A group of residents from Goseong near South Korea’s eastern front line with North Korea rallies in front of the government complex in Seoul on July 11, 2016, to urge the government to come up with measures to support them as they have been financially hurt by the 2008 suspension of an inter-Korean tour program to Mount Kumgang on the North’s eastern coast. The tour program, in which South Koreans visited the scenic mountain resort via an overland route in the Goseong region across the Demilitarized Zone, was abruptly halted in July 2008 after a female South Korean tourist was shot to death by a North Korean soldier. (Yonhap)
Like I said in my previous posting, I had a little confidence that the ROK would be able to keep the deployment location of the THAAD battery in South Korea secret if this report is accurate:
This photo taken on July 12, 2016, shows Seongju county from a mountain near the current South Korean Air Force surface-to-air missile battery site on Seongsan. (Yonhap)
South Korea and the United States are likely to deploy an advanced U.S. missile defense system to Seongju county in the south central region of the country, a military source said Tuesday.
As early as next week, Seoul and Washington are likely to announce where they will place the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, said the official source who declined to be identified. The source also said the Seongsan-ri region of the county, about 296 km south of Seoul, will be chosen as the site of the missile system.
The two countries evaluated that the location is optimal, given that the site is suitable for military operations and is sparsely populated, the insider said.
“The allies have reached an understanding that Seongju, which already has the Air Force’s Hawk surface-to-air missile battery, is the best location for the THAAD system,” he said, adding that they are awaiting final approval from their respective national military authorities. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but according to the article residents in the county are preparing to protest the decision. At this point I don’t even know if the residents even realize what they are protesting against? The THAAD is going on military land thus no civilian land will be taken and there is no danger from the radar as long as it is positioned 100 meters from homes which is assuredly will.
Plus there is already a Hawk radar at the location that the ROK Air Force is using and no one is protesting that?
It looks like the “Not In My Backyard” crowd has already started protesting the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea:
The official announcement of deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system in Korea is bringing a huge backlash from residents of areas which are rumored to be candidate sites for the system.
People in the regions claim the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) will pose serious health risks to them and environmental damage due to strong electromagnetic waves.
Immediately after the announcement Friday, residents in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, and Waegwan of Chilgok County in North Gyeongsang Province, the two key candidate locations, expressed vehement opposition.
A coalition of 25 civic groups in Pyeongtaek, where the United States Forces Korea (USKF) headquarters will be moved, said they will hold a press conference on July 19 to announce their protest plans to block the possible deployment there.
“The noise and electromagnetic waves emanating from THAAD radar will pose grave health threats to residents here,” the coalition said in a statement. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but like most Korean protests these people are blatantly lying to get public sentiment behind them. Anyone can Google and find out the safe keep out zones for the THAAD radar. In fact it is published in the draft Environmental Assessment document for the THAAD unit on Guam that can be downloaded at this link. Here is an excerpt from the document that discusses the safe keep out zones for the radar:
Operation of the THAAD battery requires the following exclusion zones along +/- 90 degrees of the axis of orientation of the THAAD radar system to avoid injury to personnel and damage to equipment from electromagnetic radiation (EMR) emitted from that radar: 328 feet (100 meters) for personnel, 1,640 feet (500 meters) for equipment, and 3.4 miles (5.5 kilometers) for aircraft. An earthen berm in front of the radar further reduces the ground-level EMR exposure risks. For aircraft, a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) was established for the THAAD expeditionary mission starting in April 2013. The airspace coordination procedures for this flight restriction were documented in a Letter of Agreement between the Army, USAF, FAA, and Guam Air Route Traffic Control Center. Under Alternative 1, the TFR would continue to be used during THAAD radar operations.
So unless the THAAD radar is sitting 100 meters directly in front of someones house they will not be exposed to harmful EMR. Aircraft will need to stay 5.5 kilometers away from the radar which as the document shows on Guam they put restricted airspace measures over the radar site. These same safety measures will have to be done in Korea which I am sure USFK planners will do.
Gen. Vincent Brooks (L), commander of United States Forces Korea, hands over the flag of the 7th Air Force to Lt. Gen. Thomas Bergeson, new deputy commander of U.S. Forces Korea and the 7th Air Force commander, during a ceremony at Osan Air Base, south of Seoul, on July 8, 2016, to mark Bergeson`s inauguration. (Yonhap)
A new deputy chief of United States Forces Korea (USFK) took command on Friday, vowing to put more effort into enhancing the alliance between the U.S. and South Korea so as to forge an “ever stronger” partnership, the U.S. military said.
Air Force Maj. Gen. Thomas Bergeson took office as the deputy commander of the United Nations Command and the USFK, replacing Lt. Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy in the ceremony held at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, the USFK’s Seventh Air Force said in a statement.
With the new position, Bergeson also serves as the commanding general of the Seventh Air Force, as well as the air commander of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command.
“I look forward to enhancing the capabilities of our team and transforming the alliance into an ever stronger partnership,” Bergeson said.
He stressed the role of South Korea as a “key contributor” to regional peace.
