southeastern city of Busan on June 26, 2021, in the photo provided by fire authorities there.
Two workers have died after inhaling toxic gas in a bathroom at a shipyard in the southeastern city of Busan, police said Sunday.
The two, one of them 48 years old and the other 28, were found unconscious in the restroom at 11:04 a.m. on Saturday before being taken to a hospital.
The 48-year-old died less than an hour later and the other died Sunday.
Police said the two were believed to have inhaled hydrogen sulfide and ammonia in the bathroom.
Tests have shown that hydrogen sulfide levels there were 250 parts per million at the time, more than 16 times higher than the maximum safety level of 15 ppm, they said.
The Korean opposition party is not happy with President Moon’s latest interview:
Yoo Seong-min of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), a former four-term lawmaker and a former presidential candidate in the 2017 election, looks at a memorial of the war dead during his visit to the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan District, Seoul, on Friday, the 71st anniversary of the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War, in this photo provided by Yoo’s office. Yonhap
Members of the country’s conservative opposition bloc have criticized President Moon Jae-in’s recent interview with Time magazine, taking issue with Moon’s description of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un as honest, enthusiastic and determined, as well as the timing of the article’s publication on Thursday, the day before the 71st anniversary of the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Yoo Seong-min of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), a former four-term lawmaker and former presidential candidate in the 2017 election, posted on Facebook Thursday that Moon’s courting of Kim is delusional and upsets South Korean people, especially considering North Korea has issued a series of statements mocking Moon and his peace efforts.
“Who is Kim Jong-un’s honesty, passion and determination for? Is it for North Korean people? Is it for South Korean people? Or is it for North Korea’s nuclear missiles?” Yoo said. “The appearance of the President being swayed at Kim Jong-un despite so many humiliations is frustrating as a South Korean citizen.”
