All this means is that Korea’s domestically developed AI is not as smart as Google’s yet:

Korea’s all-time Go master Lee Se-dol beat won a game against an opponent powered by a locally developed artificial intelligence program in Seoul, Wednesday, three years after his historic match with Google’s AlphaGo in 2016.

Lee won the first round of the match against HanDol, a program developed by NHN Entertainment Corp. Two more games are scheduled for today and Friday. 

Go, known as baduk in Korean, is a strategy game originated in China 3,000 years ago. 

In the 2016 match, Lee beat Google AlphaGo’s DeepMind in one out of five matches. In November, the 36-year-old announced his resignation, saying the life of a Go master would be meaningless unless he can beat the AI. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

As I have been saying the U.S. was never going to get $5 billion from the ROK and they likely knew this, to pressure them in other areas such as increased weapons purchases and environmental clean up costs:

The top U.S. negotiator in defense cost-sharing talks with South Korea said Wednesday that his team is “not focused on” its initial demand for a five-fold increase to US$5 billion in Seoul’s financial contributions to the upkeep of American troops here.

In an interview with the Korean press corps, James DeHart also pointed out that South Korea’s weapons purchases from the United States are an “important consideration for us in the burden-sharing context.”

DeHart and his South Korean counterpart, Jeong Eun-bo, held the latest round of two-day negotiations in Seoul this week but failed to narrow the gaps over how much Seoul should pay next year and beyond for the stationing of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).

“I do want to say, very importantly, there have been some big figures that have been repeated many times in the Korean media, and those figures do not reflect where we are in our discussions with the ROK today,” he said. ROK stands for South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but if the Trump administration gets a $1 billion extra in weapons purchases and Seoul to fold on environmental clean up demands of closed out US bases will the critics give credit to Trump?

The Trump administration apparently has no appetite to reduce sanctions on North Korea which would reward them for a threatened provocation:

The United States on Monday rejected a reported proposal by China and Russia to lift some United Nations sanctions on North Korea, saying Pyongyang has yet to make progress toward denuclearization.

A spokesperson for the State Department made the comment after Reuters reported that China and Russia proposed a draft U.N. resolution seeking partial sanctions relief, including the lifting of sanctions on North Korean exports of statues, seafood and textiles.

“Now is not the time for the U.N. Security Council to consider offering premature sanctions relief,” the spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency in an email.

“The DPRK is threatening to conduct an escalated provocation, refusing to meet to discuss denuclearization, and continuing to maintain and advance its prohibited weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs,” the official added, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is just further evidence that North Korea is committed to conducting a provocation:

U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun failed to meet a senior North Korean diplomat at the North’s side of the Joint Security Area, also known as Panmunjeom, despite his open request for the high-profile meeting to resume stalled denuclearization talks.

“Efforts by intelligence officials between South Korea and the United States to make Biegun’s direct encounter with North Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui actually happen at Panmunjeom went in vain as Pyongyang didn’t respond to the request,” a senior South Korean intelligence official told The Korea Times by telephone, Tuesday.

After wrapping up his three-day visit to Seoul, the senior Washington official left for Tokyo for talks with Japanese officials on the North Korean nuclear issue. The intelligence official added Biegun had planned to pass on U.S. President Donald Trump’s “personal messages” for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the senior North Korean diplomat if the meeting had happened.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the Kim regime seems committed to raising tensions and creating a “crisis”. This will allow the U.S. media to have non-stop breathless coverage of how President Trump’s North Korea policies have failed. The Kim regime probably believes this will pressure Trump into a deal favorable to them because he is facing reelection next year and will want the Korea “crisis” to go away.

The only question now appears to be what will the rocket launch be? I expect they will conduct a “space launch” and put a satellite into orbit again. This allows the Kim regime to claim they have the right to the peaceful use of space just like everyone else. Plus it gives cover to the Russians and Chinese to block any efforts to further sanction North Korea at the United Nations.

Via a reader tip comes news that USFK has officially ended the curfew:

United States Forces Korea ended the USFK-wide curfew for Service Members effective December 17, 2019.

The original 90 day curfew suspension, and subsequent 90 day curfew suspension extension assessments, imposed from June 17 through December 17, focused on Service Member behavior, morale, readiness factors and the capability for USFK Service Members to maintain good order and discipline, at all times and under all conditions. 

“After assessing the curfew data and consulting with USFK leaders including component commanders, I decided to end the curfew effective December 17,” said Gen. Robert B. “Abe” Abrams, United States Forces Korea Commander. “The 180 day curfew suspension enabled leaders at all levels of the chain of command to recommend keeping the curfew, continuing the suspension, or ending the curfew. All recommended its termination.”

When informing USFK commanders and leaders that he was ending the curfew, Gen. Abrams reinforced two key principles by which every leader and Service Member must abide: continually instill and maintain good order and discipline, regardless of time or location, and maintain focus on their “Fight Tonight” posture, approach and mentality. 

“Leaders are responsible for our Service Members on and off-post conduct; we are ambassadors of USFK, the United States and the US-RoK Alliance to the Korean people,” said Abrams. “We have a solemn responsibility to keep readiness at its highest levels with a “Fight Tonight” posture, approach and mentality. Our capability and capacity to remain ready at all times is non-negotiable.” 

All Service Members are responsible to act in accordance with USFK regulations, standards of conduct and Korean Law at all times. These actions will serve as a demonstration to the ROK people that we will safeguard vital relationships while maintaining the ironclad Alliance.

USFK website

My opinion on the whole curfew issue is that I don’t like the curfew especially with more families now being stationed in Korea in an effort to normalize assignment to Korea.

Statistics say there is going to eventually be a major GI crime incident that happens. Especially if the Moon administration moves in an anti-US direction in the coming months and unleashes the media to report every GI crime incident that happens to turn public opinion against USFK. This is what happened during the Roh Moo-hyun administration.

So if a major GI crime incident does happen what will the command do, reimplement the curfew to show they doing something? That is what happened the last time the curfew was lifted. If so why remove it in the first place?

This is all for show because all these people have to do is transfer the real estate to their spouse or other family member. Additionally this does nothing to stop the insider real estate speculation going on by Moon administration allies that don’t work in the Blue House:

The Blue House ordered its high-ranking staff to sell any real estate they weren’t living in.

The announcement, released Monday by Blue House Chief of Staff Noh Young-min, is part of the government’s campaign to cool down real estate prices. 

“Chief of Staff Noh has stressed the need of Blue House high-ranking officials to lead by example,” said Yoon Do-han, Blue House senior secretary for public communication.  

The measure came as more former Blue House staff and top government officials have been accused of real estate profiteering, a cardinal sin for a liberal administration in Korea.  

The civic group Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice on Monday claimed that the value of properties owned by officials from the current Blue House has risen an average 300 million won ($256,000) in the last three years.  

The civic group claimed that the value of apartments and “officetels” (units in buildings used for both commercial and residential purposes) owned by 65 incumbent and former Blue House staffers as of January 2017 was valued at 820 million won on average, which rose roughly 40 percent to 1.14 billion won as of last month. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.