Daily Kor for January 19, 2011

So, Chinese President Hu Jintao is in Washington to meet with US President Barack Hussein Obama. We shall see what, if anything, comes about regarding North Korea. My hope of hopes is that Mr Obama maintains his tough stance on Pyongyang (likely), and Mr Hu comes around and says that, yeah, they need to rein in the thugs in North Korea while nudging them toward economic and political reform and eventual unification with the South (likely they'll say it, less likely they'll do it).

1. Seoul worried Obama will cave on North Korea during Hu visit (CSM)
2. North Korea reportedly hit by foot-and-mouth disease also plaguing South (BBC)
• South Korean cull of 2 million cows and pigs bring cattle futures to record high (Bloomberg)
• South Korean cull amounts to 15 percent of pig and cow population (Bloomberg)
3. South Korea reaches quarterfinals of soccer's Asian Cup (AP via WaPo, Reuters)
4. Beijing refutes claims of Chinese troops in North Korea (People's Daily)
5. South Korea to turn Five West Sea Islands into "military fortresses" by 2015 (Korea Times)
6. Economy Minister-designate admits to tax evasion, denies real estate speculation (Yonhap)
7. Global sanctions reportedly hurt North Korean exports (UPI)
8. South Korea think tank says North Korea spends one-third of economy on military (Reuters via Yahoo!)
9. Starbucks test-markets new trecento size, multi-toilet restrooms (NYT)