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Is Opposition Party Leader Lying About Martial Law Plan in Order to Impeach President Yoon?

You cannot put anything pass the Korean left, so them trying another impeachment scheme is definitely plausible:

The presidential office lambasted the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) on Monday for spreading false rumors about the government allegedly planning to declare martial law.

Presidential spokesperson Jeong Hye-jeon condemned DP leader Lee Jae-myung for raising the allegations during a live broadcast meeting with ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon on Sunday.

“We are appalled that the leader of a major political party would spread fabricated rumors on live television,” Jeong said in a press briefing. “If there is even a shred of evidence, please present it.”

Jeong questioned whether the DP is spreading the rumors as part of a broader propaganda campaign focused on the radical idea of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, vowing to sternly deal with its attempts to manipulate public opinion with baseless claims.

“Is this part of a buildup to (Yoon’s) impeachment?” Jeong asked, adding that if there is no evidence, the DP should be labeled a “party of fake news.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but what is even stupider about this claim from the opposition party is that if martial law is declared by Yoon, by law the national assembly can overrule it with a majority vote. Currently the opposition party holds the majority of the seats in the national assembly.

Government to Deploy Military Doctors to Augment ER’s in South Korea

This seems like a logical thing for the government to do in response to the strike by Korean doctors:

Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo enters the venue of a briefing held in Seoul on Sept. 2, 2024. (Yonhap)

Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo enters the venue of a briefing held in Seoul on Sept. 2, 2024. (Yonhap)

 The health ministry said Monday it plans to deploy military physicians to hospital emergency rooms amid growing concerns over a possible disruption of emergency care during the Chuseok holiday due to a prolonged walkout by junior doctors.

Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo told reporters the government would send some 250 military and public health doctors to cope with emergency care before and after the holiday that runs from Sept. 14 through 18.

“We are reinforcing the staff by utilizing military and public doctors, while recruiting nurses and contract doctors,” Park said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

ROK Intelligence Agent Admits to Working for a Chinese Operative Since 2017

Here is some more information about the ROK intelligence agent that was leaking the identity of undercover agents in China:

A military intelligence official indicted for allegedly leaking the identities of undercover South Korean agents has admitted to working for a Chinese operative since 2017, military prosecutors said Wednesday. 
  
The 49-year-old official, who worked for the Defense Intelligence Command before his suspension, initially denied leaking military secrets but eventually told investigators that he was recruited by Chinese intelligence in 2017 during a visit to Yanji, the capital of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province, to meet his contacts. 
  
According to military prosecutors, the official claimed he was detained by Chinese officials at the Yanji airport and offered a chance to work for a Chinese intelligence agent in exchange for his family’s safety. 
  
Military prosecutors indicted the official on Tuesday on charges of bribery, aiding the enemy and violating the Military Secrets Protection Act by leaking classified information. 
  
While the official said he began selling military secrets in 2017, prosecutors said they were able to confirm he had received payments since 2019 and leaked classified information since June 2022, two years before counterintelligence officials caught wind of his suspicious activities.

Total payments to the suspect that have been tracked thus far by South Korean counterintelligence amount to 160 million won ($120,000). 
  
Prosecutors said the suspect gathered secrets by taking photos and screenshots of information on computer screens at the Defense Intelligence Command’s headquarters in Seoul, which he then uploaded to a Chinese cloud server at home.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but I have to wonder how real the supposed threats to his family were? I would not be surprised if he was looking for money from the start. Considering he only got paid $120,000 he sold out his country for a paltry sum.

North Korea Reportedly Imports 24 Horses from Russia for Kim Family

These have to be some strong horses to haul Kim Jong-il around on:

North Korea has reportedly imported more than 20 Russian horses, known as “Kim Jong-un’s Ama.”

According to the US Radio Free Asia (RFA) on the 27th (local time), Russia’s Primorsky Krai Agricultural and Fisheries Supervisory Service sent 24 Orlov Trotter horses to North Korea on the 25th. (….)

Orlov is known to be the preferred breed of the Kim family as a handsome, obedient, and patient Junma. Kim Jong-un, chairman of the State Affairs Commission, is also called “Kim Jong-un’s Ama” because he was seen climbing Mount Baekdu on an Orlov Junma at the end of 2019.

In February last year, a white horse appeared that Chairman Kim’s daughter Joo-ae was riding at a military parade commemorating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Army.

Maeil Business Newspaper

You can read more at the link.

South Korea Saw First Quarterly Increase in the National Birth Rate in 8 Years

Maybe the Korean government’s focus on trying the raise the national birth rate might be having some success if this small statistical is an indication of things to come:

The number of babies born in South Korea rose for the first time in more than eight years in the second quarter of 2024, data showed Wednesday, as the country is grappling with its ultralow birth rate.

A total of 56,838 babies were born in the April-June period, up 1.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.

It was the first time since the fourth quarter of 2015, when the number went up 0.6 percent.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Picture of the Day: North Korea Conducts MLRS Test Fire

N. Korean leader inspects MRLS test-fire
N. Korean leader inspects MRLS test-fire
A test-fire of a 240mm multiple rocket launch system (MRLS) being produced at defense industrial enterprises under the Second Economic Commission takes place under the inspection of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Aug. 27, 2024, in this photo provided by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency. (Yonhap)