It is looking more and more likely that Putin has found some more fresh meat to throw into the Ukrainian grinder:

North Korea is likely to deploy members of its regular armed forces to Ukraine in support of Russia, South Korea’s defense chief said Tuesday, in the latest sign of deepening military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.

The assessment came as North Korea has been seeking to bolster ties with Russia, highlighted by a bilateral agreement that includes a mutual defense clause, signed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin at summit talks in June.

“As Russia and North Korea have signed a mutual treaty akin to a military alliance, the possibility of such a deployment is highly likely,” Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun told lawmakers during a parliamentary audit session.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like the mayors of the major Tokyo neighborhoods of Shinjuku and Shibuya are trying to prevent crowd crush like incidents from happening like what happened in Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhood:

Leaders of this city’s most popular nightlife districts held a news conference Monday and called on revelers to stay away during Halloween. Shinjuku Mayor Kenichi Yoshizumi said his ward saw an increase of about 3,000 visitors during Halloween last year after Shibuya strongly discouraged street parties and banned public drinking.

Shibuya became a popular place to spend Halloween night in the early 2000s. In recent years, many costumed revelers and those who come to see them have crowded the iconic Shibuya Scramble intersection and narrow streets around Shibuya Station.

So many people were drinking and littering last year in Kabukicho, a popular redlight district in Shinjuku, that ward officials were collecting garbage strewn everywhere the next morning. “To leave garbage behind after drinking and eating is not what an educated and rational person would do,” Yoshizumi said during a joint news conference with Shibuya Mayor Ken Hasebe at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It looks like Korean companies will be busy in the coming years supporting infrastructure upgrades in the Philippines:

 South Korea signed an agreement Monday to provide US$2 billion in financial assistance to the Philippines to support major infrastructure projects during President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the nation, Yoon’s office said. 

The finance ministry signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Manila to offer the assistance through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), the low-rate loan program to support infrastructure projects in developing countries.

Under the agreement, the Seoul government will allocate $905 million worth of EDCF funds for the construction of the first section of the Laguna Lakeshore Road Network, which spans 37.5 kilometers of roads and embankments along Laguna Lake, near Manila. 

Additionally, $1 billion will be allocated for the construction of a 13-km bridge connecting the three central Philippine islands of Panay, Guimaras and Negros.

It marks the largest EDCF project with the Southeast Asian nation. Bidding for these projects will be open to South Korean companies.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but Asian countries should probably look more to Korea or Japan for economic assistance rather than China. When China gives out economic assistance they try to bury countries into debt traps to get major concessions out them such hosting military bases or cutting ties with China.

The Philippines sent an entire battalion that saw heavy combat during the Korean War:

President Yoon Suk Yeol began his state visit to the Philippines on Sunday by honoring fallen soldiers who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War and meeting with Korean nationals in the nation. 

Yoon visited the Korean War Memorial Pylon at the Heroes’ Cemetery in Manila with first lady Kim Keon Hee on the first day of his two-day trip focused on strengthening economic and security ties. 

“South Korea and the Philippines have maintained close, friendly relations, and the Philippines was the first country in Asia and the fifth in the world to establish diplomatic ties with us back in 1949,” Yoon said in a meeting with Korean nationals in Manila.

The Philippines dispatched around 7,400 troops to the Korean War to help defend South Korea, with 112 soldiers killed and 299 wounded.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link. You can also read more about the Philippines’ PEFTOK battalion that served during the Korean War at the below link:

It looks like Putin has found some more cannon fodder for his war in Ukraine:

Six North Korean officers were killed in a Ukrainian missile strike on their position along the Russian frontline of the occupied Donetsk region, according to Ukrainian news reports on Friday.   
  
Ukrainian military intelligence officials who were quoted anonymously by the Kyiv Post and Interfax-Ukraine said over 20 military personnel, including the North Korean officers, were killed in the strike. 
  
Russian military bloggers reported earlier in the day that North Korean military officers were visiting the frontline to see how Russian forces set up defensive positions and were “preparing for assault operations” before the Ukrainian missile struck. 
  
According to the Russian Telegram channel Kremlin Snuffbox, three North Korean officers were also injured in the strike and were sent to Moscow to be treated.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.