Daily Kor for December 18, 2009: Feeling a little spacey

I'm on a plane in a few hours, but I managed to get this out while it's still daylight in Seoul. Frigid Seoul. Anyway, the big news is about space: cyberspace where hackers, possibly from North Korea, have found out how ROK and US forces would defend South Korea in the event of an attack; and subspace, where a South Korean company plans to take tourists in the near future. Enjoy!

1. Computer hackers, possibly from North Korea, gain access to secret US-ROK military plans for defending the Korean Peninsula, known as Operation Plan 5027 (VOA, Guardian, AP via WaPo)
2. US President Barack Obama reportedly offered to establish a permanent diplomatic presence in North Korea, in letter carried to Pyongyang by envoy Stephen Bosworth (VOA, Reuters via WaPo)
• White House denies reports of office being set up next year (Yonhap)
• North Korea acknowledges receipt of President Obama's letter (Fox News, Yonhap)
• Bosworth spoke with North Korea about prospects of a peace treaty (Chosun Ilbo)
3. Former Prime Minister Han Myungsook arrested in relation to alleged corruption case (UPI)
4. Seoul to host 2012 climate summit (ABC Australia)
5. Thailand reportedly "forced down" plane allegedly carrying weapons from North Korea (Chosun Ilbo)
• New Zealander who set up the company that leased the plane used for the shipment says he was unaware of the weapons (WSJ)
6. South Korea restarts humanitarian aid to the north with batch of medicine to combat H1N1 "swine flu" outbreak (Reuters, AP via WaPo)
• North Korea offers rare expression of gratitude for medicine (AP via WaPo)
7. XCOR Aerospace of Mojave, California, to lease planned suborbital space plane to South Korea's Yecheon Astro Space Center (WSJ) 
• ROK company plans to conduct space tourism (MSNBC)
8. North Korea has "unofficially" contacted former coach of Japanese team to lead DPRK team in World Cup next year (ESPN)
9. Nine more pig farms affected by "swine flu" (Yonhap)
10. Anglophone online pundits in Chŏlla region in fierce gun battle over newly opened blogging turf; I can write anything I want to here, because it's down at the bottom and no one is reading, except Park Jaebum, because he's out of a job and he has a lot of free time (Korea Times) 

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