@Pluto's Republic @Pluto's Republic

Will South Korea and Japan be going nuclear, with Japan raising its defense budget to 3 percent of GDP? That's the US plan for these two states. I've only heard "Bridge" Colby (isn't that a cute name?) openly encourage South Korea to arm up with nukes, but the "purpose" of US Forces Korea now, isn't to defend South Korea from North Korea, but purportedly to defend against Chinese aggression. If South Korea begins to develop nukes, Japan will too imo.

[New on TBR] Trump Election Will Push South Korea Toward Nuclear Armament https://t.co/kxSeZfFbRR

— The Blue Roof (@BluRoofPolitics) December 26, 2024

I've read recent projections that South Korea could develop a nuclear weapon "in a few months." Siegfried Hecker discussed this possibility in the past, when he and Carlin wrote an article that Kim Jong-un was preparing for war. At about that same time, Hecker contended it would take South Korea years as a practical matter to accomplish this. All this would be a violation of the NPT.

Meanwhile one of South Korea's special, special operations teams, I think connected to the Counter Intelligence Command of the ROK armed forces, which was reportedly involved with the wild plans to create a false flag event incident to Yoon's martial law/coup attempt, as of Dec 24, was reportedly unaccounted for, while the other two had returned to their normal base assignments in a timely fashion after the failed coup attempt. This is fueling all kinds of speculation in South Korea.

https://t.co/Ba2GfoF0Cv

What event could possibly turn the tide? Recall that the South Korean special forces who were ordered to attack the US military outposts within South Korea are still out there. A false flag attack could lead to another martial law, this time by Han.

— The Blue Roof (@BluRoofPolitics) December 26, 2024

Here's the first proffered "evidence" of North Korean presence in Kursk, allegedly fighting and suffering large numbers of casualties at the hands of Ukrainian forces.

Letter to ‘comrade’ found on body of killed North Korean soldier published by Ukraine

I'm not good at reading hangul handwritten script. Someone more capable took a look, and felt there wasn't much distinctive about the letter, apart from its illegible appearance, except that the vocabulary dong moo, buddy, companion, friend, etc., was used which was said to a more common NK South Korean usage. The common North Korean usage is dong ji which means comrade. This observer said, they would have expected more in the way of NK dialect expressions. I watched a YTN youtube of an NK defector reading it, and I still don't feel it proves anything. Discussions of the letter were bolstered with a video of Asian looking soldiers with Russian uniforms on, but I've heard others debunk this video before as well. Another supporting video sequence showed soldiers on foot on the ground in an open field being blasted away by a drone or drones, where the identity of the victims can't be determined. So although hundreds of casualties reported, only one letter.

Hopefully, I'll get more time to enjoy this holiday season. Had to cut the visit with family short today.

Edit: Had to correct my error on the word for companion, comrade, etc., above. So, the letter used the usual South Korean vocabulary. I couldn't even get google translate to give me "comrade" or tong ji.

Below is from the endic.naver.com dictionary which is much better than google translate for Korean vocabulary. They even have an explanation of the difference between tong moo and tong ji. It explains that tong ji is the North Korean communist usage.

(공산당·사회당에서 당원이나 서로를 부르는 호칭으로) 동무[동지]
(A title used by party members or each other in the Communist or Socialist Party) Comrade [comrade]

It isn't dispositive but there is nothing distinctively North Korean about the letter imo.

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The following editorial was written in response to the US urgent panic to immediately weaponize the space above the Earth in order to control or ban unauthorized scientific research or the placement of space satellites, and to limit space traffic by non-US space agencies. Space weaponization is also designed to facilitate the immediate bombing, from space, of any country on earth at any time. All this, in the name of US national Defense and Security..
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"The worst enemy of the US is the US itself."
Chinese defense ministry criticizes latest US NDAA

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Published by Global Times: Dec 26, 2024 04:58 PM

The US National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) played up the alleged "China military threat" as an excuse to increase US military spending and maintain its hegemony. This grossly interferes with China's internal affairs and undermines world peace and stability. We are strongly dissatisfied with it and firmly oppose it, Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, said on Thursday.

Zhang made the remarks in response to questions on US National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2025, which announced a defense budget of up to $895 billion for the next fiscal year and identified China as one of the major challenges to the US national security. Some analysts suggest that the introduction of this Act reflects the deep anxiety of the US about its own strengths.

Zhang said that China has no intention to challenge any country. In fact, the worst enemy of the US is the US itself. US military expenditure has already topped the world for long, which is still increasing rapidly year by year. This fully exposes the belligerent nature of the US and its obsession with hegemony and expansion.

Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense

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It's clear to all that many current wars and conflicts are a result of US policy failures. The wars and military operations launched by the US since 2001 have caused more than hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of injuries, and displaced tens of millions of people. The US's abuse of force not only brings harm to the world, but also accelerates its own decline, said Zhang.

Our planet is big enough for both China and the US to develop individually and collectively. China remains committed to the path of peaceful development and a defense policy that is defensive in nature, Zhang said.

We do not engage in any arms race with any other country, and always serve as a defender for world peace. We urge the US side to abandon Cold-war mentality and zero-sum mindset, and get rid of its obsessive delusion of containing and outcompeting China, so as not to undermine the bilateral and mil-to-mil relations between China and the US, said Zhang.

With stronger capacities and more reliable methods, the Chinese military will take resolute countermeasures against any infringements and provocations to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, Zhang said.

At the press conference, Zhang also commented on reports that the US Space Force (USSF) has activated a unit in Japan and in the inaugural ceremony, the first commander stated that the unit in Japan aims to strengthen space surveillance and response capabilities in the region, in response to the growing military use of space by China and Russia, as well as North Korea's advancements in nuclear and missile development.

Zhang said that the US continues to expand its space military power, strengthen space military alliances, and provoke a space arms race, endangering global strategic stability.

China consistently advocates for the peaceful use of space and opposes the weaponization and militarization of space. We urge the US to seriously reconsider its dangerous actions in space, stop provocations that lead to space confrontation, and stop spreading false narratives, so that it can contribute to maintaining lasting peace and security in space, said Zhang.

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What could possibly go wrong, next?

There goes China's new Research Base on the dark side of the Moon.
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China's Building Site on the Moon.