Yet another example of the deadly violence at sea by a fishing boat captained by a Chinese national:

The men are helpless in the open water, clinging to floating debris, tossed by the rolling ocean waves. Several large fishing ships circle. None of the victims have life jackets, but no one makes a move to help. This isn’t a rescue.

A voice, off camera, shouts in Mandarin: “In the front, to the left! What are you doing?” Then: “Fire! Fire! Fire!”

Bullets spray the water around one flailing man. One round catches him. His body stills. Blood plumes in the blue ocean. Later, deckhands laugh and pose for photos.

Grainy video of the 2012 killings, which shows the systematic slaughter of at least four men in the Indian Ocean, has been circulating in the darker corners of the Internet for more than seven years. Now, authorities in Taiwan have arrested a suspect: a 43-year-old Chinese national whom they believe to be the man who shouted the orders to kill. And investigators are hoping he leads them to others.

Yahoo News

You can read more at the link, but the Chinese captain is defending himself saying the people that 10-15 people shot at sea were pirates. Filipino crew member witnesses from his boat claim they were other fishermen that were shot. It is pretty clear that the intense competition for fish has turned the high seas into the Wild West.

Another week and yet another case of Blue House corruption:

President Moon Jae-in on Friday ordered the ministries to investigate their affiliated agencies’ decision making that led many of them to make dubious investments in a private equity fund suspected of large-scale fraud.    

“Moon ordered the government ministries to conduct thorough investigations into the state-run institutions’ investments [in the Optimus Asset Management], separately from the ongoing probe by the prosecution,” said Kang Min-seok, spokesman of the Blue House.    

Moon gave the order following media reports on state-run institutions, including the Korea Communications Agency, making massive investments in Optimus products.    (……….)

It’s the second time Moon commented on the Optimus scandal. After media reports detailed a link between a former presidential aide and the Optimus scandal, suspicions emerged that the company had lobbied top politicians and officials to avoid an investigation. Moon responded Wednesday that the Blue House must cooperate with the prosecution’s investigation.    
   
Reports were also made that Interior Minister Chin Young was an investor at Optimus. According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, Chin, his wife and son invested a total of 500 million won in Optimus funds in February. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but you would think with all the fraud and corruption going on people would be protesting for impeachment like what happened with former President Park Geun-hye.

Oh, that’s right the people can’t protest because they will be arrested.

The article doesn’t say, but I have to wonder what this marriage guidebook had to say about marrying an American?:

Lawmaker Kim Jin-ae of the minor Open Minjoo Party condemned the justice ministry for its lack of cultural sensitivity during the National Assembly’s audit of the ministry on Tuesday.

“Considering the content’s poor level of human rights sensitivity, it is unbelievable that it was published in 2019. It is simply discriminatory to educate people on their spouse’s culture through just one or two sentences,” Kim said. 

The guidebook describes Vietnamese as not easily admitting to wrongdoings and tending to make excuses for their mistakes rather than apologizing.

“Insulting Filipinos with high self-esteem may lead to unexpected violence. It is advisable to refrain from commenting about their skin color or curly hair since they have feelings of inferiority about their looks,” the book reads. 

“Chinese tend to perceive other neighboring ethnic groups as barbarians based on their Sinocentric mindset. Thais may lack deep thinking. They focus on getting things done quickly, without caring about quality. Cambodians are usually shy and quiet, but they change their attitude radically when they are insulted, leading to violence or shootings in some cases.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

China’s 50 Cent Army is getting their citizens riled up to go after BTS for not thanking Chinese for invading and attempting to destroy the Republic of Korea during the Korean War:

Fans of K-pop superstar BTS on Tuesday voiced frustration over the social media storm in China that has erupted over member RM’s recent remarks honoring those sacrificed during the Korean War.

In an Oct. 7 ceremony hosted by the U.S.-based nonprofit organization The Korea Society, RM, who spoke on behalf of the group that received an award for its contributions to Seoul-Washington ties, referred to the 1950-53 war where the two countries fought together.

