Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.

#ROK will go ahead with #Dokdo defense drills involving all branches of the armed forces. Can never be over-prepared. Space aliens may be scheming w #Japan for an invasion. But if Russian or Chinese warplane flies by, they'll be ordered just to wave hi.https://t.co/h1GgvuVlJ8

— Sung-Yoon Lee (@SungYoonLee1) August 6, 2019

It appears that North Korea is continuing to test their new short range missile and using the US-ROK joint exercise as cover to do so:

North Korea fired yet more unidentified projectiles into the East Sea on Saturday, South Korea’s military said, the latest launch in a series of saber-rattling moves against the current joint exercise between Seoul and Washington.

Two projectiles were fired from near its eastern coastal city of Hamhung in South Hamgyong Province earlier in the day, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). No other details were immediately known, including their type, flight range and maximum altitude.

“Our military is monitoring the situation in case of additional launches while maintaining a readiness posture,” the JCS said in a brief release.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The Kim regime steals $2 billion and yet they supposedly don’t have enough money to buy food for their own people. When are the North Korea apologists going to realize that the Kim regime wants to keep a portion of their population poor and undernourished:

United Nations (United States) (AFP) – North Korea has stolen up to $2 billion from banks and cryptocurrency exchanges through cyberattacks to fund its nuclear missiles program, according to a United Nations report seen by AFP Wednesday.

The UN is investigating at least 35 reported instances of Pyongyang “attacking financial institutions, cryptocurrency exchanges and mining activity designed to earn foreign currency,” it said.

“Large-scale attacks against cryptocurrency exchanges allow the DPRK to generate income in ways that are harder to trace and subject to less government insight and regulation than the traditional banking sector,” the report added.

AFP

You can read more at the link.

I would be surprised if this happens because these politicians would be denying Korean athletes the opportunity to achieve something they have been spending most of their lives training for and the Japanese government could probably care less if the Koreans show up or not. So what is the point?:

Politicians from the ruling party are hinting at the possibility of Korea boycotting the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo – not because of the ongoing diplomatic trade war but over concerns about nuclear radioactivity. 

“There soon will be a consultation between the party and the government, and I will discuss a Tokyo Olympics boycott at the meeting,” Rep. Shin Dong-keun, the Democratic Party (DP)’s chief negotiator on the National Assembly’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, told the JoongAng Ilbo on Wednesday. 

“Vice Minister of Sports Roh Tae-kang will brief me tomorrow about the Olympics,” he said. “I will also consult with the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee on the issue.” 

During a radio interview earlier in the morning, Shin discussed the possibility of a boycott.

“I am not saying we need to boycott it because of Japan’s economic retaliations,” he said. “I am saying we can have an in-depth survey on safety [and radiation levels] and consider a boycott. 

“It is a sports event, but if there is an issue of health hazard, we must take action,” he also said. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but just to further point out the hypocrisy of this issue; where are these politicians demanding a boycott of China? China is the country largely responsible for the massive amounts of toxic yellow dust that blows over the Korean peninsula each year causing massive health side effects.

The dates of this exercise, August 13-14 are one day before ROK Liberation Day which shows how this is nothing more than a political show instead of a defense drill:

South Korea will hold its largest military drill on a cluster of islets in the sea between South Korea and Japan, with the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard participating, a senior presidential aide confirmed.

“Yes, South Korea’s military will conduct a biannual defensive military dill on Dokdo. Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard will participate in the upcoming exercise. Cheong Wa Dae and other relevant ministries are working on it,” presidential National Security Office (NSO) chief Chung Eui-yong told lawmakers at a session of the National Assembly Steering Committee on Tuesday night. The presidential office confirmed the remarks Wednesday afternoon.

“South Korea plans to conduct a military drill on Dokdo twice this year,” Chung said. “Details of the exact timing of the drill will be announced once other relevant specifics have been decided on.” 

Military sources here said the drill would last two days, from Aug. 13 to Aug. 14, a day before the country marks the 74th anniversary of its liberation from Japanese occupation on Aug. 15.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but why didn’t the Moon administration hold a Korean peninsula defense drill one day before the anniversary of the ending of the Korean War last month? They should have immediately held a Dokdo defense drill last month when the Chinese and Russians violated not only the South Korean ADIZ, but the airspace over Dokdo.

The North Koreans and Chinese are the real threats to the peninsula, not the imaginary Japanese boogeymen the Korean left likes to promote.

Exactly. I do not understand why more people do not grasp this. https://t.co/r6tUBz2raD

— David Maxwell (@DavidMaxwell161) August 6, 2019

The newly appointed U.S. Secretary of of Defense is in Seoul and he has quite a full plate of issues to discuss with his ROK counterparts:

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper arrived in South Korea on Thursday for talks that are expected to focus on a series of requests Washington has been making to Seoul, including a greater financial contribution to the cost of stationing American troops here.

Also expected to be on the agenda for Esper’s talks with South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo are the U.S. initiative to secure the shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz and Washington’s wish to get a military information-sharing pact between the South and Japan renewed.

Esper landed at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, from Mongolia for a two-day visit as part of his five-nation tour of the Asia-Pacific region, which includes stops in Australia, New Zealand and Japan, according to defense ministry officials. It is his first overseas trip since taking office last month.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but trying to get the ROK to pay significantly more for US troop upkeep will be extremely challenging. Also getting the ROK to contribute any serious naval commitment to the Strait of Hormuz will likely be challenging as well considering the relatively good relationship the ROK has with Iran. The ROK could look at this issue as that Iran is not messing with their energy shipments so why give them excuse to by supporting the U.S. on this issue?

Other issues to be discussed is the GSOMIA that South Korea has threatened to end with Japan over the current trade dispute and Seoul OPCON transfer. I would think the OPCON transfer should not be contentious considering Seoul wants the transfer, but the GSOMIA issue may be challenging.

Like I said the Secretary Esper has a full plate working these challenging issues with the ROK.