Page 40 - South Korea

North Korea tests submarine-launched cruise missile, Seoul confirms

North Korea said Monday it has conducted submarine-launched cruise missile tests, days after its leader Kim Jong Un ordered his troops to be ready to repel its rivals' frantic war preparation moves. The test on Sunday came a day before the U.S. and South Korean militaries begin large-scale joint military drills that North Korea views as a rehearsal for invasion. North Korea's official news outlet, the Korean Central News Agency, said Monday that the missile launches showed the North's resolve to respond with overwhelming powerful forces to the intensifying military maneuvers by the the U.S. imperialists and the South Korean puppet forces. KCNA also implied that the North aims to arm the cruise missiles tested with nuclear warheads. It said the missiles flew for more than two hours, drawing figure-eight-shaped patterns in waters off the country's eastern coast, and hit targets 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) away. The missiles were fired from the 8.24 Yongung ship, KCNA said, referenci

Facebook users in South Korea dip below 10 mn, young people ditch platform

The number of Facebook users in South Korea fell to a record low last month as a growing number of young people opted to use Instagram and other social media platforms, industry data showed.

Kim Jong Un supervises N Korean artillery drill planning attack on S Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a frontline artillery drill simulating an attack on an unspecified South Korean airfield as he called for his troops to sharpen their combat readiness in the face of his rivals' "frantic war preparation moves," state media said Friday. The North Korean report came a day after South Korea's military detected the North firing at least one short-range ballistic missile toward the sea from a site near the western coastal city of Nampo and raised the possibility that more missiles may have been launched from the area simultaneously. The launch came as South Korea and the United States prepare to kick off their biggest combined military training exercise in years to counter the growing threat of Kim's nuclear arsenal, which he has aggressively expanded in recent years despite the North's deepening economic isolation and pandemic-related difficulties. Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said that Kim urged his troops during Thursday's

Will pay up to settle labour dispute with Japan, says South Korea

Forced work under Japan's 1910-1945 occupation: The move presents a unified front against China and North Korea

Japan will disappear without any action on births, says PM's aide

The population has fallen to 124.6 million from a peak of just over 128 million reached in 2008, and the pace of decline is increasing

UN should demand end to South Korea-US military drills: North Korea

The statement comes after the officials from Seoul and Washington announced on Friday more than 10 days of large-scale military exercises, including amphibious landings, from March 13 to 23

South Korea pushes to end Japan disputes over forced labourers to mend ties

South Korea says it'll raise local civilian funds to compensate Koreans who won damages in lawsuits against Japanese companies that enslaved them during World War II. Seoul's announcement reflects conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol's determination to mend frayed ties with Japan and solidify a trilateral Seoul-Tokyo-Washington security cooperation to better cope with North Korea's nuclear threats. But the announcement is expected to draw strong backlash from former forced labourer and their supporters, who have demanded direct compensation from the Japanese companies. South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin told a televised news conference Monday the victims would be compensated through a local foundation that would be funded by civilian donations.

South Korean, US militaries to go ahead with drills despite N Korea threat

The South Korean and US militaries said Friday they'll go ahead with large-scale annual military drills later this month despite North Korea's threats to take unprecedently strong action against such training. It's likely that North Korea will respond to the upcoming South Korean-U.S. exercises with provocative missile tests and belligerent rhetoric because it views them as an invasion rehearsal. In a joint press conference, the South Korean and US militaries said they will conduct the Freedom Shield exercise, a computer-simulated command post training, from March 13-23 to strengthen their defense and response capabilities. They said the training would focus on North Korean aggression, lessons learned from recent conflicts and the changing security environment. The Korea-U.S. alliance will prepare for the FS (Freedom Shield) training while maintaining a firm readiness against potential provocations by the North Korean military, said Col. Lee Sung Jun, a spokesperson at the South ..

South Korean prez calls Japan 'partner' in tackling economic challenges

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called Japan a partner in tackling security and economic challenges as he marked the anniversary of the nation's 1919 independence movement

South Korea to offer $130 million in additional humanitarian aid to Ukraine

South Korea plans to provide $130 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine on the occasion of the first anniversary of Russia's invasion, Seoul's Foreign Ministry has announced

Why the war may be heading for a cease-fire

If we have learned anything from the Korean War, it is that a frozen conflict is better than either an outright defeat or an exhausting war of attrition

N Korea test-fires long-range cruise missiles in waters off eastern coast

North Korea on Friday said it test-fired long-range cruise missiles in waters off its eastern coast a day earlier, adding to a provocative streak in weapons demonstrations as its rivals step up military training. The launches came as the United States and South Korea held a simulated military exercise in Washington, DC, aimed at sharpening their response to North Korean nuclear threats. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said that Thursday's launches were aimed at verifying the reliability of the missiles and the rapid-response capabilities of the unit that operates those weapons. The agency said the exercise involved four missiles, which flew for nearly three hours, drawing oval and figure-eight shaped patterns above the sea, and showed that they can hit targets 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) away. North Korea first tested a long-range cruise missile system in September 2021 and has since described those weapons as strategic, wording that implies they are being ...

