Tag: South Korea

It has been 14 years since the brazen attack on Yeonpyeong Island by North Korea:

South Korea’s Marine Corps chief vowed Saturday to never forget the sacrifices of two Marines killed in a 2010 North Korean artillery attack on a western border island.

Lt. Gen. Kim Kye-hwan, who doubles as the command’s head, made the remarks during an annual ceremony marking the 14th anniversary of the attack on Yeonpyeong Island near the western inter-Korean sea border, which killed two Marines and two civilians.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the November 23, 2010 attack was the first artillery attack on ROK soil since the Korean War.

Here we go again with historical issues preventing close cooperation between Korea and Japan when they both know it is in their national interests to cooperate:

Akiko Ikuina, a parliamentary vice minister of Japan’s foreign ministry, lays a wreath during a memorial ceremony for the laborers who worked in the Sado mines at Niigata Prefecture, Japan, Sunday. Yonhap

Korean officials skipped Japan’s memorial service held near the Sado mine site, Sunday, in an apparent protest against Tokyo’s “insincerity” in addressing the dark history related to the site, where approximately 1,500 Koreans were subjected to forced labor during Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule.

Critics view that this latest incident, which could reignite historical disputes over the forced labor issue, could undermine the Yoon Suk Yeol government’s efforts to foster closer cooperation with Tokyo.

Diplomatic friction with Japan has been rare under Yoon, whose administration has prioritized mending ties with the neighboring nation after years of strained relations over historical grievances.

The memorial service, held at the Aikawa Development Center on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, was attended by Japanese government officials and members of civic groups, with no Korean officials present. Akiko Ikuina, a parliamentary vice minister of Japan’s foreign ministry, represented the government.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the reason for the protest is that the Japanese representative, Akiko Ikuina visited the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo back in 2022. For Koreans if you visit Yasukuni it means you support Japan’s World War II aggression, but that is not how Japanese view Yasukuni, it is a place to remember Japan’s wartime dead. The reason for the boycott may be stupid, but the Japanese probably should of chose someone else to attend the memorial to prevent the boycott by Korea. It was more important to have the Korean representatives there than Ikuina.

This is laughable if the Unification Ministry has any expectation that the Kim regime will ever pay back these loans. Giving money to North Korea is like giving money to a methhead, you know what they are going to use the money for and should not expect to get it back:

The unification ministry said Monday it is reviewing measures to reclaim loans granted to North Korea for building inter-Korean roads and train tracks after the North blew them up in October.

The unification ministry unveiled the tentative measures as part of its policy plan for the second half of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s administration, which is now at the midpoint of his five-year term.

On Oct. 15, North Korea demolished parts of the roads and train tracks connected to South Korea — the Gyeongui Line in the western border region and the Donghae Line along the east coast — in its latest display of escalating hostility toward the South.

The unification ministry said a review is under way, in collaboration with other related ministries, to seek the collection of loans to North Korea amid concerns the country may refuse to repay them following its detonation of inter-Korean roads and train tracks.

From 2002-2008, South Korea provided in-kind loans worth US$132.9 million to North Korea to construct roads and train tracks along the two inter-Korean lines.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It looks like the Korean defense industry has found yet another potential customer:

Second from left, Vice Admiral Angus Topshee, commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, is briefed about HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ Aegis destroyer, the King Jeongjo the Great, at the shipbuilding site in Ulsan on Tuesday. [HD HYUNDAI]

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI) is in discussions with Canada regarding potentially contributing to the nation’s naval defense.  
  
Vice Admiral Angus Topshee, commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, toured the HHI’s Ulsan headquarters as part of discussions related to Canada’s upcoming Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP), estimated to be worth 60 trillion won ($42.8 billion), the company said Tuesday. 
  
Canada’s Department of National Defence is in the process of acquiring up to 12 3,000-ton submarine fleets in a bid to strengthen the nation’s maritime defense as part of the project.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

The propaganda balloon wars between South and North Korea could now spread to Ukraine and Russia:

A group of North Korean defectors delivered propaganda leaflets to Ukraine on Monday, encouraging North Korean soldiers deployed in Russia to defect, as thousands of North Korean troops have been sent to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The “Defectors’ Propaganda Corps,” comprising North Korean soldiers-turned-defectors and defectors whose sons served in the North Korean military, delivered the propaganda leaflets to the Embassy of Ukraine in Seoul for the distribution to North Korean soldiers in Russia, the group said.

