Page 25 - South Korea

S Korea oppn leader Lee indicted over funds transfer to North Korea

"I am not that foolish," Lee said last year, calling the charges against him "fiction" as a court denied a warrant for his arrest

Quake of 4.8 magnitude in South Korea cracks walls, leaves minor damage

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake cracked walls, spilled items from store shelves and and caused other minor damage in a fishing community in southwestern South Korea on Wednesday, but no injuries have been reported. The earthquake in Buan, which had an estimated depth of 8 kilometres, was the strongest detected in South Korea this year. The National Fire Agency said it so far confirmed eight minor cases of property damage in Buan and the nearby city of Iksan, including cracked walls at homes and a warehouse, at least two broken wall tiles and at least one broken window. It was also strong enough to knock items off store shelves. Jo Yoo-jin, an official at the North Joella province fire department, said officials received nearly 80 calls from area residents who felt the shaking. More than 200 other similar calls were placed by residents in other regions, including 38 in the central North Chungcheong provide and seven in the country's capital, Seoul, according to the National Fire ...

Samsung hires ex-Apple executive to lead new North America AI Center

The company made the announcement internally this week, around the same time Apple kicked off a much-anticipated expansion into AI

North & South Korea turn up loudspeakers to blare propaganda at each other

What began as South Korea's response to over 1,000 balloons filled with trash and manure sent by the North Korea has evolved into a battle of loudspeakers

S Korean troops fire warning shots after N Korean soldiers crossed border

South Korean soldiers fired warning shots after North Korean troops violated the land border earlier this week, South Korea's military said Tuesday. Some North Korean soldiers who were engaged in unspecified work on the northern side of the border briefly crossed the military demarcation line on Sunday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Those North Korean soldiers returned to their territory after South Korea's military fired warning shots and issued warning broadcasts, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. It said North Korea had not conducted any other suspicious activities. The Koreas' mine-strewn land border is the world's most heavily armed border, with hundreds of thousands of combat troops facing each other. It's a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. The border-crossing incident came amid rising tensions over North Korea's recent launches of trash-carrying balloons.

Seoul activists develop 'smart balloons' to send messages into North Korea

Built using 3D printers and components sourced online and sometimes equipped with GPS-tracking, these so-called "smart balloons" can cost up to $1,000 each

N Korea installing its own loudspeakers along the border, says S Korea

Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff didn't immediately comment on the number of suspected North Korean speakers

Balloon war escalates: North and South Korea exchange trash and propaganda

The two Korean nations are engaged in a fierce exchange of trash-filled balloons, carrying propaganda as military tensions rise

South Korea, US to hold new round of nuclear planning talks in Seoul today

The third meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) is designed to follow up on last year's summit

South Korea's Prez Yoon heads to Central Asia for talks on energy, minerals

Yoon will visit Turkmenistan with the first lady for a state visit before heading to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

Seoul to resume loudspeaker broadcasts as Pyongyang sends trash balloons

South Korea says it will restart anti-North Korean propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts in border areas in response to continuing North Korean campaigns to drop trash on the South with balloons. Following an emergency security meeting led by South Korean national security director Chang Ho-jin, the officials decided to install and begin the loudspeaker broadcasts in border areas on Sunday, Seoul's presidential office said in a statement. The move is certain to anger North Korea and potentially prompt it to take its own retaliatory military steps. Chang and other South Korean security officials berated Pyongyang for attempting to cause anxiety and disruption in South Korea and stressed that North Korea will be solely responsible for any future escalation of tensions between the Koreas. North Korea over the weekend flew hundreds of trash-carrying balloons to South Korea in its third such campaign since late May, the South's military said, just days after South Korean activists floated ..

