Page 37 - South Korea

South Korean President's approval rating stands at 36.3%, shows survey

Defence and diplomacy were the factors most cited by respondents in giving both positive and negative assessments of Yoon's performance

S Korea, 4 others elected non-permanent members of UN Security Council

The five newly elected members will replace the outgoing non-permanent members of Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana, and the United Arab Emirates

DGTR recommends increasing import duty on iron alloy from S Korea for 2 yrs

The commerce ministry's investigation arm DGTR has recommended increasing customs duty on 'Ferro Molybdenum', used in steel, nickel, cobalt alloys, from South Korea in view of spurt in the imports under a free trade agreement. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries was implemented in January 2010. In October last year, India initiated the probe to ascertain if a spurt in the imports from South Korea is hitting the domestic producers. After concluding the probe, Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) said the imports have increased in absolute terms and in relation to Indian production and total imports. The imports of Ferro Molybdenum, DGTR, said increased when the customs duties were eliminated. Imports of the products from Korea have increased and constitute increased imports within the meaning of the rules and Korea-India CEPA, it said in a notification adding that due to the spurt in the inbound shipments, domestic industry has

Samsung may hold 'Galaxy Unpacked' event in South Korea for first time

This summer, Samsung is expected to unveil its latest foldable phones. The headliners will be the Galaxy Z Flip 5, Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Watch 6

North Korea's attempt to launch first spy satellite ends in failure

North Korea said Wednesday that its attempt to launch the country's first spy satellite has failed. In a statement published on state media, North Korea said a rocket carrying the spy satellite crashed into waters off the Korean Peninsula's western coast after it lost thrust following the separation of its first and second stages. It said scientists were examining the cause of the failure. South Korea's military earlier said the North Korean rocket had "an abnormal flight" before it fell in the waters. North Korea launched a rocket Wednesday, South Korea and Japan said, prompting brief evacuations in those countries as the North appeared to be attempting to put its first military spy satellite into orbit. The rocket was launched about 6.30 am from the North's northwestern Tongchang-ri area, where the country's main space launch centre is located, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. South Korea's military was trying to confirm whether the launch was successful, accordin

N Korea confirms plan to launch its first military spy satellite in June

North Korea on Tuesday confirmed plans to launch its first military spy satellite in June and described such capacities as crucial for monitoring the United States' reckless military exercises with rival South Korea. The statement came a day after North Korea notified Japanese authorities that it plans to launch the satellite sometime between May 31 and June 11, and that the event may affect waters in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and east of the Philippines' Luzon Island. Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said he ordered Japan's Self Defense Forces to shoot down the satellite or debris, if any entered Japanese territory. In comments published on state media, senior North Korean military official Ri Pyong Chol berated the combined US-South Korean military exercises, which Pyongyang has long described as invasion rehearsals. He said North Korea considers space-based reconnaissance as indispensable to monitor in real time the dangerous military acts of the US and its vassal ..

S Korea slams Pyongyang's planned satellite launch, warns of consequences

South Korea "strongly warned" against North Korea's plan to launch a satellite in the coming weeks, vowing to make Pyongyang pay "due prices" if it goes ahead with the launch

BGMI video game is now available for play in India, announces Krafton

South Korean video game developer Krafton on Monday announced that the video game Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) is now available for play in India

Asiana stops selling A321-200 emergency seats after man opened door mid-air

Asiana Airlines, South Korea's second-biggest carrier, said it has stopped selling certain emergency seats of A321-200 passenger jets following a recent incident in which a passenger opened a door

S Korean arrested for opening emergency exit door, to face 10 yrs in prison

A man who opened an emergency exit door during a flight in South Korea was formally arrested Sunday and faces up to 10 years in prison on a charge of violating the aviation security law, officials said. During a preliminary questioning, the 33-year-old told investigators that he felt suffocated and tried to get off the plane quickly, according to police. Twelve people were slightly injured on Friday after he opened the door of the Asiana Airlines Airbus A321-200, causing air to blast inside the cabin. The plane was preparing to land in Daegu on an hour-long flight from the southern island of Jeju. On Sunday, a district court in Daegu approved a warrant to formally arrest the man. Police earlier sought the arrest warrant, citing the graveness of the crime and a possibility the man may flee, according to Daegu police. Daegu police said they have up to 20 days to investigate the man before determining whether to send him to prosecutors for a possible indictment. If convicted, he fac

South Korean Asiana Airlines flight flies with open door, lands safely

A passenger opened a door on an Asiana Airlines flight that later landing safely at a South Korean airport Friday, airline and government officials said. Some people on board tried to stop the person from opening the door but it was eventually opened partially, the Transport Ministry said. The plane with 194 people was heading to the southeastern city of Daegu from the southern island of Jeju. The flight is normally about an hour, and how long the door was open wasn't immediately disclosed. Police detained the unidentified person who opened the door, the airline said. Their motive wasn't immediately known. The passengers included teenage athletes who plan to attend track and field competitions in Ulsan, another southeastern city. The incident terrified some passengers but no one was injured, though some passengers were assessed at a hospital, Asiana and Transport Ministry officials said.

