Today is the 18th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. This is usually a day of solemn memorials, but in South Korea back in 2005 it was used as day to bash Americans. Leftist protesters took to the streets of Incheon and battled with riot police in their attempt to topple the statue of General MacArthur at Jayu Park. As bad as the anti-Americanism of some of these leftists groups may be today in South Korea, we fortunately have not seen anything yet like we saw in the 2002-2006 period in South Korea. Hopefully it stays that way.

The Kim regime was probably pleased to see the news that John Bolton resigned as the U.S. National Security advisor:

Following the exit of hawkish National Security Adviser John Bolton from President Donald Trump’s cabinet after he was unceremoniously fired, Washington is now expected to soften its hardline approach toward North Korea when both sides resume their talks on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, experts said Wednesday.

The ouster of Bolton is seen as a message from Trump that he badly wants to revive the stalled talks since the failure of the Hanoi summit earlier this year. The U.S. president is widely seen as trying to generate a good foreign affairs policy outcome in his bid for re-election next year. Bolton’s departure came as Pyongyang showed its willingness to resume working-level nuclear talks with the U.S. later this month.

“North Korea will apparently welcome Trump’s ouster of Bolton, as the hawkish figure has long been seen as a thorn in its side from the North’s viewpoint,” said Park Won-gon, a professor of international relations at Handong Global University. “This is a positive sign in terms of resuming the nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang.”

But the expert pointed out that Bolton’s absence could have a negative impact on Washington’s ultimate long-term goal of achieving complete denuclearization of the North.

“Bolton was well aware of what denuclearization is and has always stuck to principles without being swayed by political interests,” Park said. Bolton was the most appropriate figure who could deliver critical and realistic messages to Trump, so there are now concerns on whether the U.S. president will be able to fill the position with someone who is as well-versed in denuclearization, the professor said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the North Koreans are never going to fully denuclearize. The best that can be expected from them would be some kind of “pretend denuclearization” deal. I think President Trump realizes that and probably wants to cut some kind of deal prior to the U.S. Presidential campaign season next year.

President Moon’s political opposition is going to play out the Cho Kuk saga as long as they can for maximum political benefit prior to next’s year’s national assembly elections:

“South Korea’s democracy is dead. We plan to use all available cards responding to President Moon’s nomination of Cho to the justice minister position including a plan to team up with minor opposition parties to submit requests to name a special investigator to look into Cho’s alleged corruption and nepotism allegations,” a spokesman at the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) said in a party commentary after the President’s confirmation of Cho, Monday afternoon.

The minor opposition Bareunmirae Party (BMP) said it will discuss action plans with the LKP. “Floor leaders of the country’s major political parties were discussing detailed plans for the next Assembly sessions, but I received a short phone call from senior presidential secretary for state affairs Kang Ki-jung in which he said President Moon appointed Cho as justice minister as planned. It’s simply unacceptable. We will do what we can do but other lawmakers oppose the President’s decision,” BMP floor leader Rep. Oh Shin-hwan said during a hurriedly arranged party meeting.

Korea Times

It is actually good politics to keep Cho Kuk in the headlines because this is what his current poll ratings are:

In a poll by local pollster Realmeter released last week, 56.2 percent of South Koreans respondents were opposed to Cho becoming justice minister, while 40.1 percent were in favor.

The ruling DPK are facing a key election next year, which would be critical for Moon to avoid “lame duck” status. The South Korean leader is facing challenges to diffuse an uncertain outlook for the country’s export-dependent economy, which this year is projected to expand at the weakest pace in more than a decade. 

However, with Cho Kuk being appointed, I expect we will start seeing less of him in the headlines and this will just fade away down the memory hole like the Moon administration expects it too.

For example does anyone mention Foreign Affairs Minister Kang Kyung-hwa’s ethical lapses any more? It will be the same thing with Cho Kuk.

People in #HongKong have directly called on Americans to act. From President #Trump to the rest of us, we must now do all we can for those on freedom's front line. https://t.co/V07cXiD6nP

— Gordon G. Chang (@GordonGChang) September 8, 2019

Via a reader tip comes news that airline tickets between Korea and Japan are supposedly less than $10:

 If you’ve ever wanted to travel between Japan and South Korea, there’s no better time than now — air fares are as low as $8.38. 

