Despite war in the Middle East, USFK is executing Freedom Shield as scheduled:

South Korea and the United States kicked off a key annual joint springtime military exercise Monday, with the number of planned field training drills cut in half compared with last year.

The allies launched the Freedom Shield (FS) exercise, which will run through March 19, aimed at strengthening their combined defense posture. 

This year’s FS exercise will be focused on assessing conditions to achieve the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington to Seoul. 

South Korea has been seeking to achieve the “conditions-based” handover of wartime command from the U.S. within President Lee Jae Myung’s five-year term that ends in 2030.

Some 18,000 troops are expected to take part in the drills, a scale similar to the previous year, where they will engage in realistic wartime scenarios reflecting aspects of modern warfare.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see if the government is going to reimburse these petrol stations if they are forced to sell gasoline at price that is not profitable for them:

Kim Yong-beom (L), the presidential chief of staff for policy, explains the outcome of President Lee Jae Myung’s meeting on the Middle East during a press briefing at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on March 9, 2026. (Yonhap)

The government plans to take steps to implement a capping system on local fuel prices this week, a senior presidential adviser said Monday, shortly after President Lee Jae Myung called for a swift launch of the system to contain a jump in gas prices as the U.S.-led war with Iran has intensified in the Middle East. 

Kim Yong-beom, the presidential chief of staff for policy, told reporters that specific measures were discussed at a meeting with relevant mininstries to “implement the price cap system to prevent abnormal pricing of petroleum products and improve price predictability.”

If implemented, it would mark the first time since 1997 that South Korea has enforced the system, using a provision in the Petroleum Business Act that allows the industry minister to designate a maximum sales price when oil prices fluctuate sharply and threaten economic stability.

Earlier in the day, Lee told an interministerial meeting that a swift implementation of fuel price cap is needed as the price of Brent oil to surge through US$100 per barrel.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I think the more these people complain about the rising sun flag, the more likely Japanese fans are to bring them to games hosted in Japan:

The appearance of the Rising Sun flag during a World Baseball Classic (WBC) game between Korea and Japan has sparked criticism after Japanese spectators were seen displaying the controversial symbol at Tokyo Dome. 

The flag, widely associated with the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy, is viewed by many throughout Asia as a symbol of the country’s militaristic colonial past, including its 35-year rule over Korea.

The incident occurred during the 2026 WBC match played Saturday.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

For the Iranians in South Korea this should be good news for them:

Korea will allow Iranians to remain here beyond their visa limits on humanitarian grounds, as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran intensifies in the Middle East.

In response to inquiries from The Korea Times regarding Iranian nationals in Korea, the Ministry of Justice said those whose visas cannot be extended under ordinary rules will be permitted to stay until war-related risks are deemed to have subsided enough to allow safe travel.

As of January, 2,133 Iranian nationals were residing legally in Korea.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It has been suspected USFK would deploy Patriot batteries again to the Middle East and it appears it may be happening:

U.S. military transport aircraft have been spotted arriving at and departing from a U.S. air base in South Korea over the past week, raising speculation that the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) may be deploying some of its assets to the Middle East amid the escalating conflict involving Iran.

According to the real-time flight tracking website Flightradar24, C-5 and C-17 U.S. transport aircraft have landed at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, since late last month and departed between Wednesday and Saturday.

At least two C-5 aircraft arrived at the air base in late February and were spotted departing last Saturday and Monday, while C-17 aircraft departed between Tuesday and Saturday, with six confirmed to be heading to Anchorage, Alaska.

The C-17 aircraft regularly stopped at the key U.S. base to transport U.S. assets and personnel, but the arrival of the C-5 appears to be rare.

The latest move has fueled speculation that the USFK may be preparing to move Patriot missile defense systems, as it is known to have recently relocated some Patriot batteries to Osan Air Base from other U.S. bases.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is some great advertising for Korea’s defense industry:

As Iranian forces launched retaliatory strikes across the Middle East following Saturday’s U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, the United Arab Emirates turned to South Korea’s Cheongung-II surface-to-air missile system to help intercept incoming attacks, according to officials familiar with the matter. 

The system, sold to the UAE in recent years as part of Seoul’s expanding defense exports, has been integrated into the country’s broader air defense network. 

The interception marks the first combat use of a South Korean-made air defense weapon deployed overseas, underscoring the country’s expanding arms exports to the Middle East and offering a rare glimpse of the system’s performance in combat.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

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