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Not the best apology, but I guess it is something:

 North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has offered an apology to the South Korean people for the killing of a fellow citizen by its military earlier this week, Cheong Wa Dae announced Friday.

In a formal notice sent to the South, the North conveyed Kim’s message that he feels “very sorry” for greatly “disappointing” President Moon Jae-in and other South Koreans with the occurrence of the “unsavory” case in its waters, instead of helping them amid their suffering from the new coronavirus, according to Suh Hoon, director of national security at Cheong Wa Dae.

Yonhap

Notice how he still takes a shot at South Korea as being some kind of coronavirus hotbed. What makes this apology even worse is that they are apparently lying about what happened if you believe what the South Korean military is saying:

South Korean authorities have said the 47-year-old official surnamed Lee went missing at 11:30 a.m., Monday, while on duty on a patrol ship off the west coast, and was found by North Korean military personnel in the sea off Yeonpyeong Island near the maritime border at around 3:30 p.m., Tuesday. 

According to the South Korean version of the story, Lee was on an unidentified floating item and expressed his willingness to defect to the North Koreans, who questioned him from a distance while leaving him in the water. About six hours later, the North Koreans shot him to death, then doused the body with oil and burned it. 

Pyongyang’s account, however, differed in many crucial parts of the story.

In a notice it sent to the South, Friday, the North said an “unidentified man” who illegally intruded into its territorial waters on a floating item failed to properly respond to their verbal security checks when he was about 80 meters away. Approaching the man, the North Koreans shot two blanks, and he was seen as attempting to flee. They then fired more than 10 gunshots at a distance of 40 to 50 meters as allowed under the related rules of maritime border security. 

When they approached for closer inspection, they were unable to find any trace of the body other than a large pool of blood, which led them to believe he had died from bullet wounds and sunk into the water. They subsequently set the floating item ― not the body ― on fire following the quarantine rules, according to the North’s account.

According to the notice, Lee did not express his willingness to defect.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This must have been fun for the people who won this award:

Fifteen troops and civilians affiliated with U.S. Forces Korea filled their shopping carts at the post exchange Thursday after each won a $10,000 shopping spree.

The prizes were part of a $2 million Sip. Rip. Ultimate Trip sweepstakes sponsored by Subway that began on July 1 to honor the 125th anniversary of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, which runs exchanges and other stores on military bases worldwide.

Army Sgt. Justin Moore, assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division, stopped to eat on Aug. 12 at a Subway before picking up a friend on the way to a basketball game. He peeled a game piece off his 30-ounce drink that came with his order and made a game-changing discovery.

“I decided to eat, and I just happened to get lucky,” Moore said. “First thing that happened when I read it was, I just yelled out ‘no way’ and everybody looked at me funny.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

For anyone living in Seoul you might want to avoid driving on October 3rd:

Leading conservative activist groups on Thursday said they will alter their plans for a massive antigovernment protest in downtown Seoul, and instead hold a drive-thru rally to avoid potential blame for subsequent coronavirus infections.  
    
A group of well-known conservative activists, including former Gyeonggi Gov. Kim Moon-soo and Pastor Suh Kyung-suk, held a press conference on Thursday to announce the change. The conservatives earlier had vowed to organize a rally near Gwanghwamun in central Seoul on National Foundation Day on Oct. 3, despite the government ban.    
   
“We will not hold a street gathering on Oct. 3 near Gwanghwamun,” the civic group said in a statement. “We urge other right-wing groups to join our position.”  
   
By law, it’s illegal to rally in large numbers in Seoul under the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s ban on any congregations involving 10 or more people through Oct. 11. Police warned they would arrest anyone who participates in rallies exceeding that limit.  
   
“No matter how serious the Covid-19 outbreak is, we must still express our rage toward the Moon Jae-in administration’s evil deeds and faults,” the statement said. “We believe holding a car parade is the only way to express our voices without falling into the trap of the government.”    
   
Earlier this month, Suh’s group applied for permission to hold a drive-thru rally on Oct. 3 in central Seoul. Suh said over 200 cars will march from Yeouido, western Seoul, to Seocho Police Station through Gwanghwamun from 1 to 5 p.m.    
   
“Because the authorities banned drive-thru rallies with more than 10 cars, we will march in groups of nine cars,” Kim said.   

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Just think the Korean left will probably still advocate for opening the Kumgang Resort in North Korea even after this latest travesty:

 North Korea shot and killed a South Korean official drifting at sea before dousing his body with oil and setting it on fire, the defense ministry said Thursday, prompting the country to erupt in outrage and casting a pall over the already frayed inter-Korean ties.

The 47-year-old official affiliated with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries disappeared from the 499-ton boat before noon Monday while on duty aboard an inspection boat in waters off the western border island of Yeonpyeong.

“North Korea found the man in its waters and committed an act of brutality by shooting at him and burning his body, according to our military’s thorough analysis of diverse intelligence,” the defense ministry said in a statement.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but one theory is that the fisheries official was trying to defect and the North Koreans shot and killed him then burned the body to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

It looks like President Duterte has finally realized that playing nice with the Chinese will not get them to back down from their South China Sea claims:

The Philippine president got rare praises Wednesday from his key critics for invoking before the United Nations a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated China’s vast territorial claims in the South China Sea, in a surprise move that will likely pique Beijing.

President Rodrigo Duterte made one of his strongest defenses of the Philippine victory in the arbitration case in his first address before the annual U.N. General Assembly where world leaders spoke mostly in prerecorded videos due to the pandemic. China has long refused to bring the issue to any international arena.

Duterte, who has nurtured close ties with China since taking office in mid-2016, has long been criticized for refusing to immediately and forcefully demand Chinese compliance with the ruling by a U.N.-backed tribunal. It found China’s claims on virtually the entire South China Sea on historical grounds inconsistent with international maritime law.

Associated Press

You can read more at the link, but for those that have not followed this issue, the Chinese have claimed nearly the entire South China Sea as their territory. This includes the waters and islands of other nations in the region to include the Philippines. They have slowly been bullying these nations into submission and President Duterte initially tried to play nice with China which did nothing to stop their territorial ambitions over Filipino waters and islands.