“We will continue to refocus our training and exercises in order to maximize our combat capability and enhance our readiness to ‘fight tonight.'”
His inauguration came at a critical time when Seoul and Washington are deploying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), an advanced U.S. missile defense system, on South Korean soil.
If THAAD is deployed with the USFK, the chief commander of the Seventh Air Force will effectively be in charge of controlling the THAAD unit on behalf of the USFK commander, according to a South Korean military official.
Bergeson served as the director at the Pentagon’s legislative liaison for the U.S. Air Force secretary. He is an F-15 and F-22 pilot who has a more than 3,100 hours of flight time under his belt, the U.S. military said.
O’Shaughnessy will assume command of the Pacific Air Force at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, it also said. [Yonhap]
Lieutenant General O’Shaughnessy in my opinion was a great commander for 7th Air Force and will do great things at PACAF as well.
Korea will be under the influence of powerful typhoon Nepartak from Sunday, said the state weather agency on Thursday.
“The super typhoon is forecast to influence all parts of Korea while passing the west coast of the peninsula,” the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said Thursday.
Nepartak, which was 510 kilometers southeast of Taipei as of 9 a.m. Thursday, is moving west-northwest and expected to strike Shanghai on Saturday.
The typhoon will then keep advancing north, reaching the Korean Peninsula at the weekend.
“We forecast that heavy rain will start in Korea under the influence of Nepartak on Sunday,” the agency said. “But there is a possibility that the typhoon could be downgraded to a tropical storm when it hits China.” [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but everyone in the ROK stay safe this weekend.
After what has seemed like never-ending negotiations the US and the ROK have agreed to finally deploy a THAAD missile defense system to South Korea:
Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy Ryu Je-seung, right, shakes hands with Eighth U.S. Army commander Lt. Gen. Thomas Vandal after a joint press conference at the defense ministry building in southern Seoul, Friday. The two agreed to deploy a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here. / Yonhap
South Korea and the United States agreed to deploy a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here, the two allies announced Friday, drawing protests from China and throwing the Korean Peninsula into geopolitical turmoil.
“The Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States made an alliance decision to deploy THAAD to U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) as a defensive measure to ensure the security of the ROK and its people,” the Ministry of Defense and the USFK said in a joint statement.
It said the deployment of the advanced U.S. missile defense system is to protect alliance military forces from North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile threats.
The two are “working closely to ensure the swift deployment of THAAD” and will develop specific operational procedures, it said.
Several hours after the announcement, China denounced both Seoul and Washington, with its foreign ministry expressing “strong discontent and firm opposition” against the two countries’ agreement. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but according to the article the locations being considered for hosting the THAAD site are Pyeongtaek, Wonju, Waegwan and Eumseong County in North Chungcheong Province. It will be interesting to see if the Korean left will try and demagogue and launch Camp Humphreys expansion style protests against the building of the THAAD site.
It will also be interesting to see if the Chinese try to retaliate against the ROK in some way? Considering how the Chinese continue to funnel cash and goods to the Kim regime despite sanctions, they have no creditability to oppose this deployment.
What an embarrassment for the Park administration if they did in fact plagiarize the new national slogan. Even if they did not plagiarize it they still should have been aware that a major country like France was already using the slogan:
Rep. Sohn Hye-won says during the Minjoo Party’s interim leadership meeting on Wednesday that the government’s “Creative Korea” slogan and its logo design plagiarized the “Creative France” campaign of Business France. [NEWSIS]The Park Geun-hye administration’s newly created national slogan celebrating Korean creativity was plagiarized from a French campaign, an opposition lawmaker and renowned designer said Wednesday.
Rep. Sohn Hye-won of the Minjoo Party of Korea said during the interim leadership meeting in the morning that the government’s “Creative Korea” slogan and its logo design plagiarized the “Creative France” campaign of Business France, a French national agency promoting international investment in the country.
“Using the word ‘creative’ in front of the name of the country in the slogan, and using the red and blue colors in the logo design, are blatant acts of plagiarism,” Sohn said. “It is especially embarrassing that the plagiarized slogan is celebrating creativity.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but it is pretty ironic that a slogan pushing creativity was possibly plagiarized.
It doesn’t appear to be an asymmetric attack like the North Koreans have done before, but instead just a response to the heavy rains that have hit the peninsula:
North Korea discharged water from a dam near the border with South Korea Wednesday, prompting the South to evacuate border-area residents for fears of flooding.
“It seems that North Korea discharged water from Hwanggang Dam at around 6 a.m.,” a South Korean military official said. “North Korea opened the floodgates of the dam bit by bit from early morning.”
The North did not notify the South of the dam water discharge in advance despite their previous agreement to do so, the official said.
Still, Seoul ruled out the possibility that the sudden water release has anything to do with flooding attacks, he added.
The water level at the North Korean dam had been detected to have risen to full capacity with the area having massive rainfalls in recent weeks.
Six South Koreans were killed in September 2009 after North Korea released a massive amount of water from the border dam without prior warning. [Yonhap]
