Page 25 - South Korea

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

North Korea sending more trash carrying balloons across South Korean border

North Korea launched more trash-carrying balloons toward the South after a similar campaign earlier in the week, according to South Korea's military, in what Pyongyang calls retaliation for activists flying anti-North Korean leaflets across the border. South Korea's Defence Ministry did not immediately comment on the number of balloons it had detected or how many have landed in South Korea. The military advised people to beware of falling objects and not to touch objects suspected to be from North Korea, but report them to military or police offices instead. In Seoul, the capital, the city government sent text alerts saying that unidentified objects suspected to be flown from North Korea were being detected in skies near the city and that the military was responding to them. The North's balloon launches added to a recent series of provocative steps, which include its failed spy satellite launch and test-firings of about 10 suspected short-range missiles this week. South Korea's ...

S Korea's Shinhan Bank gets CCI nod to acquire 11% stake in HDFC Credila

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has cleared South Korea-based Shinhan Bank's proposed acquisition of an 11 per cent stake in HDFC Credila Financial Services. Part of the Shinhan Financial Group, Shinhan Bank Co Ltd is a multinational bank, which commenced operations in India in 1996. "The proposed combination relates to the acquisition of up to approximately 11 per cent shareholding by Shinhan Bank in HDFC Credila by way of subscription to shares of HDFC Credila," CCI said in a release on Tuesday. HDFC Credila Financial Services, is a Reserve Bank of India (RBI)-registered non-deposit taking non-banking financial company. It is primarily engaged in the business of providing education loans in India and overseas. In another release, the competition watchdog granted its approval to Matrix Pharma to acquire 100 per cent stake in Tianish Laboratories. The acquisition will be funded in part by an investment proposed to be made by the investors in optionally convertible debent

North Korea fired a barrage of ballistic missiles, alleges South Korea

North Korea on Thursday fired a barrage of suspected ballistic missiles toward its eastern sea, according to South Korea's military, days after its attempt to launch a military reconnaissance satellite ended in failure but still drew strong condemnation from its rivals. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the North firing around 10 projectiles that appeared to be short-range ballistic missiles from an area near its capital, Pyongyang. It said the suspected missiles flew around 350 kilometers (217 miles) before landing in waters off the North's eastern coast. It said the South Korean military has increased surveillance and vigilance and is closely sharing information with the United States and Japan. Japan's coast guard issued a maritime safety advisory over the North Korean launches and urged ships to exercise caution if they find any fallen objects. Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that the suspected missiles were believed to have landed in waters

Samsung Electronics' union in S Korea calls first ever walkout next week

The union, which has about 28,000 members, or more than a fifth of the company's total workforce, said it will stop work for one day on June 7

South Korea to detail tax incentives aimed at supporting chip industry

The government will also release next month detailed measures to support the country's semiconductor industry

North Korea appears to have fired missile into sea, say Japan, South Korea

North Korea had earlier notified Japan's coast guard about its plans to launch "a satellite rocket" during a launch window from Monday through June 3

Prosecution appeal begins for Samsung chief Jay Y Lee over 2015 merger case

Prosecutors are appealing against a February ruling that found Lee not guilty of all charges including accounting fraud and stock manipulation

China's Qiang praises 'restart' of engagement with Japan, South Korea

They may also agree to resume three-party free trade agreement negotiations, which have been stalled since 2019, according to Japanese media reports

Leaders of S Korea, China, Japan to resume trilateral meeting in Seoul

Leaders of South Korea, China and Japan were set to meet Monday for their first trilateral meeting in more than four years as they seek to improve long-complicated relations that are key to regional peace. No major breakthrough was expected during the gathering in Seoul. But experts said just restarting the countries' highest-level annual meeting was a positive sign for cooperation among the three Northeast Asian neighbours. On the eve of the meeting, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had rounds of bilateral meetings among themselves to discuss how to boost economic and other cooperation. But some thorny topics were also brought up, like North Korea, Taiwan and the South China Sea. After meeting with Li, Kishida told reporters that he expressed serious concerns about the situations in the South China Sea, Hong Kong and China's northwestern Xinjiang region. He said Japan was closely monitoring developments on ...

Trilateral talks: South Korea, Japan push China on SCS, Taiwan issues

Chinese and Japanese leaders were set to arrive in Seoul and meet with South Korea's president separately on Sunday, a day before they gather for their first trilateral meeting in more than four years. No major announcement is expected from Monday's trilateral South Korea-China-Japan meeting. But just resuming their highest-level, three-way talks is a good sign and suggests the three Asian neighbours are intent on improving their relations. A trilateral leaders' meeting was supposed to take place annually following their inaugural gathering in 2008. But the meeting has stalled since the last one in December 2019 in Chengdu, China because of the COVID-19 pandemic and complex ties among the three countries. After their arrivals in Seoul on Sunday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are to hold bilateral talks with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to discuss ways to promote cooperation and other issues, according to South Korean officials. Li and ...

South Korea's SK Group to boost ties with Japan's chip equipment makers

SK Group affiliates include SK Hynix, the world's No.2 memory chip maker

Leaders of South Korea, China, Japan to meet Monday for trilateral talks

Leaders of South Korea, China and Japan will meet next week in Seoul for their first trilateral talks in more than four years to discuss how to revive their cooperation, South Korea's presidential office said Thursday. After their inaugural stand-alone trilateral summit in 2008, the three countries' leaders were supposed to hold such a meeting every year. But the summit has been suspended since the last one in December 2019, in China, because of the COVID-19 pandemic and often complicated ties among the Asian neighbors. The trilateral meeting between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will take place in Seoul on Monday, Kim Tae-hyo, Seoul's deputy national security director, told a news conference. Chinese President Xi Jinping will not be attending. Li and Kishida were scheduled to arrive in South Korea on Sunday. They will meet Yoon individually on Sunday afternoon before attending a welcoming dinner banquet wit

S Korea sets aside $19 bn to fuel chipmaking, boom to Samsung, SK Hynix

The 26 trillion won programme includes 17 trillion won of financial support for certain investments as well as tax incentives, the presidential office said in a statement

North Korea fires multiple short-range ballistic missiles, Seoul condemns

North Korea has launched ballistic and cruise missiles as well as tactical rockets in recent months, describing them as part of a program to upgrade its defensive capabilities

Shipping is a dirty business, but cleaning it up is lucrative; here's why

Investor's love for this exciting new company category may wane when the EV market picks up again, or the smartphone sector finally returns to growth. But, for now, ship maintenance is exciting

South Korea plans $7.3 billion program to support semiconductor industry

The move comes as the US government is pressing allies including South Korea to further tighten restrictions on China's access to semiconductor technology

Kim Jong Un supervises latest test of new multiple rocket launcher

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised another test firing of a new multiple rocket launch system the country plans to deploy to its forces starting this year, state media said on Saturday, part of its move to bolster its lineup of weapons targeting South Korean population centres. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said Friday's test confirmed the advantage and destructive power of the 240-millimetre multiple rocket launcher and its guided shells. The agency said the system, which the North already tested twice this year, will be deployed to combat units from 2024 to 2026 to replace older weapons. North Korea in recent months has maintained an accelerated pace in weapons testing as it expands its military capabilities while diplomacy with the United States and South Korea remains stalled. Experts say Kim's goal is to eventually pressure the United States into accepting the idea of the North as a nuclear power and negotiating economic and security concessions fr

Efforts to improve people's lives have fallen short: S Korea's President

As part of a major policy push, Yoon also said a new government ministry would be created to address the country's record low birth rate and fast-ageing society