Tag: South Korea

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is in Seoul discussing the US defense commitment to the peninsula:

Defence Secretary Ashton Carter promised Friday that the US would deploy state of the art weaponry in Asia, including the latest stealth bombers and cyber warfare units, to counter threats posed by the likes of North Korea.

“Our newest and best things are being deployed to this part of the world,” Carter said in Seoul — the second leg of a visit to the two key US military allies in the region, Japan and South Korea. (…………)

Stressing that military deterrence and readiness were “at a premium” on the divided peninsula, Carter said the US was investing in “advanced capabilities …. tailored to this dynamic security environment.”

Asked to expand, he cited new stealth bombers, F-35 stealth fighters and highly developed cyber warfare systems that could be rotationally deployed in the Asian theatre.  [AFP]

You can read the rest at the link, but what wasn’t supposedly discussed was the deployment of a THAAD missile defense system to South Korea which continues to be a touchy subject due to Beijing’s objections to the deployment.

U.S.-Japan defense pact likely to address Seoul's demand over collective self-defense http://t.co/nivsWw1ZAd

— Yonhap News Agency (@YonhapNews) April 9, 2015

Here is another example of South Korea becoming more like the US where despite smoking less the population is becoming increasingly unhealthy:

More Koreans are smoking less but also exercising less, recent government data showed Tuesday.

According to the Health Ministry, the smoking rate among Korean men dropped from 49.2 percent in 2008 to 45.3 percent last year. Yet the number of Korean men who regularly exercise by walking also dropped from 50.6 percent in 2008 to 37.5 in 2014.

Meanwhile, Korean men who considered themselves to be obese increased from 21.6 percent in 2008 to 25.3 percent. The number of heavy drinkers stayed about the same from 2008 to 2014 at around 18 percent.

Data also showed that only one-third of Korean men don’t smoke, avoid heavy drinking and exercise regularly all at the same time. Seoul, Daejeon and Incheon had the highest number of people who regularly exercise and avoid smoking and drinking.  [Korea Herald]

You can read more at the link.

Soldiers take part in a joint landing drill between South Korea and the United States on a beach in Pohang, southeastern South Korea, on March 30, 2015. (Yonhap)

This group does make a good point in regards to heterosexual relationships allowed to have kissing in the Korean dramas, but this drama is being investigated for allowing homosexual kissing:

Rainbow Action against Sexual Minority Discrimination, a group that works to raise awareness about sexual minorities and their rights, held a press conference Tuesday to request the KCSC end discussions for disciplinary measures against JTBC drama “Seonam Girls High School Investigators.”

The drama, which tells the story of five students who, as members of a private investigator club, go up against private education, abortion, bullying and suicide, aired kiss scenes between two schoolgirls on Feb. 25 and March 4.

When a complaint was filed with the KCSC, the communications regulator convened a meeting March 18 to deliberate the matter. The drama is rated for viewing by those 15 and older.

“‘Seonam Girls’ is a rare drama that accurately depicts the lives of sexual minorities in a society that pretends people with such preferences don’t exist,” members of Rainbow Action said. “Deliberators at a meeting on Feb. 25 said the drama may encourage homosexuality and went as far as to make inappropriate comments, claiming they believe sexual minorities suffer from a mental disability.”

It continued, “The people who need to be deliberated are the deliberators. Other dramas that have dealt with teens and their sexual relationships were aired with no problems, so to discipline Seonam Girls is discrimination against sexual minorities.”  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

It looks like smokers in Seoul are going to have less option of where they can smoke:

A three-month grace period ends today for violators of a smoking ban at all restaurants, coffee shops and Internet cafes, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Tuesday.

From today, anyone who violates the ban will be fined 100,000 won ($90), while the owners will have to pay 1.7 million won ($1,500).

When the government implemented the ban in January, it gave a grace period until the end of March, and has since tried to raise public awareness about the smoking ban.

“Smoking in those places has not been strongly controlled to date. We only fined owners who maintained smoking tables for the last three months,” said a ministry official. “However, the ban will be strictly applied from April.”  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but it will be interesting to see how strictly this ordinance is enforced.

This guy is quite the burglar considering he stole over $480,000 in valuables in less than a year:

An ex-convict who allegedly underwent surgery to change his appearance in order to continue carrying out burglaries has been arrested, authorities said Monday.

Police in Incheon, west of Seoul, said the 35-year-old man stole 530 million won (US$480,000) worth of valuables from April to December 2014.

The man had undergone surgery to reduce his jaw size and lengthen his legs in an apparent attempt to conceal his identity, the Incheon Nambu Police Station said. The man, however, said the procedures were intended to boost his self-esteem.

A former worker in home decoration, he also used handmade tools to dismantle digital door locks at more than 80 apartments, authorities said, adding they are looking to see whether he had committed other crimes.  [Yonhap]

Along with the recent purchase of 40 F-35’s from Lockheed the Koreans are also partnering with them to develop their own domestic fighter:

South Korea on Monday selected Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and partner Lockheed Martin for a multi-billion-dollar contract to develop 120 “indigenous” fighter jets to replace Seoul’s ageing fleet.

The bid from KAI and the US aerospace giant, which is subject to a screening process before being officially approved, was always seen as the favourite for the 8.6 trillion won ($7.8 billion) deal over a rival bid by civilian carrier Korean Air (KAL) teamed with Airbus.

The Defence Ministry also approved a separate $1.28 billion deal to buy Patriot PAC-3 missiles and upgrade its air defence system aimed at intercepting North Korean ballistic missiles.

The KF-X fighter project is designed to develop and produce 120 fighter jets of a new, indigenous type to replace South Korea’s ageing fleet of F-4s and F-5s.  [AFP]

You can read more at the link.

Shown is a capture of CCTV footage released by the Korean Cultural Center in Tokyo on March 26, 2015, on an arson attack on the building in downtown Tokyo earlier in the day. (Yonhap)

This is another example of the rise of China where they are continuing to get nations to join AIIB which is a competitor to the western led World Bank:

South Korea on Thursday became the latest American ally to announce its intention to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank despite Washington’s qualms about the Chinese-led regional development bank.

The South Korean Ministry of Strategy and Finance said in a statement that Asia needed a new regional source of development money like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank because the existing multilateral lenders, like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, could not meet the demand for infrastructure investment funds in the region.

The United States has expressed misgivings about the proposed regional lender, which it sees as a threat to the Washington-led World Bank. American officials have also worried that the new bank would lack governance and transparency in enforcing lending, environmental and labor standards.

But in its statement, the South Korean ministry said a founding membership in the regional bank would help expand the country’s influence in the international banking sector. It also said membership would help its companies win deals in large-scale construction, telecommunications, transportation and other development projects in the region.

“Our government, together with its allies, has been urging China to improve its plans for the bank so that its governing structure and safeguards will meet international standards,” the ministry said. “We have seen significant progress in that regard.”  [New York Times via the Marmot’s Hole]

You can read the rest at the link, but this is also another example of how South Korea’s balances their relationship with China and the US. They prioritize economic issues with the Chinese and security issues with the US.