With the parliamentary elections under way in South Korea and the birthday of North Korean leader Kim Il-sung coming up, the North Koreans couldn’t keep quiet:

North Korea fired what appeared to be cruise missiles off its east coast and air-to-ground missiles from fighter jets into the East Sea on Tuesday, South Korea’s military said, in muscle-flexing maneuvers on the eve of the late national founder’s birthday and the South’s general elections.

The surface-to-ship cruise missiles were fired northeastward from areas near its eastern coastal town of Munchon at around 7 a.m. during a time period of more than 40 minutes, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, adding they flew around 150 kilometers before splashing into waters off the east coast.

Along with the missile launches, the North flew Sukhoi-variant fighter jets and MiG-type planes above the eastern coastal city of Wonsan, and fired multiple air-to-ground missiles into the East Sea, the JCS added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this was the first cruise missile test by the North Koreans since 2017.

Not every industry is apparently suffering during the current coronavirus pandemic:

Despite the end in sight for the pandemic in Korea, some companies are jumping on the Covid-19 bandwagon, from conglomerates to underwear makers.

They are looking for the corona boom to continue, or to export to where the outbreak is not yet under control. 

Some are hoping that outbreak-related products, such as masks, become more permanent accessories in our wardrobes and style will become as important as function.

The trend is especially evident in the apparel industry, which has been struggling as the business has been weak for some time.

LF’s Hazzys in late March released a mask with a replaceable filter. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Here are the restrictions in place for this week’s parliamentary elections:

As for Wednesday’s general elections, the government announced that hospitalized patients and quarantined people with symptoms will not be allowed to cast a vote, but that asymptomatic people under quarantine will be allowed.

Those who are quarantined and do not show any symptoms Wednesday will be allowed to leave their homes from 5:20 p.m. to arrive at their polling station by 6 p.m. On their way, they must wear a face mask and either walk or drive and not use public transport. Once they arrive at the polling station, they will wait in a separate location until other voters finish casting their ballots.  

Once the other voters have completely left the station after 6 p.m., asymptomatic people under quarantine will place their votes, after which they must return back home by 7 p.m. The government warned that anyone who wanders off during this time will be severely punished. Quarantined people who wish to vote must respond to a text message sent by their local government office Monday or Tuesday, or in case they were told to self-quarantine after Tuesday noon, contact their local government office to inform their will to vote.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Some Americans may be soon taking a Korean manufactured coronavirus test kit:

Two South Korean companies are expected to ship their coronavirus test kits to the United States by plane this week, a foreign ministry official said Monday, after their products won interim approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 

The two firms and another company have signed contracts with the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to export their test kits after they won pre-emergency use authorization from the FDA.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I wonder how many of the travelers from the U.S. are returning Korean citizens?:

All arrivals from the United States are to be tested for the new coronavirus within three days of self-isolation, starting Monday, health authorities said. 

The strengthened measure against COVID-19 began midnight, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

It comes as confirmed cases from the U.S. have been increasing steadily despite a gradual decline in domestic cases.

KCDC data showed that 228, or 49.7 percent, out of a total of 459 imported cases came from the U.S over the past two weeks. 

On Sunday, the number of imported cases was 24, with 18 of them coming from the U.S., followed by Europe with two.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

So does anyone believe that North Korea has zero COVID-19 cases? Well the WHO does:

North Korea reported earlier this week that despite testing, and amid quarantining, not one confirmed case of the coronavirus has been found. Not one. This, despite the fact that North Korea’s border countries, South Korea and China, have been hit hard by the virus.

And the World Health Organization goes — yep, that’s right.

“As of 2 April, 709 people — 11 foreigners and 698 nationals — have been tested for COVID-19. There is no report of a COVID-19 case. There are 509 people in quarantine — two foreigners and 507 nationals,” said Edwin Salvador, the WHO representative to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in an email to Reuters. “Since 31 December, 24,842 people have been released from quarantine, which includes 380 foreigners.”

Washington Times

You can read more at the link, but I think one of the things at least from American point of view that is going to come out of the 2020 Pandemic is the public trusting health organizations less.

This is a pretty cool story about Marines on Okinawa showing initiative to produce face shields for medical personnel using 3D printers:

Armed with a cache of warehoused 3D printers and spools of orange thermoplastic, Marines have waged war against the coronavirus by turning out thousands of frames for face masks and face shields for use on Okinawa.

The III Marine Expeditionary Force’s 3rd Maintenance Battalion has 17 3D printers in a Camp Kinser warehouse “factory” running 24 hours per day to provide medical personnel with vital supplies and alleviate pressure on the supply chain as the virus gains a foothold on Okinawa. (…………..)

The Marines at Kinser were about to kick off a series of technology courses that involved 3D printing with Building Momentum, a Virginia-based, veteran-owned small business that specializes in technology training programs. Their “Innovation Boot Camp” was canceled due to the coronavirus, but Marines like Reynolds saw the potential in the 24 Creality Ender 3 Pro 3D printers stacked unopened against the warehouse wall.

“We were lucky enough to have the printers on hand,” he said.

With the blessing of Building Momentum, the battalion put its LulzBot TAZ 6 3D printers to the side and opened the Ender 3 printers, as well as spool after spool of orange polylactic acid filament, Reynolds said.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more and watch a video of the Marines at the link.