Page 33 - South Korea

Yoon to call for strong int'l response to N Korea's nukes at ASEAN, G20

South Korea's president says he'll tell world leaders about the need to faithfully enforce U.N. sanctions on North Korea and block the country's illicit activities to fund its weapons programmes when they converge in Indonesia and India for annual summits this week. President Yoon Suk Yeol is to visit Jakarta for four days starting Tuesday to attend a series of summits scheduled on the margins of a meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders. On Friday, he'll travel on to New Delhi for a summit of the leading rich and developing nations. At the upcoming ASEAN-related Summits and the G20 Summit, I intend to urge the international community to resolutely respond to North Korea's ever-escalating missile provocations and nuclear threats and to work closely together on its denuclearization, Yoon said in written responses to questions from The Associated Press. As long as the U.N. Security Council sanctions currently in place are faithfully implemented, North Korea's

South Korea to import foreign workers to ease burden of housework: Report

The South Korean government on Friday announced that a pilot programme allowing 100 foreign domestic helpers to start working in the capital Seoul would begin as early as December

N Korea fires missiles into sea after US-South Korean military drills end

North Korea launched several cruise missiles into the sea Saturday, South Korea's military said, extending its weapons testing activities in response to the United States-South Korea summer military drills. South Korea's military detected the launches early Saturday morning off the North's west coast, the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The statement said South Korean and US intelligence authorities were analyzing details of the launches. It said South Korea has boosted its surveillance posture and maintains a firm military readiness in close coordination with the United States. The launches came two days after the US and South Korean militaries wrapped up their 11-day training exercises that North Korea regards as a rehearsal for invasion. Washington and Seoul officials maintain their drills are defensive. A day before the US-South Korean training ended, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea in a launch it said was meant to simulate .

N Korea says it simulated nuclear attacks on major command centers S Korea

North Korea said Thursday its latest missile launches simulated scorched earth nuclear strikes on South Korea and that it's also been rehearsing an occupation of its rivals' territory in the event of conflict. Pyongyang has previously tested nuclear-capable missiles and described how it would use them in potential wars with South Korea and the US. But the North's disclosure of detailed war plans reaffirmed its aggressive nuclear doctrine to intimidate its opponents, as it escalates its protest of the ongoing South Korean-US military exercises that it views as a major security threat, observers say. North Korea's military said it fired two tactical ballistic missiles from the capital on Wednesday night to simulate scorched earth strikes at major command centers and operational airfields in South Korea, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. The North's military said the missiles carried out their simulated strikes through air bursts, suggesting it confirmed the ...

North Korea launches ballistic missiles toward sea after US flies bombers

North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea on Wednesday night, its neighbours said, hours after the US flew long-range bombers for drills with its allies in a show of force against the North. The launches, the latest in the North's barrage of weapons tests since last year, came amid ongoing annual US-South Korean military exercises that North Korea regards as a rehearsal for invasion. There were no reports of damages caused by Wednesday's launches. But observers say North Korea likely aimed to demonstrate again it has missiles capable of striking key targets in South Korea in protest at its rivals' military exercises. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the North Korean missiles both travelled about 360 kilometres before landing in the waters of the Korean Peninsula's east coast. It said the missiles were launched from the North's capital region. The Joint Chiefs of Staff called the launches a grave provocation that threatens ...

Kim Jong Un asks his military to be ready to smash US-led invasion plot

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for his military to be constantly ready for combat to thwart plots to invade his country, as he accused the US of conducting "more frantic" naval drills with its allies near North Korea, state media reported Tuesday. The US and South Korean militaries are holding joint summer exercises that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal. The allies have insisted the drills are defensive in nature. Kim said in a speech marking the country's Navy Day that falls on Monday that the waters off the Korean Peninsula have been made unstable "with the danger of a nuclear war" because of US-led hostilities, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. He cited a recent US-South Korean-Japanese summit, the deployment of US nuclear strategic assets and the US drills with its allies. "The prevailing situation requires our navy to put all its efforts into rounding off the war readiness to maintain the constant combat alertness and get prepared to break

