Page 20 - South Korea

Front-line units ready to strike Seoul if more drones appear: North Korea

North Korea said on Sunday it put its front-line army units ready to launch strikes on South Korea, ramping up pressure on its rival that it said flew drones over the capital Pyongyang. South Korea has refused to confirm whether it sent drones but warned it would sternly punish North Korea if the safety of its citizens is threatened. North Korea on Friday accused South Korea of flying drones to drop propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang and threatened to respond with force if a similar incident happened again. In a statement carried by state media on Sunday, the North's Defence Ministry said that the military had issued a preliminary operation order to artillery and other army units near the border with South Korea to get fully ready to open fire. An unidentified ministry spokesperson said the North Korea's military ordered relevant units to fully prepare for situations like launching immediate strikes on unspecified enemy targets when South Korea infiltrates drones across the border

Sister of North Korea's leader threatens South Korea over drone flights

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday accused South Korea of deliberately avoiding responsibility for the alleged flights of South Korean drones over the North's capital, and warned of a terrible calamity if they continue. The statement by Kim Yo Jong came a day after North Korea's Foreign Ministry claimed that South Korean drones carrying anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets were detected in the night skies over Pyongyang on October 3, and Wednesday and Thursday this week. The ministry said North Korean forces will prepare all means of attack capable of destroying the southern side of the border and the South Korean military, and respond without warning if South Korean drones are detected in its territory again. South Korea's defence minister initially denied the accusation, but the South's military later adjusted its response, saying it couldn't confirm whether or not the North's claims were true. In comments published through state media, Kim, one o

South Korea's central bank raises interest rates to strengthen economy

South Korea's central bank on Friday cut its policy rate for the first time in more than four years as pressure to revive a sluggish economy outweighed concerns about the country's level of household debt. The Bank of Korea lowered its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 3.25% following a meeting of its monetary policy committee, in its first move to lower borrowing costs since May 2020, when the economy was weathering the COVID-19 pandemic. The bank raised the rate by a quarter percentage point in August 2021 over concerns about inflation and soaring household debt, driven in part by skyrocketing house prices, and then froze rates for over three years. The bank said in a statement that domestic demand is making a slow recovery, bogging down the pace of economic growth. It said there was room for a rate cut because inflation is showing signs of stabilizing and household debt is also increasing more slowly as the housing market in the greater Seoul area cools down. So

Who is S Korea's Han Kang: First Asian woman to win Nobel in Literature

The academy praised Kang for having a "unique awareness of the connections between body and soul, the living and the dead" Kang was born in 1970 in South Korea's Gwangju

Nobel Prize in literature awarded to South Korean author Han Kang

The Nobel Prize in literature was awarded Thursday to South Korean author Han Kang for what the Nobel committee called her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life. Kang, 53, won the International Booker Prize in 2016 for The Vegetarian, an unsettling novel in which a woman's decision to stop eating meat has devastating consequences. Mats Malm, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy's Nobel Committee announced the prize in Stockholm.

North Korea fortifies border, cuts final ties with South amid tensions

According to South Korean military officials, North Korea has laid land mines, constructed anti-tank traps, and dismantled railway infrastructure along the Demilitarized Zone

N Korea vows to block border with S Korea and boost front-line defence

North Korea said Wednesday it will permanently block its border with South Korea and boost its front-line defense posture to cope with confrontational hysteria" by South Korean and US forces, while not announcing an expected constitutional revision to formally designate South Korea its principal enemy and codify new national borders. While the moves were likely a pressure tactic, it's unclear how they will affect ties with South Korea since cross-border travel and exchanges have been halted for years. North Korea's military said Wednesday it will completely cut off roads and railways linked to South Korea and fortify the relevant areas of our side with strong defense structures, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency. The North's military called its steps a self-defensive measure for inhibiting war and defending the security of North Korea. It said that the hostile forces are getting ever more reckless in their confrontational hysteria. It cited what it called

India, South Korea bonds to join FTSE Russell EMGB index starting Sept 2025

In March review, FTSE had deferred inclusion of Indian bonds in its index due to taxation, registration and settlement issues but acknowledged India's progress in the accessibility of the securities

South Korean ambassador lauds growing bilateral relations with India

Ambassador highlighted the crucial role of cultural exchanges in bringing the two nations closer

Kim Jong Un again threatens to use nuclear weapons against South Korea, US

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned again that he could use nuclear weapons in potential conflicts with South Korea and the United States, as he accused them of provoking North Korea and raising animosities on the Korean Peninsula, state media reported on Tuesday. Kim has issued similar threats to use nuclear weapons preemptively numerous times, but his latest warning came as outside experts say North Korea could ramp up hostilities ahead of next month's US presidential election. In a Monday speech at a university named after him, Kim Jong Un University of National Defence, he said that North Korea "will without hesitation use all its attack capabilities against its enemies if they attempt to use armed forces against North Korea, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency. The use of nuclear weapons is not ruled out in this case, he said. Kim said North Korea's nuclear response posture must be fully enhanced because South Korea and the United States are pushing

