Tag: South Korea

I tend to agree with this analysis from Carl Schuster from Hawaii Pacific University:

But if U.S. forces were to enter North Korea, how China responds will depend largely on why, said Carl Schuster, a retired Navy captain who now lectures at Hawaii Pacific University.

“Let’s say North Korea does something stupid like launches a missile that lands in South Korea or hits a U.S. base, or North Korea suddenly fires some artillery rounds across the DMZ and Seoul, if North Korea does that, China will have no problem with us pounding North Korea’s government into the dirt,” he said.

But there is a difference between aerial strikes and troops on the ground, and how the Chinese regime will respond to either is uncertain. At the very least, Beijing will seek international pressure to stop a U.S. offensive.

But while crossing the 38th parallel may be tolerated under some circumstances, taking the North Korean capital will not be, he said.

“If it looks like we are going to go north of Pyongyang, in their minds, that will be a red line.”

China may tolerate U.S. forces crossing the border to crush the North Korean army, he said, but he expects Beijing would send forces to occupy Pyongyang. North Korea’s capital will remain a no-go zone, he said.

“If North Korea initiates the conflict, China will watch it closely, prepare for North Korea’s defeat, but they won’t intervene if we don’t go to far.”  [The Epoch Times]

You can read much more at the link, but I have always believed there is a strong possibility the Chinese would move in and occupy Pyongyang if they feared the US or ROK were going to occupy North Korea.  This would not be a repeat though of the massive Chinese intervention into the Korean War where they played a significant combat role.  Instead I believe the Chinese will rapidly, but openly move into Pyongyang under the guise of being peacekeepers.

If the US or the ROK were to attack the Chinese troops they would be initiating combat against peacekeepers.  I think this will likely prevent any action against the Chinese troops and give Beijing a strong negotiating hand to settle the conflict in a way favorable to Chinese interests.

Fireworks to light up Korea’s tallest building on New Year’s Eve https://t.co/uEgkSvICm7

— KingSejong (@KingSejong) December 21, 2017

Here is the latest on the idea floated by President Moon to delay the annual Key Resolve military exercise:

South Korea and the United States may delay their joint military exercises only for the duration of the Winter Olympic Games to be held here next year and if the North halts its military provocations, a ranking South Korean official said Wednesday.

The remarks came one day after South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in an interview with U.S. broadcaster NBC he has proposed delaying the military drills, which North Korea accuses of a war rehearsal, as part of efforts to reduce tensions during the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games.

Such a proposal, however, “is limited to holding the Olympic Games peacefully,” an official from the South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said, while speaking on condition of anonymity.  [Yonhap]

You can read the rest at the link, but Key Resolve is typically executed every March.  Whatever the delay is cannot be too long because of the summer change over of personnel in USFK that begins in June plus the next military exercise UFG 2018 is typically executed each August.

Here is what USFK’s position on the delay is:

The United States forces stationed in South Korea said Wednesday it is committed to the two countries’ decision on whether to delay their annual military drills and announce their final decision in an appropriate time.

“We want the PyeongChang Olympics to be successful and have committed to our ally that we will aid their success,” the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) said in a short press release. The CFC is led by Vincent Brooks, the commanding general of the U.S. Forces Korea.  [Yonhap]

I guess we will see what happens in the coming months.

This is a really horrible fire that killed 29 people and injured 20 more:

Twenty-nine people were killed and more than 20 injured Thursday in an afternoon blaze in a building in Jecheon, some 170 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

The Chungbuk Fire Service Headquarters said the blaze began in the basement parking lot of an eight-story building at 3:53 p.m. The fire quickly spread through the building housing a fitness center, driving range, public sauna and restaurants.

Fire officials said most of the victims were in the sauna as they were trapped inside of the public bath on the second floor. They said 15 people, including a 50-year-old woman surnamed Kim, were found dead in the sauna.

Twenty people were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see if this was just some kind of sad coincidence or whether some kind of bacteria or mechanical function of the equipment used for pre-mature babies is to blame:

Four newborn babies died within a two-hour span at Ewha Womans University Medical Center in Seoul on Saturday night. Authorities are investigating the cause.“We apologize to the relatives of the babies and to everyone in this country,” said Chung Hye-won, director of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the hospital, in a press briefing at the hospital on Sunday. “Four babies being treated at the intensive care unit for the newborns at the hospital suffered sudden cardiac arrest at differing times, starting from around 5:40 p.m. on Saturday.

“We tried to revive the babies through CPR but could not,” she said. “The hospital is working with public health centers and authorities to find out the cause of their deaths. We apologize again to the relatives for this unfortunate and rare incident and promise to do our best to find out the cause behind it.”

Authorities requested the National Forensic Service conduct autopsies on the four dead infants to find out the cause of their deaths. The autopsies are scheduled to be held Monday morning.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but regardless of the cause it is a very sad day and condolences to all the parents involved.

With the ROK President ending his visit to China this week the timing of this breach of the South Korea’s Air Defense Identification Zone cannot be coincidental:

Five Chinese military aircraft, including bombers and fighter jets, breached Korea’s air defense identification zone (Kadiz) Monday morning without notice, prompting the South Korean Air Force to scramble its fighters in response.

The Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced that at around 10:10 a.m. Monday, five Chinese military planes were detected entering the Kadiz from southwest of Ieodo, underwater reefs located south of Jeju Island controlled by Korea that belong in waters that both Seoul and Beijing claim.

The Chinese aircraft were said to have included two nuclear-capable Xian H-6 bombers, two J-11 fighter jets and a Tu-154 reconnaissance plane.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but this is likely just another attempt to put pressure on the ROK to show Chinese unhappiness with the THAAD deployment.

47 Korean Criminals Deported from Philippines https://t.co/Tn41NQx3P1 pic.twitter.com/4QrRl1673r

— The Chosun Ilbo (@EnglishChosun) December 15, 2017

Two South Korean journalists who were injured during a scuffle with Chinese security guards return home in wheelchairs on Dec. 15, 2017. The scuffle broke out a day earlier when the photojournalists were covering a business function attended by President Moon Jae-in hours before his summit with Xi Jinping. (Yonhap)

South Korean President Moon Jae-in visits the Provisional Government of Korea in Chongqing, China, on Dec. 16, 2017, where independence fighters fought against the Japanese occupation of Korea. (Yonhap)

Maybe they thought South Korea is like Saudi Arabia where the woman would likely get blamed for the sexual assault?:

Two Saudi Arabian students have been arrested for sexually assaulting a woman, Seoul police said Wednesday.

The two brothers, 25 and 23, are suspected of assaulting a Korean office worker in her 20s at their home Saturday. They were detained Monday.

The students, studying here in a university exchange program, met the victim through a chat app and drank together in their room, according to the Seoul Seongbuk Police Station.

The woman made an emergency call to police, and investigators found evidence from CCTV footage taken nearby their residence. The men told police they do not remember what happened because they were intoxicated. [Korea Times]