As a trade spat between the two countries drags on, travel between them is dropping — and so are flight prices.

It costs as little as 10,000 South Korean won ($8.38) to fly one-way from Seoul to Fukuoka on budget airline Eastar Jet right now, and only 1,000 Japanese yen ($9.35) the other way. 

This is excluding tax and fuel surcharges — but still, added up, the prices are far lower than normal. The Eastar flight from Fukuoka to Seoul costs 7,590 yen ($71) with all the additional fees.

CNN

You can read more at the link, but I looked up the ticket prices on the Eastar website for flights between Seoul and Fukuoka and this is what I got:

It is accurate that Eastar is offering 10,000 won tickets, but the article fails to mention you must have membership with Eastar Airlines and that the ticket does not include the ability to check in bags.

For people with this cheap ticket who want to bring a bag it will cost 10,000 won per kilogram. If someone brings a 10 kilogram check in bag would add 100,000 won to the ticket, so that is where the airline will be making up costs.

It is business as usual on the Korean peninsula:

North Korea fired two short-range projectiles from a western region toward the East Sea on Tuesday, South Korea’s military said, just hours after the communist nation offered to resume nuclear talks with the United States.

The projectiles were fired at 6:53 a.m. and 7:12 a.m. from areas in the city of Kaechon, South Pyongan Province, about 80 kilometers north of the capital, Pyongyang, in a northeastern direction, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

Both flew around 330 km across the peninsula, reaching a maximum altitude of around 50 to 60 km, the JCS said, while declining to confirm if the two projectiles landed in the East Sea or how fast they flew. The JCS added that South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are analyzing their exact type. (…….)

The firings came just hours after the North’s First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui expressed a willingness to resume denuclearization talks with the U.S. in late September and demanded that Washington come up with a new proposal acceptable to Pyongyang.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but as I have been saying for months, the North Koreans are going to push for the dropping sanctions on Kaesong and other cross border projects for little to nothing in return. If they don’t get a deal by the end of the year I expect them to start testing their longer range systems in order to create a “crisis” during the Presidential campaign season next year.

Creating such a crisis would undermine President Trump’s foreign policy credentials that his Democratic rivals can attack him with. So it will be interesting to see if President Trump decides to cut a deal to keep Pyongyang quiet next year. If not things could be very interesting on the peninsula next year.

Former Governor and liberal political rival of President Moon Jae-in, An Hee-jung will be going to jail:

 South Korea’s top court on Monday confirmed a lower court ruling that sentenced a former provincial governor to 3 1/2 years in prison for sexually abusing his secretary in one of the country’s most high-profile MeToo cases.

The Supreme Court handed down the ruling to former South Chungcheong Province Gov. An Hee-jung, saying that the victim’s testimony was consistent and credible enough to be accepted as evidence.

“The victim’s testimony is deemed credible given that it is consistent and very detailed without parts that are inconsistent,” the top court said in a statement.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I don’t think a technocrat is going to change President Trump’s mind that the ROK needs to pay much more for the upkeep of the US-ROK alliance, but I guess we will see what happens:

The government is considering naming a non-diplomat official, such as a financial technocrat, to head negotiations with the U.S. on sharing the cost for the upkeep of American troops, sources said Friday.

That would mark a departure from the tradition that officials from either the foreign or defense ministries have led the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) aimed at determining how much South Korea should shoulder the cost of U.S. troop presence in the country.

The two sides expected to launch the negotiations around mid-September amid widespread indications that the United States could ask for a massive raise in Seoul’s share of the cost of the stationing of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Wife of #ChoKuk, #MoonJaeIn's Justice Min. nominee, called Dongyang Univ Pres. (her boss), asked him not to release to prosecution files re: her alleged forging of her daughter's award, said at very end, "If you mistakenly release them, you will get hurt." https://t.co/14Rhr8HzNh

— Sung-Yoon Lee (@SungYoonLee1) September 8, 2019