Daily Kor for December 13, 2009: sNorKs on a plane

Oh, darn. I was all set to write up a bunch of stuff on Japanese ruling party chief Ichiro Ozawa's highly conciliatory trip to South Korea (the party of Hatoyama is like the anti-Koizumi when it comes to Korea-Japanese relations, especially on sensitive issues), but I'll have to hold that for a full-blown post, I suppose.

But instead, five North Koreans guys who aren't North Koreans making an emergency landing in Bangkok have stormed the headlines, as their plane full weaponry has been detained and their materiél confiscated. We're talking rocket-propelled grenades, missiles, and other goodies. The question is where they were headed in their rickety old Soviet-era plane. Some authorities are saying they were bound for Pakistan, while others are suggesting Sri Lanka. Don't be surprised if we see some nastiness in the Yellow Sea to distract from this.

1. Thai authorities detain five people who reportedly made an emergency landing in Bangkok in an east European cargo plane full of heavy weapons that originated in North Korea; arms are confiscated and in Thai custody (BBC, Reuters, AFP, AP via WaPo, WSJ)
2. Speaking at Kookmin University in Seoul, Japanese ruling party secretary-general Ichiro Ozawa says Japan must apologize for "unfortunate period" of relations between Japan and Korea (Japan Times, Yonhap); expresses own personal apology "as a member of the Japanese nation" (Yonhap)
• Ozawa says he expects ethnic Koreans in Japan who do not hold Japanese citizenship to be able to vote in local elections (Yonhap)
3. Speaking in Japan, US Envoy on North Korea Stephen Bosworth calls for "strategic patience" on DPRK (AP via WaPo, Yonhap)
• says North Korea is upbeat on talks with Japan (AFP)
4. South Korean Foreign Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun says he expects Seoul to issue up to 90 trillion won worth of bonds in 2010 (Reuters via CNBC)
5. South Korean officials left for China Saturday on joint mission with North Korea to analyze industrial zones in China and Vietnam to look for ways to enhance operations of Kaesŏng Industrial Park and future ventures (Yonhap)
6. One crew member is dead and two are missing after their fishing boat collided with a sand-transporting ship and sunk off the southwestern coast near Kunsan (Yonhap)
7. South Korea defeats North Korea on penalty kicks after 1-1 draw, to win bronze in men's soccer at East Asian Games in Hong Kong (AFP)
8. South Korea's holds off a late charge by Korean-American Michelle Wie to win the season-ending Dubai Ladies Masters by three shots Saturday and claim her first European title (USA Today)
• Kushibo's Komment: When did Dubai become part of Europe?

9. Pyongyang abruptly backs out of enthusiastically agreed-to denuclearization talks after it realizes "six-party" had been mistranslated as sex party (Yonhap)