Tag: South Korea

This return of the ROK fishing vessel by the Kim regime appears to have happened so rapidly because of the Vietnamese crew members on board at the fact the ROK has returned various North Korean fishing ships that strayed into South Korean waters when requested:

North Korea sent back a South Korean fishing boat and its crew that Pyongyang says were detained for crossing the eastern sea border between the rivals.

While the North’s state media said the decision was based on humanitarian grounds, experts said it wasn’t clear whether the repatriation reflected intentions to improve relations with the South amid heightened animosity over Pyongyang’s expanding nuclear program.

The boat’s 10 crew members included not only South Koreans, but also three Vietnamese fishermen, which might have influenced the North’s decision for a quick repatriation, said Hong Min, an analyst at Seoul’s Korea Institute for National Unification.

Fishermen questioned

Hours after announcing the repatriation plans through the Korean Central News Agency, North Korea sent back the boat and fishermen in designated waters off the peninsula’s eastern coast Friday evening. The fishermen, who arrived at the South Korean port of Sokcho late Friday, appeared to be in good health, a South Korean coast guard official said.

The fishermen will be questioned by South Korean authorities over the circumstances of their detention and their experience in the North, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity citing office rules. The fishermen didn’t leave the ship as officials searched the vessel for nearly two hours in Sokcho before they were escorted to another port in nearby Uljin, where they might be questioned.  [Voice of America]

You can read more at the link.

A group of children wearing the costume of “haenyeo,” female divers on South Korea’s southern Jeju Island, wait for their turn at an event to mark the anniversary of the listing of haenyeo as a UNESCO cultural heritage at a park in Seoul on Oct. 30, 2017. The listing was decided at the U.N. culture body’s meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Dec. 1, 2016. (Yonhap)

Like I have said before I will believe it when I see the OPCON transfer happen:

The Moon Jae-in administration’s ambition to regain wartime operational control from the United States has hit a snag, as the latest security consultation by U.S. and Korean defense chiefs failed to approve a restructuring plan for the combined forces.

Defense Minister Song Young-moo and U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis attended an annual Security Consultative Meeting on Saturday in Seoul, accompanied by top military officials. North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, and other key issues concerning the Korea-U.S. alliance, were discussed.

Following the discussion, the 49th of its kind, a joint communique was issued. Song and Mattis also addressed reporters in a press conference.

According to the joint communique, Song and Mattis pledged to work together to implement an agreement made in June by Moon and U.S. President Donald Trump to “enable the expeditious conditions-based transfer of wartime operational control.”

But conspicuously missing from the communique was the much-anticipated approval of a plan for a new Combined Forces Command to oversee Korean and U.S. troops on the peninsula after the transfer. Song and Mattis were updated on the draft organization of the future Combined Forced Command and decided to continue to refine the draft through combined exercises and certifications, it said.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of National Defense told the National Assembly that the structure of a future combined forces would be discussed and approved at the Song-Mattis meeting. According to the draft, a Korean general would act as chief commander of the combined troops and an American general was to serve as deputy commander.  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but the talk of an OPCON transfer has been going on for many years due to Korean governmental delay games.  You can read more about the OPCON transfer at the below link:

https://www.rokdrop.net/2017/10/early-transfer-of-opcon-of-military-forces-to-korea-will-not-happen-until-early-2020s/

What is wrong with people?:

A 30-something woman has been sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted of killing her acquaintance’s 2-year-old son, who allegedly harassed her 1-year-old daughter, a local court said Saturday.

The unidentified woman was arrested in October last year when she threw the 2-year-old at her acquaintance’s home in Asan of South Chungcheong Province, about 100 kilometers south of Seoul, after getting angry at the boy for pushing her daughter while trying to get a toy from her.

The baby boy suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and was pronounced dead at the hospital the following day.  [Yonhap]

You can read the rest at the link, but the woman is appealing because she did not intentionally seek to injure the boy.  What did she think was going to happen when she threw a two year old across the room?

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) has been emboldened ever since the Korean left was able to impeach President Park.  So them protesting the US Navy personnel in Busan is not surprising:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=tCJ6cS6xVHM

Pictures of an anti-U.S. protest rally in South Korea spread online, causing concern ahead of U.S.President Donald Trump’s state visit to the country next month.

The rally was led by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), the country’s second-largest umbrella trade union. Near a Busan hotel where the U.S. Navy held a party to celebrate its 242-year history Oct. 14, protesters chanted messages like “U.S. troops go home!”

