Will NKorea's Kim Pull The Trigger? Possible Signs To Watch

Provided by South Korean Defense Ministry, U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers, top, and second from top, and South Korean fighter jets F-15K fly over the Korean Peninsula, South Korea. Tensions between the United States and North Korea tend to flare up suddenly and then fade away almost as quickly, but the latest escalation won't likely go away quite so easily. (South Korean Defense Ministry via AP, File)

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (ASSOCIATED PRESS) — Tensions between the United States and North Korea tend to flare suddenly and fade almost as quickly — but the latest escalation won't likely go away quite so easily. Events closer to home, including deadly violence at a white nationalist rally in Virginia, could demand more of President Donald Trump's attention in the days ahead and cut into the volume and frequency of his fiery North Korea rhetoric.

But North Korea has yet to back away from its biggest threat: a plan to lob missiles toward U.S. military bases on the island of Guam that Pyongyang says should be ready for leader Kim Jong Un to review anytime now.

Will it all stop there? Or, despite the extremely high risks, will Kim really give the go order? And, regardless of what Kim does or doesn't do, will the tough-talking Trump feel compelled to take matters into his own hands?

Unpredictable as the situation is, some potential flashpoints to watch for:

BOMBER FLIGHTS

This could be the biggest trigger.

North Korea says it was compelled to put the Guam plan together because it feels threatened by a squadron of B-1B bombers on the island that the U.S. has increasingly sent to fly in Korean airspace in symbolic shows of force during times of particular tension.

But that may be only a pretense.

North Korea is certainly sensitive to the bombers, which could cause a lot of devastation if a war did start. But it also might just want an excuse to fully test the capabilities of its new Hwasong-12 intermediate-range missiles.

Either way, it's a cagey tactic: If Trump orders the B-1Bs to stay on the ground, Pyongyang can claim victory. If he orders them to fly, North Korea has its excuse to launch. If, of course, that's what it really wants to do — Pyongyang wisely left itself a lot of wiggle room and hasn't committed itself one way or the other.

LIBERATION DAY

Aug. 15 is the anniversary of the end of World War II in 1945 and the Korean Peninsula's liberation from Japanese colonial rule.

Pyongyang likes to use big anniversaries to make high-profile statements with military activity or political provocations. It launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile, for example, on July 4 — Independence Day in the United States.

This week's World War II anniversary isn't linked so closely to veneration of North Korea's ruling Kim family, the primary days for demonstrating national power. But it's a national holiday just the same and could be an opportune moment for the North to make some kind of a move.

So far, however, there haven't been any telltale signs of anything brewing in Pyongyang. The day could just be marked with small celebrations and the distribution of free treats — or maybe more rhetoric about the Guam missile plan.

WAR GAMES

This is another likely trigger, if Pyongyang is going to actually do anything.

Tens of thousands of U.S. and South Korean troops are expected to kick off the annual Ulchi-Freedom Guardian military exercises on Aug. 21. North Korea sees these exercises and larger ones held every spring as a rehearsal for invasion. Getting Washington to halt them has long been one of Pyongyang's key demands, and it regularly stirs the pot around the time they're held.

North Korea carried out its biggest nuclear test just after last year's UFG drills ended and fired four Scud ER missiles into waters off Japan to coincide with the spring exercises this past March.

This year's UFG exercises are expected to last around 10 days.

Eric Talmadge is the AP's Pyongyang bureau chief. Follow him on Twitter at EricTalmadge and Instagram @erictalmadge.

Koreans Part, Likely For last Time, From Relatives

North Koreans wave to their South Korean relatives in buses before they leave for South Korea after a separated family reunion meeting at the Diamond Mountain resort in North Korea, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014. Elderly North and South Koreans separated for six decades were tearfully reuniting, grateful to embrace children, brothers, sisters and spouses they had thought they might never see again.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (ASSOCIATED PRESS) — As his North Korean daughter wept Saturday, 93-year-old South Korean Park Un-hyeong tried to console her before boarding a bus to take him south across the world's most heavily armed border after spending three days with her in the North. For Park and dozens of other Koreans at these rare reunions of families divided by the Korean War, it was likely the last time they'd see each other.

