Both the Unification and the Defense Ministries believe that North Korea will not execute a high level provocation before the U.S. presidential election; instead they will display a new missile:

North Korea appears to be preparing a measured show of force at an upcoming military parade marking the 75th anniversary of its ruling Workers’ Party, South Korea’s top inter-Korean official said Thursday.    

During a parliamentary audit hearing at the National Assembly, Minister of Unification Lee In-young presented a somewhat different forecast from Seoul’s military officials — as well as his own ministry — of what lay in store during Pyongyang’s big event Saturday, for which the regime has been preparing for months.  

“In the past, ahead of a U.S. presidential election, and to show off its nuclear or missile capacities, [the North] would actually fire or test [missiles],” Lee said. “But this time, we are getting indications that [Pyongyang] will conduct something on the level of lower intensity acts or shows of force.”  

Lee did not elaborate on what he meant by “lower intensity,” but according to his own ministry’s report to the National Assembly, Pyongyang was likely to unveil a new “strategic weapon” it has warned about for months, which could range from a new form of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to a submarine-launched ballistic missile.     

A similar prediction was made a day earlier by Seoul’s Minister of National Defense Suh Wook, who expressed agreement with a lawmaker’s assertion that the North was more likely to display a new missile than conduct an active provocation in the form of a weapons test.   

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but I think this shows that the North Koreans believe if they behave it will improve their chances of a deal to reduce sanctions with the next President.

This is an unusual story involving a soldier at Camp Humphreys:

An Army soldier who is finishing his assignment abroad might be blocked from reentering the U.S., government officials said, in a dispute over his legal status stemming from his birth in New York while his father was a foreign diplomat there.

Army Pfc. Fadel Tankoano, 22, said he thought he was a dual citizen of Niger and the U.S., pointing to the U.S. passport he was issued as a toddler and a birth certificate from a Manhattan hospital.

But officials said Tankoano misrepresented his status when he enlisted in 2018 and on passport applications.

Tankoano’s Nigerien father enjoyed full diplomatic immunity as a counselor at the United Nations when his son was born, State Department officials said. That means that he was not subject to domestic law — and that Tankoano was exempt from birthright citizenship.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more a the link, but the soldier is being discharged for a fraudulent enlistment. Additionally since he doesn’t have a valid passport he may not even be allowed back into the United States where he was born.

It looks like BTS will eventually do their mandatory military service, but it may be deferred for a while according to the ROK Defense Chief:

The defense ministry is not considering granting South Korean K-pop boy band BTS an exemption of mandatory military service, but a deferral could be an option, Defense Minister Suh Wook said Wednesday. 

“Various social consensus should be formed, but at this stage, we are not considering an exception to the military duties,” Suh told lawmakers during a parliamentary audit. 

His remark came amid a growing debate over whether the seven-member group, with an unprecedented Billboard-topping hit, should warrant such special treatment for their worldwide achievements.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Apparently USFK has a bunch of unspent money provided by the ROK government:

The U.S. military has left unspent nearly 68 billion won, about $60 million, in South Korean funds provided over the past six years as part of defense burden-sharing agreements, according to data released this week by a South Korean lawmaker.

The unused funds amount to $7.4 million in 2014, $9.3 million in 2015, $4.8 million in 2016, $12.4 million in 2017, $17.5 million in 2018 and $6.7 million in 2019, according to the data provided by Rep. Jeon Hae-cheol of the ruling Democratic Party. (…….)

The figures — about 12.5% of the total for all six years — also gave insight into U.S. priorities for the South Korean funds. All the money allocated for local labor was used. Most of the unspent funds were earmarked for military facilities improvement and logistics support.

U.S. Forces Korea said it was working with the Ministry of National Defense to reconcile former Special Measures Agreement contributions.

“A significant portion of these funds are accounted as in-kind contributions from [South Korea] and, thus, not fully visible to USFK,” the command’s public affairs office told Stars and Stripes on Wednesday.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but it appears the funds are likely what is leftover from construction projects that were Korean funded and the USFK bean counters may not have had visibility of. Regardless this hasn’t stopped the Korean lawmakers from saying this proves USFK does not need more funding.

This news should not be surprising to anyone following the ideology of the Moon administration:

The alleged defection to South Korea of a ranking North Korean diplomat who went missing in 2018 during his tour of duty in Rome is raising concerns about its impact on inter-Korean relations, which have already hit an all-time low in recent months.

According to a local broadcaster’s report late Tuesday, Jo Song-gil, Pyongyang’s former acting ambassador to Italy, entered South Korea in July 2019 and has settled here under the protection of the authorities. Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) who serves on the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, confirmed this in a Facebook post later in the day, while ruling Democratic Party of Korea Rep. Jeon Hae-cheol, the chief of the committee, acknowledged it Wednesday.

The National Intelligence Service and other relevant organizations have refused to confirm Jo’s entry into South Korea. However, the media here are highlighting Jo as the rare case of a high-level diplomatic official from the North defecting to the South. Jo is being compared to Rep. Tae Yong-ho of the PPP, who arrived in South Korea with his family in 2016 after serving as a minister at the North Korean Embassy in London. When Jo’s disappearance from Rome made headlines in 2018, Tae publicly called on Jo to join him in South Korea.

It is noticeable that there is a huge difference in Seoul’s reaction to the defection of the two diplomats. In August 2016, the Ministry of Unification officially announced Tae’s arrival. But if reports about Jo are correct, the Moon administration, which has prioritized engagement with North Korea, has been completely silent on him coming to the South. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.