This seems more like the Kim regime trying to keep up with the Jones instead of providing any real capability enhancements for the North Korean military. These early warning aircraft if ever completed, would quickly be shot down during any conflict on the peninsula by U.S. and ROK forces:

 North Korea appears to be making progress in converting a Russian heavy transport plane into what could be the country’s first airborne early warning (AEW) platform, a report showed Wednesday, citing commercial satellite imagery.

Joseph Dempsey, a research associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, made the analysis based on recent satellite imagery taken of the Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft at the Pyongyang Sunan International Airport.

In the report, Dempsey identified the aircraft as one of three Il-76s the North received from Russia in the 1990s, noting its fuselage had until recently been under a covered structure, suggesting a “possible special-mission role” for the airframe.

Satellite imagery taken on Sept. 8, however, showed the aircraft uncovered, with two vertical struts on the plane “consistent with a possible radar-dome mounting.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

North Korea once again trying to stay in the headlines and are probably hoping to become a Presidential campaign topic. However, they are going to have to do something much more provocative than this to get the Presidential attention they crave:

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles in a northeastern direction on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, further ratcheting up tensions already heightened by its rare disclosure of a uranium enrichment facility last week.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launches at about 6:50 a.m. from the North’s Kaechon area in South Phyongan Province, north of Pyongyang, and the missiles flew about 400 kilometers.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I would support a national service program as long as the military is not the only option:

The nation’s leaders should push harder for America’s youth to participate in public service, including in the military, as the Pentagon copes with recent recruiting shortfalls, former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Thursday.

The retired four-star Marine general called on top leaders across the country to implore public service on young Americans as the nation faces an increasingly volatile world and global power challenges from adversaries such as China and Russia. Mattis visited with some of those young Americans on Thursday during a stop at Georgia Military College, an independent, public kindergarten through 12th grade preparatory school and junior college with associate and bachelor’s degree programs.

“How many times have you heard the elected commander in chief, or your senators, or your governors or other elected officials say, ‘Uncle Sam needs you,’” Mattis told reporters before giving a speech on leadership at the school in Milledgeville, Ga. “I don’t care if it’s the Marine Corps, the Peace Corps, teaching, there’s any number of ways to serve our country … Do we really have an expectation today that each of our young people owes something to the country? I think it’s a lot bigger problem than just in the military.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but I agree with Mattis that a national service program would be beneficial to the country. Mattis brings up the Peace Corps as an option, but I think a national service program should focus more on programs to improve America not a foreign country. A program I think would be beneficial is bringing back the Civilian Conservation Corps that was a that was responsible for building many public works projects in America’s rural spaces.

I also think a national service program should not be mandatory which means it needs an incentive. I think the incentive could be tuition assistance or a small business grant that gives young people an early advantage in life for completing national service compared to those who did not.

Any thoughts from fellow ROK Heads?

The USFK commander nominee has just stated the obvious:

 The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) commander nominee on Tuesday described North Korea’s “rapid” advancement of its nuclear and missile capabilities as the “single greatest” challenge facing the Korea-based command, vowing to maintain a “constant” state of readiness if confirmed.

During a confirmation hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Lieut. Gen. Xavier Brunson, currently the commander of First Corps, also voiced concerns over growing military exchanges between Pyongyang and Moscow, noting his commitment to mitigating risks associated with their military alignment.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Three medal of honor recipients from the Korean War were recognized with three housing towers named after them:

Keeble, Kyle and Vera, the three new housing towers that opened at this Army installation last week after five years of construction, bear the names of Medal of Honor recipients from the Korean War. The 12-story towers near Humphreys East Elementary School hold semi-furnished apartments for up to 216 noncommissioned and commissioned officers and their families, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Combined, the towers contain 144 three-bedroom, 54 four-bedroom and 18 five-bedroom units, according to a Corps of Engineers Far East District fact sheet.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Automakers that made bets on hybrid cars are seeing great sales compared to the EV market which appears to have plateaued until battery technology and charging infrastructure makes significant advancements:

Exports of hybrid cars produced domestically this year are close to the highest ever, the report showed.

According to the Korea Automobile Mobility Industry Association (KAMA) on the 16th, a total of 279,165 hybrid cars were exported from January to August this year by domestic automakers such as Hyundai Motor, Kia, GM Korea, and KG Mobility. This is an increase of 32.5% from 216,629 units in the same period last year, the highest performance in the January-August period ever. If the current trend continues until the end of the year, it is expected to exceed the annual export volume of 313,071 hybrid vehicles recorded last year.

Exports of hybrid vehicles have been steadily increasing over the past five years. It reached 124,503 units in 2020 and surpassed 300,000 units for the first time last year.

Among eco-friendly cars, electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) have been suffering from sluggish export performance this year, but hybrid vehicles are the only ones with good performance. Amid the prolonged phenomenon of electric vehicle catharsis (temporary slowdown in demand), its value as a substitute seems to be a significant impact. Electric vehicle exports from January to August this year were 179,203 units, down 23.2% from 233,276 units in the same period last year. PHEV exports also fell 30.6% year-on-year to 34,893 units.

Maeil Business Newspaper

You can read more at the link.