Page 27 - South Korea

South Korea docs who protested med school plan ordered to return to work

South Korean officials issued return-to-work orders for doctors participating in a one-day walkout on Tuesday as part of a protracted strike against government plans to boost medical school admissions, starting next year. Since February, more than 12,000 trainee doctors have remained on strike amid a deepening standoff with government officials, who want to grow the country's number of doctors by up to 10,000 by 2035. Many reject the plan, saying schools won't be able to handle the increased flow and that the quality of the country's medical services would suffer. About 4 per cent of the country's 36,000 private medical facilities, categorised as clinics, have told authorities they would participate in a one-day strike on Tuesday, according to South Korea's Health and Welfare Ministry. The strike came a day after hundreds of medical school professors at four major hospitals affiliated with Seoul National University entered an indefinite walkout, raising concerns about disruptions i

S Korean soldiers fire warning shots after N Korean troops' intrusion

South Korean soldiers on Tuesday fired warning shots to repel North Korean soldiers who temporarily crossed the rivals' land border for the second time this month, South Korea's military said. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said around 20 to 30 North Korean soldiers, while engaging in unspecified construction work on the northern side of the border, briefly crossed the military demarcation line that bisects the countries as of 8:30 a.m. It said the North Korean soldiers retreated after the South broadcasts warnings and fired warning shots and the South's military didn't spot any suspicious activities after that. The South also fired warning shots on June 11 after another group of North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the MDL. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said that Tuesday's incident occurred in a different area along the central frontline region. It said it doesn't believe the North Korean soldiers intruded the border intentionally and that the North did not return fire. The South

South Korea, US sound alarm over North Korea-Russia ties before Putin visit

Security Council resolutions, officials of South Korea and the United States warned on Friday

North Korea'a Kim hails Russia tie as Putin reportedly plans a visit

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hailed the country's expanding relationship with Russia on Wednesday, as reports suggest that Russian President Vladimir Putin will soon visit the country for his third meeting with Kim. Military, economic and other cooperation between North Korea and Russia have sharply increased since Kim visited Russia last September for a meeting with Putin. The US, South Korea and their partners believe North Korea has supplied artillery, missiles and other conventional weapons to Russia to support its war in Ukraine in return for advanced military technologies and economic aid. Kim has been pushing to boost partnerships with Russia and China in a bid to strength his regional footing and launch a united front against the United States. During their September meeting at Russia's main space launch site, Kim invited the Russian president to visit North Korea at a convenient time, and Putin accepted. On Wednesday, Kim sent Putin a congratulatory message commemorati

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