I think under the current government I just don’t see the U.S. being able to host ballistic missiles in the ROK:

The United States is not ready yet to talk with allies about deployment of its specific military capabilities, a senior US official said Monday, as Washington is considering deploying intermediate-range missiles in East Asia to counterbalance China’s growing capabilities.
   
Marshall Billingslea, special US presidential envoy for arms control, also said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency and other local media outlets in Seoul that North Korea’s recent apology for the killing of a South Korean fisheries official is a good first step toward resolving the issue.
   
Billingslea arrived in Seoul on Sunday for a two-day visit. 
   
The trip came as the US has been considering deploying intermediate-range missiles in Asia to counter China after withdrawing from the 1988 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) last year amid speculation that South Korea could be one of the candidate sites.
   
Claiming that China test-fired missiles 225 times last year alone, which is more than the number of launches by all the other countries in the world combined, Billingslea called on China to come forward and discuss the matter with the US, which is not a request but its legal obligation.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

ROK Drop favorite Dr. Tara O has a good article on how the Moon administration is busy arresting conservative leaders and threatening more arrests if a car parade is held over the upcoming holiday weekend in Seoul:

On September 28, 2020, the government arrested Kim Kyung-jae (김경재), former President of the Korea Freedom Federation (한국자유총연맹), and Kim Soo-yeol (김수열), the head of IlpaManpa Patriots Alliance or IlpaManpa (일파만파) for short.  The two were arrested and jailed for alleged conspiracy to hold an “illegal” assembly on August 15, 2020, Liberation Day.  IlpaManpa’s members are mostly military veterans, especially Korean Military Academy alumni.

On September 23, 2020, the Jongno District Police Department in Seoul applied for an arrest warrant against Kim Kykung-jae and Kim Soo-yeo on charges of violating the Assembly and Demonstration Act and the Infectious Disease Prevention Act. (…………)

Kim said, “We must express our anger over the evil acts and faults of the Moon Jae-in regime, even during the Corona-19 outbreak.”  “The only way to express our mind without getting caught in the Coronavirus trap that has been laid by the government is the car parade method, which is getting more attention recently.”  They opposed the assembly ban notice issued by the police and again filed a lawsuit for suspension of execution at the Seoul Administrative Court.

On September 25, 2020, The Chief of National Police Agency Kim Chang-ryong (김창룡) instructed the police to “take full action against the assembly,” including checkpoints to block entry, on site arrests, fines, license cancellation, and car towing.  The Police Chief refers to rallies, even with the cars as “illegal,” but had not explained how rallying inside cars spread Coronavirus nor did he provide scientific evidence for such a claim.

East Asia Research Center

As always make sure to read the whole article at the link.

Isn’t amazing how subways, amusement parks, and anti-US protests don’t spread coronavirus but conservative rallies and even car parades do?

For those stationed in Korea that have not been able to take this tour yet because of COVID, you may soon have your chance:

 Tours to the truce village that straddles the border with North Korea, which have been suspended for about a year due to concerns about African swine fever and the coronavirus, may resume soon, the U.S.-led United Nations Command said Monday.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Is anyone surprised that the person who assigns prosecutors was not found of any wrong doing?:

The prosecution on Monday cleared Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae of allegations that she had abused her power to arrange special treatment for her son while he was serving the military in 2017.    
   
The Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office announced Monday it found no grounds on which to indict Choo, her son or her former aide after a monthslong probe into the allegations.    
   
Choo and her family have been battling accusations that her son, surnamed Seo, had received special treatment when he was serving in the Korean Augmentation to The United States Army, or Katusa, from November 2016 through August 2018. At the time, Choo was the chairwoman of the ruling Democratic Party (DP).   (…….)

The prosecution added that Seo had asked Choo’s aide to inquire the military about the extension, not his parents.    
   
The prosecution also dismissed the suspicion that Choo or her husband had asked the Ministry of National Defense to arrange the extension. Although a document purported to be a military record created by Seo’s commander on June 15, 2017 said that Seo’s parents had made a request to the ministry, the prosecution said it failed to find any record from the ministry to corroborate it.   