Since then, photos and a video of their protest have been shared by thousands of people on social media, including U.S. sailors and their families.

In their propaganda pamphlet to the sailors, they said, “Koreans despise dotard Trump. We also abhor you, his servants. It is because you are a war monster.”

A 35-second video, which is believed to have been filmed by a U.S. sailor on the same day, shows a Korean woman screaming and cursing at U.S. soldiers.

The KCTU, which has carried out anti-U.S. protests before, also criticized local police on its Facebook and Twitter accounts for protecting the sailors from protesters.

The pictures, video and the KCTU’s messages aroused anger among many Americans as well as Koreans. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

From the Stars & Stripes:

The 2nd Infantry Division looked to the future and the past Thursday as it celebrated its centennial with a mass re-enlistment ceremony for 100 soldiers and a time capsule.

Against the background of a hill covered with autumn foliage, 2nd ID commander Maj. Gen. Scott McKean praised the soldiers for renewing their service while stationed in South Korea, which remains technically at war with the North.

Tensions have been rising in recent months as the communist state increases the pace of its banned nuclear weapons program.

“Volunteering to continue your service in defense of our great nation, and to do it in the face of the enemy, on freedom’s frontier, that Warriors, is a sign of commitment and courage,” he said.

The ceremony on a field on Camp Casey, an Army base near the heavily fortified border that divides the peninsula, marked the start of a day of celebration as the Warrior Division celebrated its 100th birthday. [Stars & Stripes]

You can read more at the link.

As the below picture shows US Defense Secretary Mattis decided not to wear his old Marine uniform to the DMZ like he previously indicated he would:

Mattis arrived in South Korea earlier in the day. Shortly after landing at Camp Bonifas by Black Hawk chopper, he and Song headed to the OP Ouellette, a hilltop border post, and looked around a bunker underneath the facilities only 25 meters away from the North’s territory.

They were briefed on Panmunjom by U.S. Army Col. Steve Lee, secretary of the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC). They then toured the UNCMAC’s blue-colored conference building which stands on the Military Demarcation Line.

The North’s guards closely monitored the ministers’ activities, with a group of tourists looking down from the Panmungak building in the North.

In their Clark talks, the South’s minister proposed Mattis, a former Marine Corps general, wear a combat uniform for the DMZ trip to send a highly symbolic message to the North. Mattis responded positively to the offer at that time, according to Song.

But Mattis was dressed in a suit as usual after internal consultations apparently in order to avoid possible controversy over a dress code reflecting the U.S. defense secretary’s public availability.

Asked whether President Donald Trump can travel to the DMZ when he visits South Korea early next month, Mattis was guarded.

Following the DMZ tour, he paid a courtesy call on President Moon Jae-in at Cheong Wa Dae and met with Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

A U.S. veteran of the 1950-53 Korean War salutes in front of the graves of deceased fellow soldiers at the U.N. Memorial Cemetery in Busan, 453 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Oct. 24, 2017, the 72nd United Nations Day. A total of 2,300 people are interred at the cemetery that honors U.N.-led coalition forces who fought with the South in the conflict. (Yonhap)

Protesters create the message “Arrest MB” with candles during a rally in downtown Seoul on Oct. 21, 2017. MB refers to former President Lee Myung-bak, who is accused of oppressing the media, artists, politicians and other prominent figures critical of him, using the intelligence agency as the controlling tool. Oct. 29 marks the first anniversary of the candlelight protest that led to the ouster of Lee’s successor, Park Geun-hye. (Yonhap)

This is a horrible murder that occurred in Seoul:

The Supreme Court has confirmed life imprisonment for a woman who killed her married lover’s wife with poison. The top court upheld an appellate court’s verdict.

According to court documents, the woman, Han, 48, met Yoo, a married man who became her lover, at a gathering of friends from elementary school in February 2014.

Han told Yoo’s wife of their “deep and serious” relationship, hoping this would lead to the couple’s breakup. But instead Yoo’s wife offered to pay Han 350 million won ($309,700) if she ended the relationship.

In January 2015, Han visited Yoo’s apartment in Songpa-gu, Seoul, with a bottle of soju mixed with potassium cyanide. Yoo’s wife drank the toxic liquid while talking with Han, and died soon after.

Han claimed Yoo’s husband could have killed his wife.

But investigators found evidence that Han collected information about how and where to buy potassium cyanide.

They also found evidence that her husband was informed of the poisoning plan before hand.   [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.