Category: US Government

I wonder if we will ever hear the back story on this resignation?:

The top U.S. official for North Korea policy resigned last week, multiple sources said Tuesday, adding to uncertainty over Washington’s diplomatic efforts to reengage with a recalcitrant Pyongyang.

Jung Pak left the post as the U.S. senior official for North Korea and a process is under way to select her replacement, according to the sources. 

Pak, a scholar-turned-diplomat, took over the post for North Korea policy at the State Department after Sung Kim, a veteran diplomat, retired late last year. She also served as deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs.

In a press briefing later, Matthew Miller, the State Department’s spokesperson, said that Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, will oversee North Korea policy for the department. Park left office on Friday, according to the department.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Its an election year and it is pretty clear the Biden administration wants Kim Jong-un to behave, so offering talks may be an attempt to do this:

 The top U.S. envoy to the U.N. will reaffirm America’s “ironclad” security partnership with South Korea and its openness to “unconditional” dialogue with North Korea during her visit to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas next week, a senior U.S. official said Friday.

On Tuesday, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield plans to pay a visit to the DMZ, after which she will have a roundtable with North Korean escapees. She is set to arrive in Korea on Sunday as part of her East Asia swing that will also take her to Japan.

“The message that Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield will send by visiting the DMZ is that the security partnership with the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan is ironclad. She wants to obviously go to the DMZ to get a firsthand look at the situation there,” the official said in an online press briefing. ROK is the abbreviation for South Korea’s official name.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

U.S. government civilians will have a little less in their pay checks this month:

Civilians working for the U.S. government in South Korea will see 5% less post allowance in their next paycheck as the dollar continued its climb against the won. 

The change in post allowance — the equivalent of the tax-free cost-of-living allowance received by service members and their families — took effect May 7 and will remain in place at least until May 21, according to the State Department’s website.

Post allowance rates in South Korea are based on an employee’s duty station and are between 15% to 25% of a worker’s annual spendable income, which is calculated by salary and family size.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It looks like South Korea will not be providing any lethal military aid to Ukraine:

U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby speaks during a press conference at the Korean press center in Washington D.C., Tuesday (local time). Yonhap

A discussion on the Ukraine war will be included on the agenda of the upcoming summit between Presidents Yoon Suk Yeol and Joe Biden, but the U.S. will not ask Korea to provide military aid to Kyiv, a high-ranking U.S. official said, Tuesday (local time).

“We absolutely had every expectation that the war in Ukraine will be discussed as a part of this state visit, but we certainly would not speak for President Yoon and for any additional support he may or may not be willing to provide,” U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said at a press conference with Korean press.

“Every nation has to decide for itself whether or not it will support Ukraine and to what degree it’s willing to support Ukraine. Some nations provide advanced lethal capabilities, some nations do not. We respect those sovereign decisions,” he said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

I figured it was only a matter of time before the leaker got caught. There are ways of tracking down people who print out classified documents and post them online:

A Massachusetts Air National Guard member who has emerged as a main person of interest in the disclosure of highly classified military documents was taken into custody Thursday by federal agents, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced.

Investigators believe that the guardsman, who specializes in intelligence, led the online chat group where the documents were posted. Garland identified the guardsman as 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, and said he would be charged with the unauthorized removal of classified national defense information.

FBI agents converged Thursday at Teixeira’s Massachusetts home and heavily armed tactical agents took Teixeira, who was wearing a T-shirt and shorts, into custody outside the property, “without incident,” Garland said.

Yahoo.com

You can read more at the link, but from what I have read about this guy he was posting these documents to essentially win arguments and be the cool guy in the chatroom he was part of. Hopefully he spends more time in jail than the last major leaker to be a deterrent to this type of behavior.

Cutting “woke” may make for good politics in Republican right, but it is going to little to save money in the Defense budget:

A variety of social issues can fall under the “woke” umbrella, including diversity, equity and inclusion training, funding for women’s reproductive health and support for gender identity initiatives. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., Jordan and other Republicans have argued the military’s attention to “the left’s social agenda” has hurt readiness.

