Does anyone believe this was a mistake by the North Korean military?:

 A fishing boat apparently operated by North Korea’s military has been towed into a South Korean port for investigation after “mistakenly” sailing across the inter-Korean sea border, the military authorities here said Sunday.

Three North Koreans, one wearing the communist nation’s military uniform, were aboard the 10-meter-long wooden boat, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

Asked initially if they have a desire to defect to the South, they said no, according to a source. 

But the military took them to the port to figure out the exact reason for the NLL crossing. An interagency probe team is looking into the personal backgrounds of the North Koreans and their intentions.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this could have been a insertion mission of North Korean agents into South Korea or simply something to judge ROK maritime reaction times.

Found this picture by chance. It seems about right. pic.twitter.com/i2KRRvGZqS

— John Lee (The Korean Foreigner) (@koreanforeigner) July 25, 2019

The Blue House needs to have this exercise happen because it is part of the glide path for the ROK to take back operational control (OPCON) from the U.S. Taking back OPCON has long been a left wing goal that the Moon administration is trying to make happen:

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Friday that South Korea and the United States will proceed with their planned joint military drills as scheduled, despite North Korea’s warning.

North Korea’s state media said earlier in the day that the two short-range ballistic missiles the country fired Thursday were a “solemn warning” against South Korea, calling for the suspension of Seoul’s planned military exercises and its purchase of what it called offensive weapons.

Cheong Wa Dae said it will not issue an official statement regarding reports by the North’s media as it only responds to a country’s official stance.

When asked about the possibility to review the allies’ military drills, “It is known that nothing has changed,” a presidential official told reporters, asking not to be named.

Seoul and Washington plan to conduct the summertime exercise, named 19-2 Dong Maeng, to verify Seoul’s capabilities for its envisioned retaking of wartime operational control (OPCON) of its troops from Washington.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This has been a long time coming since it has been plague by delays and shoddy construction:

The United States took possession of a state-of-the-art, 68-bed hospital at the new U.S. military headquarters in South Korea during a ceremony Wednesday.

The handover put the $215 million facility one step closer to opening, seven years after the military broke ground on it.

The Brian D. Allgood Army Community Hospital and ambulatory care center, the namesake of the hospital that will close at Yongsan Garrison in Seoul, is scheduled to officially open for patients on Nov. 15.

That will be a relief for the more than 30,000 Americans based at Camp Humphreys, many of whom must commute some 55 miles north to the South Korean capital for services, including behavioral health care and childbirth.

On Wednesday, speakers alluded to the problems that faced the South Korean-funded construction project. The hospital is a centerpiece of the nearly $11 billion effort to expand Camp Humphreys, a former remote outpost, as part of the long-delayed relocation of most American forces to the south of Seoul.

“Today is one of those days that I was afraid would never come,” said Col. Teresa Schlosser, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Far East District. She attended the ceremony on her last day as district commander.

“I appreciate being able to close out this hospital after all the years of hard work to get it across the finish line,” she said.The United States took possession of a state-of-the-art, 68-bed hospital at the new U.S. military headquarters in South Korea during a ceremony Wednesday.

The handover put the $215 million facility one step closer to opening, seven years after the military broke ground on it.

The Brian D. Allgood Army Community Hospital and ambulatory care center, the namesake of the hospital that will close at Yongsan Garrison in Seoul, is scheduled to officially open for patients on Nov. 15.

That will be a relief for the more than 30,000 Americans based at Camp Humphreys, many of whom must commute some 55 miles north to the South Korean capital for services, including behavioral health care and childbirth.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but ground was first broken to build the hospital in 2012. It took seven years to build this hospital when I have seen entire new neighborhoods in South Korea constructed faster.

The Ministry of Science does not want to give up their free labor to the Ministry of Defense:

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of National Defense have come into conflict over the latter’s move to reduce the number of military duty exemptions for science and engineering majors by half.

While all able-bodied South Korean men must serve in the military for about two years as the two Koreas remain technically at war, those with master’s degrees or doctorates in natural sciences or engineering have been allowed to spend their military service working at R&D departments of state-designated research institutes.

The defense ministry is claiming that downsizing such special exemptions, which were introduced in 1973, is necessary to make up for the expected shortage in the number of active-duty personnel amid a constantly declining population. 

But the science ministry as well as universities, research institutes and students are arguing that the exemptions have effectively contributed to the development of the nation’s R&D sector and thus must be retained.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

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

The Stars & Stripes has provided more details about what happened recently in Itaewon between a taxi driver and a USFK soldier:

An American soldier was detained after he reportedly scuffled with police and tried to steal a taxi after a night out drinking in Seoul over the weekend.

The incident occurred more than a month after U.S. Forces Korea, the main command for the 28,500 servicemembers stationed in the South, temporarily lifted a 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. off-installation curfew that had been in place for years.

The 21-year-old soldier, who is assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division, was angered when a taxi driver refused to let him into the car at about 5:30 a.m. Saturday in the trendy neighborhood of Itaewon, the Korea Broadcasting System reported.

The incident remained under investigation and the soldier was in the custody of his chain of command, the 2nd ID said Thursday, declining to provide more details due to the ongoing investigation.

According to the KBS report, the soldier hit the driver, then tried to drive away in the taxi after the driver got out to talk to police, but the taxi crashed into a fire hydrant.

The soldier scuffled with police and tried to run away, but the officers subdued him with a stun gun, according to the report. He was detained on suspicion of assault and property damage but was released to American military authorities in accordance with the status of forces agreement between the allies.An American soldier was detained after he reportedly scuffled with police and tried to steal a taxi after a night out drinking in Seoul over the weekend.

The incident occurred more than a month after U.S. Forces Korea, the main command for the 28,500 servicemembers stationed in the South, temporarily lifted a 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. off-installation curfew that had been in place for years.

The 21-year-old soldier, who is assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division, was angered when a taxi driver refused to let him into the car at about 5:30 a.m. Saturday in the trendy neighborhood of Itaewon, the Korea Broadcasting System reported.

The incident remained under investigation and the soldier was in the custody of his chain of command, the 2nd ID said Thursday, declining to provide more details due to the ongoing investigation.

According to the KBS report, the soldier hit the driver, then tried to drive away in the taxi after the driver got out to talk to police, but the taxi crashed into a fire hydrant.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Weekly Chosun says the current friction btwn ROK and JPN is the one btwn ROK politicians who are incompetent and ideology-oriented and JPN officials who are experts in their work. https://t.co/91QZr4nzGX

— bmk218 (@bmk218) July 24, 2019