Daily Kor for January 22, 2011: Kicking arse

As a strong believer in the Pax Americana's ability to keep Northeast Asia stable and (mostly) prosperous, I have also been a strong supporter of South Korea (and Japan) doing its part for the US-ROK alliance by helping patrol the sea lanes that the US, South Korea, Japan, and their neighbors rely on. And the ROK Navy's commandos have shown exactly why they're up to the task. There's a lengthy discussion going on about that at The Marmot's Hole. (At the same time, I wonder what's up with them having taken over the ship off the coast of Oman and not Somalia; I hope that's not a sign of lawlessness taking over yet another failed state.)

1. ROK Navy commandos storm South Korean freighter hijacked by Somali pirates, killing eight pirates (LAT, AP via WaPo, CNN, Bloomberg, UPI, Yonhap, Korea Times, Joongang Daily, Chosun Ilbo)
• President Lee Myungbak suggests raid is message to North Korea that no attack on South Korean citizens will be tolerated (CSM)
2. South Korean minister jailed for unauthorized visit to North Korea (BBC, Yonhap, Joongang Daily)
3. National Human Rights Commission of Korea calls for legislation on North Korean human rights and independent archive to investigate, collect, and record human rights violations in DPRK (Korea Times)
4. Hawaii Department of Agriculture warns travelers from South Korea to be careful about spread of foot-and-mouth disease (Drovers)
5. Smokers in Seoul City Hall Plaza to be fined W100,000 (Korea Times)
6. Korean tourists to Japan at all-time high despite threat of Ninja bear attacks (WSJ)