North Korea resumes flying balloons in likely bid to drop trash, says Seoul

North Korea resumed flying balloons on Saturday in a likely attempt to drop trash on South Korea again, South Korea's military said, two days after Seoul activists floated their own balloons to scatter propaganda leaflets in the North. Animosities between the two Koreas have risen recently because North Korea launched hundreds of balloons carrying manure and trash toward South Korea in protest of previous South Korean civilian leafletting campaigns. In response, South Korea suspended a tension-easing agreement with North Korea to restore frontline military activities. Saturday's balloon launches by North Korea were the third of their kind since May 28. It wasn't immediately known if any of North Korean balloons has landed on South Korean territory yet across the rivals' tense border. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that North Korean balloons likely carrying balloons were moving in an eastward direction but they could eventually fly toward the south because the direction of

South Korea's Mirae Asset mulls $150 mn capital infusion in Sharekhan

Foray into wealth management and portfolio management on the cards

Samsung Electronics' union set to stage 1st walkout over pay in South Korea

The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), which has about 28,000 members, or more than a fifth of the company's total workforce, has said it will stop work for a day as part of broader protest me

UP to acquire 760 hectares for Japanese, South Korean cities in Noida

Nodal agency Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) will acquire land in Gautam Buddha Nagar district for the proposed Japanese and South Korean industrial cities

Trash balloons are deepening rift between North and South Korea; here's why

Animosities between North and South Korea are rising sharply again over an unusual cause: The North's rubbish-carrying balloons. In the past week, North Korea floated hundreds of huge balloons dumping manure, cigarette butts, scraps of cloth, waste batteries and even reportedly dirty diapers across South Korea. In response, South Korea vowed unbearable retaliatory steps and moved to suspend a fragile military deal meant to ease tensions with its northern neighbor. Experts say if South Korea resumes live-fire drills or anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts via loudspeakers in border areas, that's certain to infuriate North Korea and may prompt it to take its own provocative countermeasures along the border. Here's a look at North Korea's balloon launches: WHAT DID NORTH KOREA DO? Since May 28, North Korea has sent about 1,000 balloons carrying all kinds of trash across the border. No hazardous materials were found, but South Korean social media was still abuzz with worries that Nort

South Korea suspends military deal with North Korea over trash balloons

South Korea on Tuesday took steps to suspend a contentious military agreement with North Korea and resume frontline military activities, as tensions between the rivals are rising over the North's recent launch of trash-carrying balloons. North Korea didn't immediately respond, but South Korea's resumption of firing exercises or propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts will likely prompt North Korea to take similar or stronger steps along the rivals' tense border. In the past week, North Korea has used balloons to drop manure, cigarette butts, scraps of cloth and waste paper on South Korea, prompting Seoul to vow unbearable retaliation. On Sunday, North Korea said it would halt its balloon campaign. On Tuesday, South Korea's Cabinet Council and President Yoon Suk Yeol approved a proposal to suspend the 2018 inter-Korean agreement on lowering frontline military tensions. It will take effect once Seoul formally notifies the North. Cho Chang-rae, South Korea's deputy defense minister for poli

S Korea agrees to suspend military deal with N Korea over trash balloons

South Korea's government has approved the suspension of a contentious military agreement with North Korea, a step that would allow it to take tougher responses to North Korean provocations. The development came as animosities between the rival Koreas rose sharply recently after North Korea launched trash-carrying balloons across the border in reaction to previous South Korean civilian leafletting campaigns. On Tuesday, South Korea's Cabinet Council passed a proposal aimed at suspending the 2018 inter-Korean agreement on lowering down frontline military tensions. The proposal will formally take effect when it's signed by President Yoon Suk Yeol, likely later Tuesday, according to government officials.

S Korea to nullify peace deal to punish N Korea over balloon launches

South Korea announced Monday it'll suspend a rapprochement deal with North Korea to punish it over its launches of trash-carrying balloons, even after the North said it would halt its balloon campaign. Over several days, North Korea flew hundreds of balloons to drop trash and manure on South Korea in an angry reaction against previous South Korean civilian leafleting campaigns. On Sunday, South Korea said it would take unbearable retaliatory steps in response, before North Korea abruptly announced it would stop flying balloons across the border. On Monday, South Korea's presidential national security council said it has decided to suspend a 2018 inter-Korean agreement aimed at easing frontline animosities, until mutual trust between the two Koreas is restored, according to the presidential office. The security council said the suspension would allow South Korea to resume military drills near the border with North Korea and take effective, immediate responses to provocations by North

S Korea Prez Yoon approves exploration of vast oil, gas prospects off-coast

The president said South Korea has conducted a series of explorations for oil and gas beginning in 1996 and tapped a gas reserve of the equivalent of about 4.5 million barrels