Joong Ang Ilbo via a reader tip

You can read more at the link, but since Choo’s aid supposedly helped her son that makes it okay then?

At the end of the article the journalist admits that she sees know way the U.S. could replicate what South Korea has done because of the different mentality of Americans:

A bag arrived from the local authority the next day that contained a thermometer, a pack of disposable masks, two types of hand sanitizers and a garbage bag. For the two weeks of my quarantine, I would need to discard any of my garbage in the government-mandated bag. I was told it would be collected at the end of my stay.

On day seven of the quarantine, my mom received yet another call from my appointed Covid-19 contact. They wanted to speak with me. I was asked to confirm that I was, in fact, me, before asking some questions and offering mental health services if I required one.

Whenever a new case emerged in a neighboring town, my iPhone would ping with a new notification, the same noise phones make when there is an Amber Alert in the U.S. I would get two or three of these alerts almost every day.

NBC News

You can read more about her whole experience traveling to South Korea under pandemic conditions at the link.

The Chosun Ilbo oped page is letting everyone know what they think about President Moon’s handling of the murder and burning of the body of a South Korean civilian:

The president videotaped his speech on Sept. 15 and sent it to the UN on Sept. 18, so of course he could not have foreseen the murder. But why did Cheong Wa Dae allow the speech to be aired even when it was fully informed a whole day before the speech was to be broadcast? Could it not have asked the UN to cancel the speech or, if that was too much to bear for the president, to switch the order of speeches and record a fresh one? How hard is that? It is clear that Moon had no intention to do anything about it. When he presided over a ceremony promoting military officers on Wednesday morning, he acted as if nothing had happened and only reiterated his calls for “peace.” He clearly no longer has any grasp of reality.

The military also behaved appallingly. The Defense Ministry watched from the sidelines as a South Korean citizen was brutally murdered and incinerated and then lied to the press about it. Then some minor official was wheeled out to threaten dire consequences, two days after it had watched the incident through binoculars. North Korea must be laughing at these men who pose as soldiers but refuse to do anything to protect the life of their citizens. What is the point of having a military at all? 

Now the government and military are claiming that the official wanted to defect to North Korea, though the public have only the word of some officers who have proven that they cannot be trusted. But even supposing the poor man had wanted to defect, that makes no difference to their duty to protect him until they can be absolutely sure. 

After North Korea blew up the inter-Korean liaison office in the border town of Kaesong earlier this year, Moon said he felt “anger and frustration,” but he soon got over it. Now Cheong Wa Dae has warned of terrible consequences for the North, but already some people in the government are saying that the slaughter did not violate an inter-Korean military agreement to reduce tensions in the border area. There is no denying that Moon is in love with the fat Barbarian on the other side. What will he do for him next?

Chosun Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but what I have been wondering about in regards to this incident is that the North Koreans supposedly watch this guy float in the water for six hours before shooting him. Why didn’t the ROK military do anything to try and rescue him?

They should have put protester tents in the concept photo because that is what people are going to see mostly at Gwanghwamun Square:

Construction on Gwanghwamun Square will commence next month as the Seoul city government tries to turn it into something more like a park and less like a traffic island.    
   
“The roads on the east side of the square will be changed in a stage-by-stage manner so as to incur the least possible traffic difficulties,” the Seoul Metropolitan Government said in a statement Sunday. “The construction will start at the end of October.”  
   
The city government’s plan to revamp the square was first announced in 2018. It involved expanding the square westward and incorporating the southbound roads between the square and the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, and rerouting the roads in front of Gyeongbok Palace to incorporate that area into the square as well.  
   
Some experts warned of traffic nightmares and the public opposed earlier plans, leading to major changes.  
   
The southbound roads west of the square will still be incorporated, but not the roads in front of the palace. Instead the five lanes of northbound traffic on the eastern side will be expanded to three going in one direction and four going in the other. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.