"You shouldn't cry on this good day," he told his daughter, Pak Myung Ok, 68, as he prepared to leave the North Korean resort that hosted the first reunions of North and South Koreans in more than three years, according to South Korean media pool reports. "We'll be able to meet again soon. Trust your father, stay healthy and live well."

In another emotional scene, an 84-year-old South Korean woman, Lee Oh-hwan, became short of breath from crying too hard and was immediately treated by a medical team. Her North Korean sister, 72-year-old Ri Ok Bin, tried to calm her down, telling her in an aching voice not to get sick.
Again and again, similar scenes played out as 80 elderly South Koreans said their goodbyes to North Korean relatives. They wept, held hands, caressed faces, took pictures and tried to convince themselves that they'd meet again.

Both democratic South Korea and authoritarian North Korea share the same type of rhetoric about eventual reunification, and many average Koreans say they long for that day. But after near continual animosity and occasional bloodshed since the three-year war ended in an unsteady armistice in 1953, many analysts see that as only a distant possibility.

The reunions will continue when a group of about 360 South Koreans arrives Sunday to meet with North Korean relatives whom most haven't seen in six decades. The second and final round of reunions is set to end Tuesday.

It's an unusual moment of detente between the rivals. Millions of Koreans were separated from loved ones by the tumult and bloodshed of the war, and few have been reunited. Both governments ban their citizens from visiting each other or even exchanging letters, phone calls and emails. During a previous period of inter-Korean rapprochement, about 22,000 Koreans had brief reunions — 18,000 in person and the others by video. None got a second chance to reunite, Seoul says.

The current reunions were arranged after impoverished North Korea began calling recently for better ties with South Korea, in what outside analysts say is an attempt to win badly needed foreign investment and aid. But Pyongyang threatened to scrap the reunions to protest annual military drills between Seoul and Washington set to start Monday. North Korea had canceled previously scheduled reunions in September at the last minute.

In South Korea, there are still worries that the current reunions might be disrupted because of the impending military drills. Despite Pyongyang's recent charm offensive, many in Seoul remember that a year ago North Korea threatened repeatedly to launch nuclear strikes against Seoul and Washington.
The reality of the Korean division wasn't lost on those lucky few who said their goodbyes Saturday. When it was time to part, many began to wail. North Korean personnel tried to calm down weeping North Korean families, according to the pool report, saying that too much crying would make them sick.

South Korean TV showed elderly North Koreans straightening their stooped backs to get a final look at loved ones who had boarded the buses. As their breaths steamed in the cold air, men wearing suits and women wearing thin traditional Korean dresses waved without gloves.

Some stood on tiptoes so they could put both of their hands on the bus windows, their loved ones doing the same on the inside of the glass. South Koreans on the bus shouted out goodbyes, wiping their faces with one hand and waving with the other. Some held up paper with names or thank you messages.

"Let's meet again later," South Korean Woo Young-shik wrote in part to his aunt. Then, flipping the paper over, he wrote a second message: "Stay healthy until the day we reunite."

FIFA U-17: Nigeria 2009 Update, Monday, Nov., 09

Korea U-17 1-3 Nigeria U-17: Eaglets Set Up Rematch Against Spain In World Cup Semis

Nigeria defeated Korea 3-1 at a jammed Jerry Esuene Stadium in Calabar on Monday night to set up a rematch with Spain, who they beat two years ago to win the FIFA Under-17 World Cup. The Eaglets will face Spain in Thursday's semi-final at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos. READ MORE

Spain U-17 3-3 Uruguay U-17: Spain Advance To World Cup Semi-Finals On Penalties



Spain beat Uruguay 4-2 on penalties after scores were tied at 3-3 after extra-time, securing progress to the semi-finals of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Nigeria. Uruguay's Jose Laureiro blasted his penalty wide of target, while team-mate Gabriel Mezquida saw his kick saved by Spain goalkeeper Edgar, nullifying Pablo Sarabia's miss for the Europeans. A ding-dong battle saw Spain go 3-1 up, though their opponents fought bravely back late on. READ MORE