S Korea, US troops to hold massive live-fire drills near N Korea border

The South Korean and U.S. militaries were set to begin massive live-fire drills near the border with North Korea on Thursday, despite the North's warning that it won't tolerate what it calls such a hostile invasion rehearsal on its doorstep. Thursday's drills, the first of the allies' five rounds of firing exercises until mid-June, mark 70 years since the establishment of the military alliance between Seoul and Washington. North Korea has typically reacted to such major South Korean-U.S. exercises with missile and other weapons tests. Since the start of 2022, North Korea has test-launched more than 100 missiles but none since it fired a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile in mid-April. North Korea has argued its torrid pace of tests was meant to respond to the expanded military drills between the U.S. and South Korea, but observers say the North aims to advance its weapons development then wrest greater concessions from its rivals in eventual diplomacy. The U.S.-South Kore

G20 tourism track meet in Srinagar successful: Korean ambassador to India

The G20 Tourism Working Group meeting here was a success, South Korean Ambassador to India Chang Jae-bok said on Wednesday, adding that Kashmir is a wonderful place with kind people. The Korean ambassador said Seoul strongly supported India's presidency and expressed hope that New Delhi will make the G20 meetings successful. He told PTI, "The G20 meeting (in Kashmir) was successful." Jae-bok and other delegates to the working group meeting also visited the refurbished Polo View Market in the Residency Road area here. He said Kashmir is a wonderful place and the people are very kind. "It is a wonderful place, the people here are very kind. I hope more people come here to discover the beauty and diversity of India," he added. The Korean ambassador further said, "India is becoming a global power. Right now, India is the fifth biggest economy and it will become the third biggest economy very soon. We hope that India and Korea will continue to have good relations," he said. YN Brugge

South Korean, German leaders agree to cooperate on supply chains, N. Korea

The leaders of South Korea and Germany on Sunday pledged more cooperation in building stable industrial supply chains and addressing the challenges posed by nuclear-armed North Korea as they met in Seoul after flying in from the Group of Seven meetings in Japan. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, in a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, pointed to the similarities between the two major manufacturing nations that are dependent on foreign trade and said a stronger supply chain partnership would help them cope with intensifying global economic instability and geopolitical conflicts. He said the countries in particular will work to advance trade relations in high-tech industries and clean energy, including semiconductors and hydrogen projects, and pursue further opportunities in defense cooperation. Yoon said they also discussed the growing threat posed by North Korea, which has test-fired around 100 missiles since the start of 2022 while accelerating its push t

S Korea, Japan use G-7 to push improvement in ties long marked by animosity

Amid the high-level efforts to deal with a raft of global emergencies, this weekend's Group of 7 summit of rich democracies will also see an unusual diplomatic reconciliation as the leaders of Japan and South Korea look to continue mending ties that have been marked for years by animosity and bickering. At first glance the two neighbours would seem to be natural partners. They are powerful, advanced democracies and staunch US allies in a region beset with autocratic threats. The continuing fallout, however, from centuries of complicated, acrimonious history, culminating in the brutal 1910-1945 Japanese colonization of the Korean Peninsula, has resulted in more wariness than friendship. A big part of the sudden recent shift in tone is a shared focus on China's growing aggressiveness, t he threat of North Korea's fast-improving arsenal of nuclear-capable missiles and deep worry about how Russia's war in Ukraine is influencing both issues. Some diplomatic nudging by Washington, which

South Korea's crypto exchanges Upbit, Bithumb raided in crypto scandal

Prosecutors raided two of South Korea's local crypto exchanges as part of an investigation into snowballing suspicions surrounding opposition lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk's digital assets, officials said

US calls for S Korea to be vocal against Russia's aggression of Ukraine

US Ambassador Philip called for South Korea to "keep speaking out" against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, stressing the importance of the two allies working together on global issues

S Korea, Japan holds working-level meeting on Seoul's Fukushima inspection

South Korea and Japan held working-level consultations on Friday to discuss details of Seoul's inspection of Tokyo's plan to discharge contaminated water from crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant

Yoon Suk Yeol, Fumio Kishida vow better Seoul-Tokyo ties following summit

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday called for officials to map out specific steps to hasten security and economic cooperation with Japan following his weekend summit in Seoul with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Kishida during Sunday's meeting expressed sympathy toward Koreans forced into industrial slavery during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula as the leaders vowed to overcome historical grievances and strengthen cooperation in the face of the North Korean nuclear threat and other challenges. The summit, which was the second meeting between the leaders in less than two months, drew a mixed reaction in South Korea. Critics, including Yoon's liberal opponents who control majority in the National Assembly, said Kishida's comments fell short of a meaningful apology and accused Yoon of letting Japan off the hook over its past aggressions while pushing to repair bilateral ties. Others saw the summit as a sign that the two key U.S. allies are final

In a bid to improve ties, S. Korean, Japanese leaders meet again for summit

The leaders of South Korea and Japan met on Sunday for their second summit in less than two months, as they push to mend long-running historical grievances and boost ties in the face of North Korea's nuclear programme and other regional challenges. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in South Korea earlier on Sunday for a two-day visit, which reciprocates a mid-March trip to Tokyo by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. It was the first exchange of visits between the leaders of the Asian neighbours in 12 years. South Korean media attention on the summit is focused on whether Kishida will make a more direct apology over Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. Such comments by Kishida would likely help Yoon win greater support for his push to build stronger ties with Japan and ease domestic criticism that he's preemptively made concessions to Tokyo without receiving corresponding steps in return. It took 12 years to restore the shuttle diplomacy' but our ...