Fighteeng!

Talk about mixed signals… ever dated a girl who was a sweetheart one second and then a psycho the next?  Well, that’s not exactly a fair comparison with the volatile behavior of North Korea, but what happened today comes close.

The New York Times reports that North Korea is turning over a new leaf by almost apologizing for the deaths caused by the “accidental” flooding of Imjin river.

“It was regrettable that unintended human casualties occurred,” a North Korean delegate told South Korean officials during the meeting at a North Korean border town on Wednesday.

The North also offered condolences to the bereaved families, the Unification Ministry in Seoul said. South Korea was pressing the North to agree to a joint flood-control system to prevent similar episodes.

“We see this as an expression of North Korean intentions to improve ties with us,” said Park Sun-kyoo, a presidential spokesman in Seoul. “This is a very positive signal.”

The warm fuzzies wouldn’t last long. Less than 24 hours later, North Korea appears to have made up another incident to rattle its sabers.

North Korea accused the South on Thursday of intruding into its territorial waters, further raising tension on the peninsula already heightened by the North’s launch this week of a barrage of short-range missiles…

“The reckless military provocations by warships of the South Korean navy have created such a serious situation that a naval clash may break out between the two sides in these waters,” the North’s KCNA news agency quoted a military official as saying.

Damn… those are fighting words! Well at least the North Korean did send out a warning this time, unlike the river flood.

The Korea Herald reports today that police are casting a wider net on those who fudge medical records:

“As of Saturday, police in Ilsan, Gyeonggii Province, summoned about 60 people who are suspected of having evaded military service by receiving operations on their shoulders which were normal or intentionally damaged.  A total of 203 people are under probe on the same charges. They include a pro-football player, a pro-gamer and a member of the national volleyball team, police said.”

Now offering services to draft dodgers!

Intentionally damaged? OUCH!! How does one even go about doing that?  (Why does the movie Saw come to mind?)

At least these 203 fellas didn’t get out the same way these 10 did, as mentioned by the Chosun Ilbo a few days earlier, who were exempted from military service due to a female-to-male sex change.  To be clear, Chosun Ilbo does not report anything criminal or find out why these 10 individuals performed the change for reasons other than a genuine gender reassignment.  I suspect that a large majority of conscripts fulfill their duty admirably.

This article simply states that female-to-male persons will no longer have to subject themselves to the indignity of a physical exam that violates human rights.  They only need to declare the change in the family registry. I suppose the shame of documenting the procedure for all to see at your local “gu” office ought to be enough incentive not to game the system.

Peculiarly enough though, the article states that male-to-female transsexuals are already exempt and the policy change only applies to female-to-male persons.  Hmm.

So what is the military’s verification system or rationale for male-to-female individuals that made them exempt from the humiliation that their counterparts endured?  Does that mean they never had to undergo inspections of genitals, and were trusted just by superficial appearances?

In other words, does that mean a guy could just put on a lipstick and a wig and get away with it? If so, wouldn’t that appear to be less painful than having a buddy slam your collarbone with a sledgehammer, jackass-style?  What are the numbers for male-to-female exemptions?