“We will always remember the history of pain that our two nations shared together and the sacrifice of countless men and women,” the BTS rapper said on the fighting that remains one of the most significant events in the country’s modern history. (…………….)

The comment, however, stirred up a controversy in China after some people took issue with it for not acknowledging the sacrifice of Chinese people who also fought ― on North Korea’s side ― during the war.

In a story filed with the headline “BTS hurts the feelings of Chinese netizens and fans during a speech on the Korean War,” the Chinese state daily tabloid Global Times called the remark one that “reflected a one-sided attitude.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but could you imagine what would happen if BTS recognized Chinese and Japanese troops that fought in World War II in China. The 50 Cent Army would be attacking BTS for recognizing the Japanese troops that tried to destroy China, which is the same thing the Chinese troops during the Korean War tried to do to the ROK.

It is pretty clear that the Chinese propaganda apparatus is trying to put BTS in its place and letting them know they better always talk positively about China or else. This usually works with most companies, players, and entertainers, but will it work BTS? I suspect they will probably get in line with Chinese propaganda to maintain access to the Chinese market.

Here is the latest on the new missile that debuted at a North Korean military parade last week:

A new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) that North Korea unveiled last week is believed to be labeled “Pukguksong-4ㅅ,” featuring a Korean letter, not “Pukguksong-4A,” which indicates that it is a sea-based system.

On Saturday, the communist country unveiled a new SLBM during a massive military parade held in Pyongyang to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of its Workers’ Party, along with a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and other advanced conventional weaponry.

Asked about the military’s analysis of the new system, Navy Chief of Staff Boo Suk-jong said that the name inscribed on the missile includes “ㅅ,” a consonant of the Korean alphabet, rather than the English letter “A,” to mark that it is designed to be launched from the water.

In Korean, the word meaning “for use in water,” starts with that character.

North Korea has three types of Pukguksong missiles — Pukgukson-1, 2, 3, and Pukguksong-2 is a ground-based one, not an SLBM. As the upgraded version of the Pukguksong-1, the Pukguksong-3 SLBM is believed to have a flight range of 2,000 kilometers or longer, and the regime last carried out a flight test of the weapon in October 2019.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The OPCON transfer request by the Moon administration has always been a political goal and not a military one, so whether the ROK military is ready or not is mostly irrelevant:

The latest ministerial defense talks between South Korea and the United States have highlighted that the allies are not on the same page on the planned transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) to Seoul, and defense cost-sharing for American troops stationed here.

The disagreement occurred during the 52nd Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, where Defense Minister Suh Wook met with U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper. 

South Korea is seeking to regain wartime OPCON of Korean troops from the U.S. by 2022, based on previous agreements that the transition will be made in accordance with the meeting of preconditions, without setting a deadline. To this end, the allies have been utilizing a three-phase verification process of initial operational capability (IOC), full operational capability (FOC) and full mission capability (FMC). However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they failed to fully assess the FOC this year. 

“South Korea will make utmost efforts to meet the OPCON preconditions as early as possible and ensure that South Korea-led combined defense posture remains strong and seamless,” Suh said. 

However, Esper stressed the need for South Korea to acquire the capabilities necessary to meet the requirements.

“Fully meeting all the conditions for the transition of operational control to a ROK commander will take time, but the process of doing so will strengthen our alliance,” Esper said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Here is the latest on the comfort woman statue controversy in Berlin:

A Berlin district office has withheld its order to remove a statue symbolizing victims of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery following protests from activists and citizens.

The Mitte district office said in a statement Tuesday that the order to remove “The Statue of Peace” by Wednesday was no longer applicable due to an injunction filed by local civic group Korea Verband, which brands itself as a platform for all who are interested in Korea.

“We will take time to thoroughly study the positions of all parties involved in this complex dispute, as well as our own position,” Stephan von Dassel, district mayor of Mitte, said in the statement.

“We would like to reach a compromise that reflects fairly the interests of Korea Verband and the interests of the Japanese side,” he said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.