Korea news links for November 5, 2009: Is H1N1 a clever concoction of North Korea to weaken ROK military forces?

When you raise the H1N1 alert level to its highest point, that means your serious. As in, let's not let our troops out of their barracks serious. And let's cancel reservist training serious. I guess the armchair epidemiologists who say South Korea's reaction to something that has only killed forty-five people will say this is yet another example of overkill. I mean, what's the connection between mobilized soldiers and pandemics?

1. Former head of Doosan Group is dead in apparent suicide (links here)
2. Death toll in South Korea due to H1N1 "swine flu" rises to forty-five (Xinhua)
3. US says North Korea's plutonium production runs counter to its nuclear commitments and violates UN Security Council resolutions (VOA, Chosun Ilbo, Joongang Daily)
4. Defense Ministry orders halt to military reservist training in bid to curb H1N1 (Korea Times, Joongang Daily); leave for regular soldiers suspended (Chosun Ilbo)
5. South Korean Red Cross to seek donations from local pharmaceutical companies to be used as humanitarian aid for North Korea (Xinhua)
6. GS Engineering and Construction is awarded $3.1 billion refinery expansion project in United Arab Emirates (Reuters via CNBC)
7. ROK Ambassador to the US reiterates call for ratification of FTA by mid-2010 (Yonhap)
8. US Forces Korea completes H1N1 vaccinations for all USFK personnel (Yonhap)
9. SERI predicts a 10% strengthening of the KRW in 2010 (Korea Times)
10. Credit card spending in South Korea risies 9.44% from a year earlier (Yonhap)
11. Health Minister raises H1N1 threat level to hot pink, 2012 threat level to orange (Yonhap)