The leaflets carry messages encouraging North Korean troops to defect, along with instructions on how to defect. Audio files with similar messages were also delivered to the embassy.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but if Ukraine sends propaganda balloons towards North Korean troops in Russia, I wonder if Kim Jong-un will have his troops send garbage balloons into Ukraine in response?

This guy is definitely suspicious because what tourist to Korea immediately to the Heolleung and Illeung Royal Tombs after arriving at the airport?:

– A Chinese man was released from police custody after being questioned on suspicion of filming the headquarters of the state spy agency using a drone, police said Monday.

The Chinese national in his 40s was released late Sunday, a day after he was caught by the police for appearing to film the National Intelligence Service (NIS) headquarters in southern Seoul in violation of the Aviation Safety Act.

Police said the man appeared to have filmed the NIS building while taking drone footage of the nearby Heolleung and Illeung Royal Tombs, the historical burial grounds of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). (………..)

The man reportedly told police he was trying to film the royal tombs out of a deep interest in world heritage sites, with plans to film temples and other places in the country as well.

The man was also found to have headed straight to the tombs in a rented car after entering the country through Incheon International Airport on Saturday.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but they need to make example of this guy to send a message to anyone flying drones illegally.

As I have previously said, the Korean left is trying to make the pollster Myung Tae-kyun into Presidnet Yoon’s Choi Soon-sil:

Prosecutors on Monday requested an arrest warrant for Myung Tae-kyun, a self-proclaimed power broker, over allegations of interfering in candidate nominations in the 2022 parliamentary by-elections through his ties with then presidential candidate Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife. 

They also filed warrants for Kim Young-sun, a former lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), and two ex-candidates in the June 2022 local elections, citing risk of destruction of evidence, according to the Changwon District Court.

Myung, who runs a public polling agency, is suspected of receiving approximately 90 million won (US$65,200) from Kim on several occasions between August 2022 and December last year in exchange for his help in getting her nominated on the PPP ticket ahead of the 2022 by-elections.

He is also under suspicion of having secured Kim’s nomination in exchange for conducting customized polls in favor of then PPP presidential candidate Yoon for free. First lady Kim Keon Hee has also been suspected of involvement in the nomination process.

Myung has reportedly refuted the allegations, saying he never promised Kim he would help to get her nominated and that he was not in a position to do so.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this guy is basically a pollster who was paid to generate polls favorable to certain candidates. All the polls that were wrong about the U.S. Presidential election should be a reminder that polls are used to shape public opinion not reflect it.

The election of President Trump is what is likely pushing this arrest warrant now because the Korean left needs to get Yoon impeached so they can get a leftist in power to counter Trump. Remember that former President Park Geun-hye was impeached for abuse of power and that is what the Korean left will try and claim Yoon was doing to get him impeached.

Much of these controversies like handbag-gate were manufactured by his political opponents, but the fact his poll numbers have nosedived below 20% has pretty much forced President Yoon to make this public apology:

President Yoon Suk Yeol offered an apology Thursday for causing concerns to the people and vowed to revamp state affairs amid growing controversies surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee.

Yoon stood up and bowed his head in apology during a televised address and press conference marking the second half of his term and providing an outline of the future policy direction. (….)

Yoon addressed the concerns over the first lady, who has faced criticism over allegations involving her acceptance of a luxury handbag, stock manipulation and involvement in government affairs.

“She should have conducted herself with greater caution, and the fact that she has caused concern to the public is unquestionably wrong,” he said.

Yoon said Kim should have acted more cautiously and it was wrong for her actions to have caused public concern, noting he appointed a secretary earlier in the day to prepare for the establishment of an office dedicated to supporting the first lady’s work.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but some of these controversies could have been prevented if the First Lady had an office initially to filter some of the nonsense that got here in trouble.

Trump’s election victory has led to much speculation in South Korea that he will return to direct diplomacy with North Korea, target South Korean companies with trariffs, cause turbulence in the US-ROK alliance, and cause a drop in the Korean won. So what do ROK Heads think will happen on the Korean peninsula over the next four years with Donald Trump as President?