South Korea to invest $172 mn in nurturing semiconductor talents

South Korean govt and the country's major chipmakers agreed to jointly nurture more than 2,300 top-level talents in semiconductor field over next decade in an effort to maintain global tech prowess

South Korean President Yoon's approval rating rises to 40.4% after 6 weeks

In the poll of 2,504 adults conducted by Realmeter from February 13-17, the positive assessment of Yoon's performance rose 3.5 percentage points from a week earlier to 40.4 per cent

North Korea fires ballistic missile 2 days after ICBM test, says Seoul

South Korea says North Korea has fired a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says the launch was made on Monday morning but gave no further details such as how far the weapon flew. Two days ago, North Korea resumed weapons testing activities with an intercontinental ballistic missile launch. North Korea's state media said Sunday its latest ICBM test was meant to further bolster its fatal nuclear attack capacity and threatened additional powerful steps over upcoming military drills between the United States and South Korea. The United States responded by flying long-range supersonic bombers in a show of force later Sunday for separate joint exercises with South Korean and Japanese warplanes.

North Korea fires one ballistic missile into the sea, says Seoul

South Korea's military said North Korea on Saturday fired at least one ballistic missile into the sea, a day it threatened to take strong measures against South Korea and the U.S. over their joint military exercises. The Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul didn't immediately say what type of missile was launched or how far it flew. The launch came a day after North Korea's Foreign Ministry threatened to take unprecedently" strong action against its rivals after South Korea announced a series of planned military exercises with the United States aimed at sharpening their response to the North's growing threats. North Korea is coming off a record year in weapons demonstrations with more than 70 ballistic missiles fired, including intercontinental ballistic missiles with potential range to reach the U.S. mainland. The North also conducted a slew of launches it described as simulated nuclear attacks against South Korean and U.S. targets in response to the allies' resumption of large-scale joi

N Korea warns of strong counteractions against South Korea-US drills

North Korea warned Friday it would take "unprecedentedly persistent and strong counteractions" should South Korea and the US press ahead with their planned combined military drills.

S Korea, US to hold simulated drill to prevent North Korea's use of nukes

South Korean and United States militaries will hold a tabletop exercise at the Pentagon next week to hone their joint response to a potential use of nuclear weapons by North Korea, Seoul officials said Friday. The one-day computer simulation set for Wednesday comes as the two countries push to strengthen their 70-year alliance in the face of North Korea's increasingly aggressive nuclear doctrine. The exercise is meant to focus on measures against North Korean nuclear threats and discuss how to boost a US extended deterrence America's ability to use its full capabilities, including nuclear, to deter attacks on its allies, South Korea's Defence Ministry said in a statement. It said the exercise would set up possible scenarios where North Korea uses nuclear weapons, explore how to cope with them militarily and formulate crisis management plans. Worries about North Korea's nuclear programme deepened in South Korea after the North conducted a record number of missile tests in 2022 and

S Korea defence report revives 'enemy' label for North, first time in 6 yrs

South Korea called North Korea our enemy in its biennial defence document published Thursday, reviving the label for its rival for the first time in six years, as tensions worsen between the two. North Korea conducted an unprecedented number of missile tests in 2022, including simulated nuclear attacks on South Korea. In response, South Korea's conservative government led by President Yoon Suk Yeol has been seeking a stronger U.S. security commitment and boosting its own military capabilities. Descriptions of North Korea in South Korea's defence white papers reflect the rocky ties between the two Koreas. Past South Korean documents called North Korea its main enemy, present enemy or enemy in times of animosities with the North. But they avoided such references when relations were improved. (North Korea) doesn't give up its nukes and is persistently posing military threats to us, so the North Korean government and military is our enemy, the 2022 South Korean defence white paper ...

S Korea to take action against officials over N Korean drone infiltrations

The North's drone infiltrations have laid bare the South Korean military's lack of readiness against such small crafts that could potentially carry lethal weapons