It looks like the North Korean cannon fodder for Putin’s war in Ukraine may be more than originally believed:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that North Korea is preparing to send around 10,000 soldiers to Russia to support its war against Ukraine, calling the development “a big problem.”
Zelenskyy cited Ukrainian intelligence reports indicating that North Korean personnel have already been deployed in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, with additional troops being prepared to join the fight.
“We know about 10,000 soldiers of North Korea that they are preparing to send to fight against us,” Zelenskyy said during a press conference in Brussels after the European Union summit. “That’s really, I think, a big problem.”
Zelenskyy suggested that Russia is relying on North Korean forces to compensate for its substantial troop losses, as many young Russians seek to avoid conscription.
“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin is afraid of mobilization very much because social opinion is against his,” he said. “That’s why he (Putin) is trying to involve other participants of this war.”
You can read more at the link.
The issues around Rodriguez Range is very similar to noise complaints by people who build homes around airports. The range had been there long before the population began increasing around the area. It looks like the ROK government will now invest enough money in the area to keep the locals quiet for the time being:
U.S. troops may now employ attack helicopters in live-fire drills at a range 16 miles from North Korea, according to the South’s Ministry of National Defense. For the past six years, the Army could fly AH-64 Apaches in exercises at the Rodriguez Live Fire Complex, but not fire their weapons. Representatives from the ministry, South Korean army and a citizens’ group investigating noise complaints from the range, signed a memorandum Monday to “normalize” training by U.S. forces, according to a ministry news release that day.
Concerns over noise generated by the Apaches prompted a U.S. noise study earlier this year, Kang Tae Il, chairman of the citizens’ group — Pocheon Live Fire Range Countermeasure Committee — told Stars and Stripes by phone Tuesday. “We, local residents, originally wanted to get this range moved and closed,” he said. “However, in the situation in our country that is a standoff with North Korea, soldiers need to train somewhere.”
The change near the border came as tensions continue to tick higher on the peninsula. On Tuesday, North Korea destroyed parts of inter-Korean roads on its side of the border, after claiming that South Korean drones flew over Pyongyang. To compensate Pocheon residents for the noise, the ministry agreed to construct a gymnasium, golf course and other sports facilities around the range at an undetermined date, Kang said.
You can read more at the link.
It looks like North Koreans are getting closer to becoming cannon fodder in Putin’s war in Ukraine:
The defense ministry said Wednesday it is “closely” monitoring for signs of North Korea possibly sending troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, following media reports of Russia forming a battalion of North Koreans.
Ukrainian media outlets earlier reported that Russia is organizing a special battalion that is expected to include up to 3,000 North Koreans due to manpower shortages amid concerns over deepening military cooperation between the two countries.
“As there is a possibility of (North Korea) providing troops or civilian personnel, this is being closely monitored,” a ministry official said when asked about the reports.
You can read more at the link.
Trump has brought back up the issue that South Korea should pay more for defense from U.S. troops however with the cost sharing deal recently concluded that extends to 2030, this seems like campaign rhetoric at this point. Trump is once again using a lot of hyperbole to make his greater point that allies should pay more for international security provided by U.S. troops:
Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday that America “cannot be taken advantage of any longer in trade and in the military,” reinforcing speculation that he could demand renegotiation of a recent defense cost-sharing deal with Seoul if he returns to office.
The Republican presidential candidate made the remarks during a televised town hall event hosted by Fox News, falsely claiming that South Korea does not pay for the stationing of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).
“40,000 soldiers and we never get paid. South Korea, they don’t pay,” Trump said, apparently referring to 28,500 USFK service members.
“I made them pay. Everyone raised hell, and Biden took the deal, and he said they don’t pay anymore, and they’re a rich country. No … we have to start. We cannot be taken advantage of any longer in trade, in the military,” he added.
You can read more at the link.
That is a question the Korea Times was asking people recently in Itaewon:
Nearly two years have passed since a deadly crowd disaster during Halloween weekend shocked the world on Oct. 29, 2022. That traumatic event led to 159 deaths and left permanent scars in central Seoul’s multicultural Itaewon area. As Halloween 2024 approaches, many are questioning whether the neighborhood will see a return to what was once one of the most vibrant and profitable weekends for local businesses.
Yet business owners and event organizers in the area said they are not yet prepared to resume Halloween celebrations as they did in the past.
“I think Halloween is naturally going to be slightly toned down for a while, particularly in Itaewon,” Ali Zahoor, co-organizer of Seoul Drag Parade, said.
“Seoul Drag Parade has a couple of Halloween-themed shows planned,” Heezy Yang, another co-organizer, added. “But we tried to choose dates and locations for them cautiously and respectfully, considering what happened in Itaewon.” (…………..)
“It hasn’t been discussed yet because we’re still a while away,” he added, “but I imagine everybody is sort of waiting to see what everyone else does, and talk to the other bar owners — ‘What are you planning on doing?'”
Last year, there was a widespread fear among foreign residents of Korea, as well as Itaewon business owners and anyone else who enjoys Halloween, about being singled out and made out to seem insensitive over Halloween.
Once again, Walsh acknowledged this fear is still a concern this year.
“Nobody wants to be in the media at the club,” he said. “We know that the wounds are still sore with the families, and I’m sure the media are gonna be looking for somebody that’s sticking out. And as a foreigner, I don’t want to be sticking out. Even the Koreans don’t want to stick out either.”
You can read more at the link.
It looks like the Korean left has found a new angle to go after President Yoon’s wife after all their previous efforts failed. This one seems pretty weak as well if the only evidence they have is a innocuous text message exchange with the First Lady and testimony from a disgraced pollster:
The presidential office flatly denied claims by an election broker Tuesday that he frequently communicated with President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee during Yoon’s campaign for the People Power Party (PPP) presidential nomination in 2021.
Myung tae-kyun, a shadowy figure who ran a public opinion polling agency, claimed in media reports that he met Yoon and his wife in June 2021 and advised them regularly for about six months until the end of the presidential primary in November of that year.
“It is an absurd claim that Myung spoke to the president and first lady on speakerphone every day for six months,” a senior presidential official said in a release.
The official also clarified that the text messages exchanged between Myung and Kim were part of a private conversation before Yoon joined the PPP in July 2021.
One message shows Kim saying, “Please forgive our brother (oppa in Korean) for speaking carelessly.”
The official explained that the “brother” referred to in the message was Kim’s biological brother, not Yoon.
Myung has been implicated in a political scandal involving allegations of the first lady’s interference in PPP candidate nominations ahead of the April general elections.
You can read more at the link, but if Myung was have speakerphone conversations every day for six months you would think he would have more evidence of such a close relationship.