N Korea's 2nd attempt to launch spy satellite fails, vows third attempt

North Korea said its second attempt to launch a spy satellite failed Thursday and it will make a third attempt in October, the country's state media reported. The North's state news agency said Thursday's launch ended in a failure because of an error that happened during a three-stage flight of the rocket. It cited the country's aerospace agency as saying that North Korea will conduct a third attempt in October after finding what caused a failure. The announcement followed a statement by South Korea's military that North Korea had launched a long-range rocket. In late May, a North Korean rocket carrying a spy satellite plunged into the sea soon after liftoff, posing a setback to leader Kim Jong Un's push to establish a space-based surveillance system to better monitor the U.S. and South Korea. North Korea had since vowed to make a second attempt.

A revived trilateral

Japan and South Korea are shoring up security

Japan makes final plea to gain fisheries' understanding for Fukushima plant

Japanese government officials sought understanding from fisheries groups on Monday for the impending release of treated radioactive wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea and pledged to support their livelihoods throughout the process that will take decades. Economy and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura met with the head of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives and promised that the government is doing everything it can to ensure the safety of the release and prepared measures to protect the fisheries industry's reputation. Nishimura told the fisheries official, Masanobu Sakamoto, that the water release is essential for the plant decommissioning and Fukushima's recovery and can't be postponed. He also said the government will stand by the concerns and needs of the fisheries community until the release ends decades later. Sakamoto, at the outset, stressed that his organization as a whole remains opposed to the release, but he said members of

N Korea watches cruise missile launches as US, S Korean troops begin drills

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has observed the test-firing of strategic cruise missiles from a navy ship, state media reported Monday, as the U.S. and South Korean militaries kicked off major annual drills that the North views as an invasion rehearsal. The North's report on missile tests came three days after the leaders of the U.S., South Korea and Japan agreed to expand their security and economic ties at a summit in the United States. During an inspection visit of a navy flotilla on the eastern coast, Kim boarded a patrol boat to review its weapons and preparations for combat. He later watched its seamen conducting a drill of launching strategic cruise missiles, the official Korean Central News Agency said. KCNA didn't say when the missile launches happened, and a state media photo showed Kim watching the launch of a missile from another place, not on the patrol boat. KCNA's use of the word strategic in reference to the tested weapons implied they were developed to carry nuclea

US summit with Japan, South Korea focused on 'Anti-China Policy': Report

The move comes after nearly a year of increased testing by North Korea of new types of ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missiles, which it says are intended to counter the threat posed by US forces

US, Japan, S Korea denounce 'dangerous and aggressive actions' by China

The three nations expressed commitment to expanding cooperation trilaterally and raising shared ambition to a new horizon across domains and across the Indo-Pacific and beyond

Biden silent on decision to name special counsel in Hunter Biden probe

President Joe Biden is keeping mum about Attorney General Merrick Garland's decision to name a special counsel in the investigation of his son Hunter Biden. Speaking at a news conference Friday at the conclusion of his Camp David summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Biden demurred when asked about the latest twist in his son's legal issues. The comments were Biden's first on the matter since Garland announced last week he was naming a special counsel into the probe of Hunter Biden's financial dealings. I have no comment on any investigation that's going on, said Biden. That's up to the Justice Department and that's all I have to say. Garland noted the extraordinary circumstances of the matter when he named David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware who had already been probing Hunter Biden's financial dealings, as special counsel after a plea deal over tax evasion and a gun charge collapsed last month. The sudden turn of events

US, Japan and S Korea open summit to bolster security in Pacific region

President Joe Biden opened a historic summit with Japan and South Korea at Camp David on Friday focused on strengthening security and economic ties at a time of increasing concerns about North Korea's persistent nuclear threats and China's provocations in the Pacific. "Our countries are stronger and the world will be safer as we stand together. And I know this is a belief that all three share, Biden declared at the start of the meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the presidential retreat in Maryland. Addressing his fellow leaders at what he called the first standalone summit of the three nations, the American president said, "I want to thank you both for your political courage that brought you here. Yoon said as the three appeared before reporters that today will be remembered as a historic day, where we established a firm institutional basis and commitments to the trilateral partnership. And Kishida said before the private