“If we’d focus on getting rid of all the ‘woke’ in our military, we’d have the money we need to make sure our troops get the pay raise they deserve, we’d have the weapons systems and training that needs to be done so that we’re ready to deal with our adversaries around the planet,” Jordan said Sunday on Fox News.

Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla., insinuated last month that transgender service members were taking financial advantage of the Pentagon’s policy to provide hormone therapy, mental health care and surgeries for troops diagnosed with gender dysphoria. She said a cadet at Fort Sill, Okla., had told her that he enlisted in the military because he wanted the government to pay for gender reassignment surgery.

“It was shocking that he would actually verbalize that in front of all those officers and other cadets standing there,” Bice said in December during a House Armed Services committee hearing. “This is an issue, and I do think we should be looking at it.”

The cost of transgender care is minuscule when compared to the overall size of the defense budget. The Pentagon spent $15 million treating transgender troops from 2016 to 2021, including about $3 million for surgery, according to the Defense Health Agency. The parts of the spending plan dealing with personnel are so vast and expensive that carving out items targeting “woke” culture will have a negligible impact, said Michael Herson, president of the lobbying firm American Defense International and a former Defense Department official.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but if Congress wants to save money than look at wasteful military acquisitions programs which they probably won’t because they produce jobs in influential voting districts.

This is definitely a major issue for DOD employees working overseas that need routine medical care:

Many civilians were caught off guard in October when DHA announced they should make plans to find health care in the surrounding Japanese communities. Limited access to care has created a crisis that puts individuals, their coworkers and their families at risk, according to the post.

The DHA Indo-Pacific region director, Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Heck, said in October the agency is mandated by law to prioritize health care for active-duty service members and their families. 

As of Jan. 1, DOD employees like schoolteachers, commissary workers and contractors are limited to urgent or acute care and some specialty clinics at base hospitals. Some U.S. civilian employees of Stars and Stripes fall into this category.

For routine health maintenance and ongoing care for chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease or cancer, they are encouraged to seek Japanese health care providers. The alternative is to rely on space-available appointments after the military hospitals schedule service members and their families.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link. I have used doctors off post while stationed overseas before and the biggest issue is understanding what you are being told because English translation may not be that great depending on the hospital. The other issue is how far some of the hospitals are from the U.S. military base causing increased travel times away from work.

I guess the Vice President was trying to keep this secret in order to not give the North Koreans time to plan a provocation during her visit:

In meeting after meeting with Asian leaders Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris emphasized the U.S. commitment to regional security and the White House disclosed that she would visit the Demilitarized Zone dividing the rival Koreas.

An official said Harris would tour the border area between South and North Korea on Thursday, at the end of her trip to Asia. The visit comes amid persistent concerns about North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs.

North Korea test-fired a short-range ballistic missile shortly before Harris left Washington, an apparent response to joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea that include the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the DMZ in August, and then-President Donald Trump went in 2019 when he met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. President Joe Biden did not go when he was in South Korea earlier this year.

Harris’ plan, which had been kept under wraps by her team, was unexpectedly revealed during a meeting with South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Tuesday. A White House official rushed to confirm details of her trip afterward.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

This is making me wonder if Pelosi was going to land in Taiwan in secret and this official just blew her cover:

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to visit Taiwan as part of her tour of Asia,according to a senior Taiwanese government official and a US official, despite warnings from Biden administration officials, who are worried about China’s response to such a high-profile visit. 

The stop — the first for a US House speaker in 25 years — is not currently on Pelosi’s public itinerary and comes at a time when US-China relations are already at a low point.

The Taiwanese official added that she is expected to stay in Taiwan overnight. It is unclear when exactly Pelosi will land in Taipei.

CNN

You can read more at the link.