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Tweet of the Day: Should South Korean Universities Be Forced to Provide Halal Food Options?

Picture of the Day: North Korea Conducts Artillery Drills Near Coastal Border Areas

N. Korean troops stage artillery drills at coastal border areas
N. Korean troops stage artillery drills at coastal border areas
North Korean troops are seen conducting drills using a self-propelled howitzer at coastal border areas in Hwanghae Province on Oct. 25, 2026, from the South’s Aegibong Observatory in Gimpo, some 30 kilometers west of Seoul. (Yonhap)

USFK Commander Continues ot Emphasize the Importance of Logistics

General Brunson continues to emphasize logistics and Korea becoming a repair and maintain hub for the U.S. military:

Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson on Monday called for improvements in military logistics and the incorporation of modern technology into military exercises, emphasizing the importance of sustainment capabilities in strengthening deterrence.

Brunson made the remarks in a post on X following a United Nations Command (UNC) logistics symposium attended by military logistics officials from participating nations.

“Sustainment is not support to the fight. It is what enables us to fight and win,” Brunson wrote. He concurrently serves as commander of the UNC and the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command.

In the post, Brunson said he challenged participating logisticians to develop practical solutions and introduce modern technology into military exercises, stressing, “Endurance in theater is how we deter.”

The general has emphasized the importance of military logistics and sustainment capabilities, including efforts to establish South Korea as a regional hub for maintaining and repairing U.S. military assets.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but there is already a lot of sustainment capability that USFK has that units throughout the region use to repair Army equipment and vehicles. General Brunson appears to want to expand it even further to include a much wider range of equipment repair for the entire U.S. military.

Elderly Korean Drug Smuggling Suspect Deported from Ghana After Hiding for 22 Years

It seems to me being effectively exihiled to Ghana is quite a bit of punishment already to go along with whatever jail sentence he gets in Korea:

A man in his 80s, suspected of transporting more than 5 tons of narcotics aboard a fishing vessel in waters off South America in the early 2000s, has been repatriated to South Korea after spending 22 years on the run, police said Monday.

The Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) said the man, whose identity was withheld, was brought back home on Oct. 20 in coordination with the Busan Coast Guard after being deported by authorities in Ghana, where he had been hiding for about 22 years.

The man is accused of transporting narcotics on behalf of a drug trafficking organization on five separate occasions in international waters off South America between 2002 and 2004, when he was serving as a supervisor of a deep-sea fishing vessel, and receiving payment for the shipments.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Expert Says Kim Jong-un’s Visit to China Meant to Ease Concerns About Close Russian Tieds

This is what North Korea has always done, play off the Chinese and Russians to their advantage:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un lays a flower basket at the Memorial Hall of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea in Dandong, China, Saturday. Yonhap

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un lays a flower basket at the Memorial Hall of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea in Dandong, China, Saturday. Yonhap

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s trip to the Chinese border city of Dandong, made days before the anniversary of Chinese troops entering the 1950-53 Korean War, was aimed at reaffirming the historic blood ties between the two countries at a moment when Pyongyang’s alignment with Moscow has drawn Beijing’s attention, experts said. 

North’s state-run Rodong Sinmun on Sunday reported Kim’s visit to the Memorial Hall of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea in Dandong the previous day. The state media repeatedly emphasized Kim’s paying tribute to fallen Chinese troops, remembering their shared history of fighting alongside North Korean forces and preserving ties forged in blood.

Kang Dong-wan, a professor of North Korean studies at Dong-A University, said the focus on China’s role in the war was deliberate, coming after a period in which the Beijing relationship had weakened relative to Pyongyang’s deepening partnership with Moscow, including the North’s troop deployment to Russia.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

North Korea Tells UN Security Council that South Korea is Telling Lies About Mine Blast

This was a predictable response from the same group of people that lied about not torpedoing the Cheonan:

North Korean soldiers work on what appears to be a mission to construct tactical roads and fences near a border area, seen from South Korea's western border island of Ganghwa, Oct. 22. Yonhap

North Korean soldiers work on what appears to be a mission to construct tactical roads and fences near a border area, seen from South Korea’s western border island of Ganghwa, Oct. 22. Yonhap

North Korea has sent a letter to the president of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) calling last month’s land mine blast near the border an incident “fabricated” by South Korea, Pyongyang’s state media reported Monday.

The North’s move came less than a week after South Korea sent to the council its own letter calling on North Korea to apologize for the Sept. 21 mine blast that injured three South Korean soldiers and take responsibility for its violation of the Armistice Agreement.

The letter, sent Sunday by Pyongyang’s permanent representative to the United Nations, said Seoul “fabricated” the mine blast in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) as a “sinister” attempt to “impede” the North’s border fortification work, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

ROK Drop Open Thread – October 23, 2026

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.

Tweet of the Day: Indian Woman Wants Government Action Against South Korea

Picture of the Day: Shark Returns to Busan Canal

Shark returns to Busan canal following 3rd rescue operation
Shark returns to Busan canal following 3rd rescue operation
A dusky shark swims in the waterway of North Port Waterfront Park in the southeastern port city of Busan on Oct. 22, 2026, after authorities failed to guide it back to the open sea for the third time as it has spent over a month trapped in the city canal. The 4-meter female shark, nicknamed “Bukang-i” and formerly thought to be a copper shark, turned into a major attraction since it was found in the waterway on Sept. 18. (Yonhap)

Korean Court Gives Suspended Sentences and Small Fines to Protesters Who Trespassed on U.S. Military Base

These slap on the hand sentences will do nothing to deter future illegal protests. These people should be jailed to send a message:

A court on Thursday found 34 student activists guilty of trespassing on the then presidential compound and a U.S. military base between 2022 and 2024.

The Seoul Western District Court sentenced a senior leader of the Korean Progressive University Student Union (KPUSU) to a suspended four-month prison term and ordered 32 other members to pay fines ranging from 1 million won (US$756) to 6 million won. One other member received a deferred sentence of a 1 million-won fine.

Two others were indicted but acquitted.

The students faced multiple charges, including trespassing on a U.S. military installation in South Korea in August 2022 and March 2023 to stage rallies against joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States.

In January and October 2024, they attempted to illegally enter what was then the presidential compound in Seoul’s Yongsan Ward to demand the resignation of then President Yoon Suk Yeol and a special counsel investigation into then first lady Kim Keon Hee.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.