Philippines, S Korea excel security cooperation for strategic partnership

South Korea and the Philippines, each faced by increasingly hostile rival nations, elevated their ties to a strategic partnership on Monday, including broader defence and security cooperation between the two US treaty allies. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is on a state visit to the Philippines, and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr announced the upgrade in overall relations after talks in Manila. Under the strategic partnership, the two countries agreed to strengthen cooperation between their coast guards. Yoon also pledged to help modernise the Philippine military. The two leaders discussed regional issues such as territorial disputes in the South China Sea and tensions on the Korean Peninsula, they said. Marcos said in an opening statement that as the geopolitical environment is only becoming more complex, we must work together to achieve prosperity for our peoples and to promote a rules-based order governed by international law. Philippine and Chinese coast g

FTSE Russell Index revamp has S Korean, Indian bond markets on watch

FTSE Russell will on Oct. 8 announce any inclusions into benchmarks including its World Government Bond Index, which tracks $29 trillion of global fixed income

Kim Jong threatens to destroy South Korea with nuclear strikes if provoked

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatened to use nuclear weapons and destroy South Korea permanently if provoked, state media reported on Friday, after the South's leader warned that Kim's regime would collapse if he attempts to use nuclear arms. The exchange of such rhetoric between the rival Koreas is nothing new, but the latest comments come during heightened animosities over the North's recent disclosure of a nuclear facility and the continuation of missile tests. Next week, observers say North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament is expected to constitutionally declare a hostile "two-state" system on the Korean Peninsula to formally reject reconciliation with South Korea and codify new national borders. During a visit to a special operation forces unit on Wednesday, Kim said his military "would use without hesitation all the offensive forces it possesses, including nuclear weapons", if South Korea attempts to use armed forces encroaching upon the sovereignty of North Korea, accordin

Food tourism: South Korea tops list of culinary destinations in Asia

The land of kimchi, Korean barbecue, and fried chicken is followed closely by Taiwan (62%), with Thailand (55%), Japan (52%, and Malaysia (49%)

S Korea unveils most powerful missile, which could reach N Korea's bunkers

South Korea unveiled its most powerful ballistic missile and other weapons targeting North Korea during a massive Armed Forces Day ceremony Tuesday, as the president warned the North's regime would collapse if it attempts to use nuclear weapons. South Korea's weapons displays and warning against North Korea came after its northern rival recently rose regional animosities by disclosing its uranium-enrichment facility and tested missiles ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November. If North Korea attempts to use nuclear weapons, it will face the resolute and overwhelming response of our military and the (South Korea)-U.S. alliance, President Yoon Suk Yeol told thousands of troops gathered at a military airport near Seoul. That day will be the end of the North Korean regime. The North Korean regime must abandon the delusion that nuclear weapons will protect them, Yoon said. During the ceremony, the South Korean military displayed about 340 military equipment and weapons system

Kishida's legacy: Scandals at home, global respect for security, diplomacy

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will step down Tuesday, handing over leadership to his successor Shigeru Ishiba, who is expected to formally take office later in the day. He says he plans to call a snap election for October 27. Kishida's popularity ratings were precarious during most of his three-year term due to damaging corruption scandals that eventually led him to bow out. At home, Kishida was seen as a leader without a vision who compromised with powerful conservative nationalists within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to stay in power. But he has won respect outside Japan, especially from the United States, for pushing bold changes in Japanese defence and security policies and for standing tougher against Russia and China. Here is a lookback at Kishida's leadership and his legacy: Distress at home After taking office in October 2021, Kishida made a number of major decisions, such as reversing Japan's nuclear energy phase-out and pursuing a rapid military buildup. B

Leadership contest for Japan's next prime minister heads to run-off

The scramble to replace current premier Fumio Kishida was sparked in August when he announced his intention to step down

South Korea criminalises explicit deepfake possession amid public outcry

The bold new legislation introduces strict penalties, including imprisonment and hefty fines, as a response to public outrage over the distribution of sexually explicit deepfakes

Mercedes-Benz fire that injured 23 may cloud South Korea's EV transition

Since then, there's been widespread anxiety over EVs, a phenomenon dubbed EV phobia by local media

Squid Game teaser out: Seong Gi-hun returns into another survival game

The second season of the popular Squid Game features Seong Gi-hun again in the survival game. The Squid Game season 2 will be released on December 26