Language, Smiles Endear Nigerians to Swiss Players

Though Switzerland is officially a French and German speaking country, the strong bond between the Swiss U-17 side and Nigerian fans has been partly narrowed down to the ability of the former to communicate in English, the official lingua franca of Nigeria. Aside the Golden Eaglets for obvious reason, Switzerland has been one of the few sides that have been able to attract local support on consistent basis at Nigeria 2009.Coach Dany Ryser's side has ridden the crest wave on the strength of the support of Nigerian fans by reaching the semi final of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in only their first appearance in the tournament. READ MORE

Nigeria send Korea home *To meet Spain in semis

Hosts Nigeria moved a step closer to their second-straight FIFA U-17 World Cup title, beating Korea Republic 3-1 in their quarter-final to set up a mouth-watering last-four contest with European powers Spain. The last match of these finals from the U.J. Esuene Stadium in Calabar was played amid a party atmosphere as the home side put on a show of edging the talented Asians. The Nigerians came out flying from the start, roared on by a lively packed house of adoring local fans. Abdul Ajagun had them out of their seats after only two minutes, too, but his shot from a tough angle could only shave the outside of the back post. READ MORE

FIFA Update

THE DAY REPLAYED - Monday's two quarter-final showdowns at Nigeria 2009 had a little bit of everything: goals, suspense, twists and turns and tears, lots of tears. In keeping with a knockout phase that has served up some spectacular entertainment for the fans flocking to the country's stadiums, Spain and Nigeria prevailed in two gripping encounters that confirmed their pre-eminence in the category and teed up an intriguing semi-final on Thursday. Remarkably, the two sides are both unbeaten in their last 12 games in the competition, a run that stretches back to Finland 2003 and includes the final at Korea 2007, which the Africans won on penalties. Spain and Nigeria now have the opportunity to go for the title again after respectively edging out Uruguay and Korea Republic in a pair of absorbing quarter-finals. READ MORE

Daniel Lists Gains of Hosting World Cup Matches

Ogun State would build on the many gains of its hosting of some of the matches of the Under 17 World Cup to consolidate the use of sports as an instrument of socio- economic development. Governor Gbenga Daniel stated this at the Gateway International Stadium Ijebu Ode on Sunday shortly after the quarter-final match between Italy and Switzerland. He said the State had used the opportunity of hosting the World Cup to improve its infrastructure which included new road network, rehabilitation of old ones, street light and upgrading of the facilities of the Stadium which apart from its state of the art facilities now has two astro turf training pitches. READ MORE

Culinary Correctness: The Korean Eatery On Vermont

My friend and I had pub-crawled until the wee hours and still wondered where we might end up for after hours. The City of Angels and its glamour coupled with all that Hollywood wannabes is what keeps this amazing metropolis jamming, and without a doubt, it is happening all around the city 24/7; and you bet, if you get trapped you are then on your own.

As it happened, I had decdided to try something else to fill up my empty stomach which I do every now and then, that is, when the ofe olugbo, bitter leaf soup, egusi soup, okra soup, and all the nkwobi and ngwongwo got to be supplemented. Whenever I am in the need to supplement all the African dishes, I go for something entirely different, and that is how I found myself at Yong Su San Restaurant on the 900 block of South Vermont Avenue in Korean Town, and right inside the hub of the Wilshire Corridor. This normally happens after the all night pub-crawling.

And landing at these restaurants not of my origin has always been an attempt to free myself from the regular isi-ewu, goat meat, nkwobi-ngwongwo ritual.


When we found parking, we walked in and the waitress offered us a table which at all times makes me feel indulge. The've seen my face before so it wasn't a problem for them to think otherwise, I mean, wondering what the heck a black guy and his friend would be doing in Korean Town at 2-something a.m., especially during unholy hours. The waitress was nice, though. She served us well and was all smiles.

When I want a damn good Korean barbacue in Los Angeles, I know the best joints and Yong Su San Restaurant is one of them. The brisket, marinated boneless ribs, tongue and baby octopus plus that burning charcoal that helps you prepare the barbecue your self is just beautiful and nothing is as good as that. In addition, we had some spinach, roasted mushroom and some other vegetables I had no idea where they came from. We topped the entire dish with steamed rice, and of course, some Korean wine imported somewhere from South Asia.

The place sits a lot of people and it's always packed, and as usual, a hangout for University of Southern California students who are known to party hard. So far, I haven't seen the hood rats there. Check it out and tell me about it!