It looks like this deal will allow South Korea via UAE to sell arms to Islamic militant groups in Africa that UAE is backing:
South Korea and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to work together to export defense equipment and nuclear reactors to third countries, marking a significant expansion beyond their fast-growing bilateral trade in these sectors. President Lee Jae Myung’s aides announced the agreement Tuesday during a briefing in Abu Dhabi, following a summit between the leaders of the two nations.
Kang Hoon-sik, presidential chief of staff, told reporters that the two countries will elevate their defense cooperation by jointly developing defense equipment, establishing a manufacturing base in the UAE and pursuing defense sales not only to the UAE’s Middle Eastern neighbors but also to countries in Africa, Europe and North America.
The plan will “increase the likelihood” of South Korean defense exporters securing deals in these regions, Kang said, noting that the potential value of such contracts could reach a combined $15 billion.
You can read more at the link.
After 13 years since the sale of KEB happened it appears the Lone Star saga may finally be over:
An international arbitration body for investor–state dispute settlement has ruled in favor of South Korea in its challenge to the award for private equity fund Lone Star over its 2012 sale of a local bank, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said Tuesday.
The International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)’s annulment committee has nullified the earlier decision ordering South Korea to pay Lone Star US$216.5 million in compensation plus interest, Kim said in a briefing.
“The government’s compensation liability, which was roughly 400 billion won based on the current exchange rate, has been retroactively extinguished,” Kim said. “I believe that, thanks to our people’s support, the country’s fortune is moving in a positive direction.”
Under the latest ruling, Lone Star is required to pay South Korea’s legal costs incurred during the proceedings — about 7.3 billion won (US$4.98 million) — within 30 days, Kim added.
South Korea had appealed the ICSID’s 2022 ruling to pay the compensation to Lone Star, after the private equity fund filed a suit in 2012 claiming that the South Korean government interfered with the sale of Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), incurring $4.67 billion in losses.
The presidential office said it welcomes the ruling that has now “corrected the error.”
You can read more at the link, but basically Lone Star made a bunch of much money in Korea by selling the Korea Exchange Bank and then tried to take its profits outside the country. Their sale of the KEB led to large protests which caused the government to try and stop the sale any way it can. This all happened back in 2012 and was just one of a handful of anti-U.S. issues activists were using to stoke anti-American sentiment in Korea at the time.
This is just another example of the growing arms race in Northeast Asia due to the rise and territorial expansionism of China:
The Pentagon’s No. 3 official has heaped praise on South Korea for being the first U.S. treaty ally outside of NATO to hike defense spending to 3.5% of gross domestic product — a move expected to impact Japan’s own spending plans.
“South Korea has now committed to spending 3.5% of its GDP on defense as soon as possible,” U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby wrote Friday on X. “It is America’s first non-NATO treaty ally to commit to the standard set by President (Donald) Trump at the Hague Summit.” (………)
Still, South Korea’s agreement to hike spending to the 3.5% level will reverberate in Tokyo.
At his first meeting with new Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi late last month, Hegseth said “there were never any demands” from Washington that Tokyo further hike its defense spending.
But media reports in June said Colby had asked Japan to raise its defense spending to 3.5% of GDP, a request that prompted Tokyo to call off annual “two-plus-two” security talks involving the allies’ top diplomats and defense chiefs.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has committed to have Tokyo shoulder more of the security burden in its alliance with Washington by emphasizing a plan to have Japan reach a defense spending target of 2% of GDP by the end of this fiscal year, effectively moving a planned hike ahead by two years.
You can read more at the link.
The question becomes will people believe the testimony from someone was an incentive to lie since he is cooperating with the prosecution?:
Han Dong-hoon, the former leader of the People Power Party, said Monday evening he was “grief-stricken and devastated” by courtroom testimony that former President Yoon Suk Yeol wanted him shot and killed.
The remark was part of testimony by former Army Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jong-keun, who told the court that Yoon instructed him on Oct. 1, 2024, to arrest Han and other political figures, saying, “I’ll have him shot to death if I have to.”
Han had been a longtime colleague and confidant to Yoon. He joined then-President Yoon’s Cabinet in May 2022 as justice minister, before later taking over as leader of the then-ruling party in December 2023.
Kwak testified Monday in Yoon’s criminal trial for charges of insurrection and power abuse, related to his imposition of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024. Yoon has denied issuing any such orders.
You can read more at the link, but Kwak claims the martial law order was issued on October 1st. If that this the case how was the martial law order executed so poorly with over two months to plan for it?
It looks like post-Freedom Shield is when there may be some movement on dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea if you belive the NIS:
The state intelligence agency has detected signs that North Korea had been preparing for a possible summit with the United States around the time of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering in South Korea, although the meeting did not take place, officials said Tuesday.
The agency also said there is high possibility of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un some time after a regular South Korea-U.S. military drill in March.
You can read more at the link.
A smartphone is kind of a weird gift to give considering the security threat it poses which Lee made fun of:
President Lee Jae Myung has received a set of Xiaomi smartphones and traditional Chinese calligraphy tools from Chinese President Xi Jinping following their first summit talks, as the two leaders shared a lighthearted exchange about communication security.
As the two sides exchanged their gifts on Saturday, Xi presented Lee with two smartphones made by Chinese tech giant Xiaomi, noting that the displays on the phones are Korean-made.
“Is the line secure?” Lee quipped. Xi replied through an interpreter, “You can check if there is a backdoor.”
You can read more at the link.
Congratulations to Kevin Kim for being officially appointed the interim US ambassador to South Korea:
Kevin Kim, a senior official at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, has been appointed as chargé d’affaires ad interim at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, the embassy announced Monday on its official website.
According to the statement posted on the embassy’s site, Kim “will work with the Embassy team and the Republic of Korea government to advance our mutual interest and shared values, as well as our ironclad commitment to the U.S.-ROK Alliance.”
You can read more at the link.
It appears Japan’s new Prime Minister seems eager to build positives ties with South Korea:
Sanae Takaichi (64 years old), president of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), was inaugurated as the 104th prime minister on the 21st, following former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. She is the first female prime minister in the 140-year history of Japan’s parliamentary cabinet system.
In the first round of voting in the House of Representatives (lower house) prime minister nomination election held at the extraordinary session of the National Diet that day, Takaichi secured 237 votes, more than half, and was elected prime minister. Although Komeito, which had cooperated with the LDP for 26 years, withdrew from the coalition government, causing a temporary crisis, Takaichi managed to bring the conservative opposition party Japan Restoration Party on board as a new coalition partner and ascended to the prime ministership.
The launch of the Takaichi administration, known for its hardline right-wing stance, has drawn attention to the future direction of future-oriented South Korea-Japan relations established under the previous Ishiba administration. Takaichi has made strong statements on past historical and territorial issues and has regularly visited the Yasukuni Shrine.
However, there are observations that “Prime Minister Takaichi” might be different. At her inauguration press conference that day, she stated, “South Korea is an important neighboring country to Japan,” and added, “The importance of South Korea-Japan relations, a crucial partnership, is growing even more. I hope to hold talks with President Lee Jae-myung and communicate properly.” Takaichi is scheduled to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju late this month and meet President Lee Jae-myung for the first time. President Lee also posted a congratulatory message on social media regarding Takaichi’s election as prime minister that day, writing, “I look forward to having constructive discussions in Gyeongju.”
You can read more at the link, but odds are we will see how strong this relationship is when President Lee has a domestic political issue and he uses a anti-Japanese issue to deflect attention from it.