US, Japan, S Korea agree on new security pledge ahead of Camp David summit

The United States, Japan and South Korea are set to sign on to a new security pledge, committing the three countries to consult with each other in the event of a security crisis or threat in the Pacific, according to Biden administration officials. Details about the new duty to consult commitment emerged as President Joe Biden prepared Friday to welcome South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a summit at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. The move is one of several joint efforts that the leaders are expected to announce at the daylong summit, as the three countries look to tighten security and economic ties amid increasing concerns about North Korea's persistent nuclear threats and Chinese provocations in the Pacific. Kishida, before departing Tokyo on Thursday, told reporters the summit would be a historic occasion to bolster trilateral strategic cooperation with Seoul and Washington. I believe it is extremely meaningful to

Biden to host trilateral summit with Japan, S Korea amid challenges

US President Joe Biden is using the presidential retreat at 'Camp David' by hosting the first-ever trilateral summit with Japan and South Korea in the face of shared security challenges, CNN reported.President Joe Biden is using the presidential retreat at Camp David to help with a diplomatic mission - hosting the first-ever trilateral summit with Japan and South Korea, two countries that are putting aside a fraught history in the face of shared security challenges.Biden's summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is meant to serve as a show of force as the countries grapple with persistent provocative behaviour from North Korea.It also comes as President Biden has sought to deepen ties with allies in the Indo-Pacific amid concerns about a rising China.On Friday, Biden will host the leaders at the secluded getaway in the Catoctin Mountains in Maryland where they are set to deepen defence, technology and economic cooperation between the .

N Korea preparing ICBM tests, spy satellite launch: S Korean spy agency

North Korea is preparing its second attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit as well as tests of long-range missiles to mark a key national anniversary and protest efforts by the United States to strengthen its regional alliances, South Korea's intelligence service told lawmakers Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been expected to conduct weapons tests in response to major US-South Korean military drills that begin next week and a trilateral US-South Korea-Japan summit at Camp David in the United States this Friday. The National Intelligence Service told lawmakers in a closed-door meeting that North Korea may try to launch a spy satellite in late August or early September ahead of the country's 75th anniversary on September 9, according to Yoo Sang-bum, one of the lawmakers who attended the briefing. The NIS said North Korea has been testing an engine for the rocket to be used for the satellite launch and has installed an additional land antenna to receive satellite data

Emerging Asian bond investors turn cautious as rate cut wagers disappears

Market sentiment is starting to shift as rising commodity prices keep the policymakers from letting their guard down on inflation

SK Hynix denies negotiation, collaboration with SRAM & MRAM for chip plant

South Korea-based SK Hynix on Monday said that the company neither had any negotiation with SRAM & MRAM Group, nor has any plans to collaborate with it for a semiconductor manufacturing or testing unit in India. UK-based SRAM & MRAM Group chairman Sailesh Lachu Hiranandani had told PTI that his company is in an advanced stage of discussion with semiconductor makers SK Hynix and GlobalFoundries to collaborate for its proposed chip manufacturing plant and a testing facility in India. Hiranandani had said that his group will hold a majority stake in the joint venture and the application to seek the Centre's approval for the project will be submitted within a week. However, SK Hynix denied any negotiation, collaboration with SRAM & MRAM Group. "SK Hynix haven't had any negotiations with SRAM & MRAM Group and therefore, do not have any plans to collaborate with the company on a chip manufacturing plant and testing facility in India," SK Hynix said in a statement. SK Hynix ..

Kim Jong Un orders increased missile production ahead of US-S Korea drills

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made another inspection tour of major munitions factories and ordered a drastic increase in production of missiles and other weapons, state media said Monday, days before South Korea and the US begin annual military drills that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal. Kim's push to produce more weapons also comes as US officials believe Russia's defence minister recently talked with North Korea about selling more weapons to Russia for its war with Ukraine. The Korean Central News Agency said Kim visited factories producing tactical missiles, mobile launch platforms, armoured vehicles and artillery shells on Friday and Saturday. During a stop at the missile factory, Kim set a goal to drastically boost production capacity so the facility can mass produce missiles to meet the needs of frontline military units, KCNA said. The qualitative level of war preparations depends on the development of the munitions industry and the factory bears a very importa