Page 48 - South Korea

Kakao's co-CEO resigns over massive service disruption mobile messenger

A top executive of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions provider Kakao stepped down to take responsibility for the recent disruption of the company's mobile messenger KakaoTalk

S Korean music sensation BTS' Jin to release first solo single on Oct 28

Singer Jin, a member of the South Korean music sensation BTS, will release his first solo song "The Astronaut" on October 28. BTS management agency BigHit Music made the announcement on the fan community forum Weverse on Tuesday night, a day after the company said the group is looking forward to carrying out their mandatory military service with oldest member Jin initiating the process by the month end. "BTS member Jin's first official solo single, 'The Astronaut,' will be released on October 28, 2022. Since it's a song made with so much love toward the fans, we hope 'The Astronaut' can be a gift to all of you," the agency said in a statement. Jin, who turns 30 in December, will begin the enlistment formalities once commitments related to his solo album release are complete. In South Korea, all able-bodied men aged 18-28 are required to serve in the military for about two years. All BTS members had been allowed to put off starting their military service until they turned 30. "We a

N Korea fires artillery shells near border a day after S Korea began drills

North Korea fired artillery shells near its sea border with South Korea late Tuesday, a day after the South began annual military drills to better deal with North Korean provocations. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement early Wednesday that North Korea fired about 100 shells off its west coast and 150 rounds off its east coast. It said the South Korean military broadcast messages several times asking North Korea to stop the firing, but there were no reports of violence between the rivals. South Korea's military said the shells didn't land in South Korean territorial waters but fell inside maritime buffer zones the two Koreas established under a 2018 inter-Korean agreement aimed at reducing front-line animosities. It's the second time North Korea has fired shells into the buffer zones since last Friday, when it shot hundreds of shells there in its most significant direct violation of the 2018 agreement. South Korea's military said North Korea must halt provocatio

K-Pop sensation BTS to give what could be last concert of band for years

South Korean boy band BTS will perform together on Saturday for the first time since the shocking announcement in June that the band would take an indefinite hiatus

PKL 9 to help me prepare for Asian Games selection: S Korea's Woosan Ko

South Korean defender Woosan KO is appearing in the Pro Kabaddi League for the first time in his career. The player says the training sessions with the team will help him prepare for selection trials

North Korea fires more artillery into maritime buffer zones: South Korea

South Korea's military says it detected North Korea additionally firing possibly hundreds of artillery rounds into maritime buffer zones between the rivals, further raising animosities triggered by a recent barrage of weapons tests. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the North firing around 80 rounds of artillery into waters near their eastern sea border from around 5.p.m. Friday. It said it also detected firing sounds and sighted splashes that were possibly caused by the firing of around 200 artillery rounds in waters near the western sea boundary from around 5:20 p.m. It said the shells fell inside maritime buffer zones the two Koreas established under a 2018 inter-Korean agreement on reducing tensions. The artillery firings came hours after North Korea fired a ballistic missile and 170 rounds of artillery shells early Friday, extending a highly provocative run in weapons demonstrations that have been accompanied by threats of nuclear conflict against Seoul and

N Korea fires another missile, 170 rounds of shells over S Korean border

North Korea early on Friday fired an additional ballistic missile and 170 rounds of artillery shells toward the sea and flew warplanes near the tense border with South Korea, further raising animosities triggered by the North's recent barrage of weapons tests. The North Korean moves suggest it is reviving an old playbook of stoking fears of war with provocative weapons tests before it seeks to win greater concessions from its rivals. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement the short-range missile lifted off from the North's capital region at 1:49 am Friday (1649 GMT Thursday; 12:49 p.m. EDT Thursday) and flew toward its eastern waters. It was North Korea's 15th missile launch since it resumed its testing activities on September 25. North Korea said Monday its recent missile tests were simulations of nuclear strikes on South Korean and US targets in response to their dangerous" military exercises involving a US aircraft carrier. After the latest missile test, North

North Korea flies warplanes near border after missile launches: S.Korea

South Korea says North Korea has flown warplanes near the rivals' border, prompting South Korea to scramble fighter jets. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the North Korean planes flew as close as 12 kilometers (7 miles) north of the inter-Korean border between late Thursday and early Friday. It's a highly unusual incident, and it comes amid heightened tensions between the rivals over North Korea's barrage of missile tests in recent days. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said it responded by scrambling F-35 jets and other warplanes. There were no reports of clashes between the rivals.

Sitharaman holds talks with Saudi, Netherlands, S Korea, Japan counterparts

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday held bilateral meetings with her counterparts from Japan, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, and South Korea as part of the Indian efforts to strengthen its economic ties with major countries of the world. Being held on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the finance minister, in addition to bilateral issues, discussed with them some of the major economic challenges being faced by the world, prominently the energy crisis and inflation in the wake of the Ukrainian war, debt sustainability, and climate change. India's emergence as a bright spot during the current global downturn and some of its successful policies such as digitisation and direct cash transfer were appreciated by her counterparts. The finance minister used the occasion to get feedback from these leaders as to what role India could play next year as the chair of the G-20 group of countries. During her meeting

Venezuela, South Korea, Afghanistan lose vote for UN rights body

Venezuela, South Korea and Afghanistan lost contested races for seats on the top UN human rights body in Tuesday by the General Assembly, which faced criticism for electing countries like Vietnam and Sudan, which have been accused of having abysmal human rights records. The 193-member assembly voted by secret ballot to fill 14 seats on the 47-member Human Rights Council. Seats are allocated to regions to ensure geographical representation, a rule that has regularly led to many regions putting forward uncontested slates as Africa, Eastern Europe and Western nations did this year. Human rights groups have long criticised this practice, saying it denies UN member nations any choice of countries on the council and virtually guarantees seats for some countries with poor rights records. In this year's election, the most hotly watched race was in the Latin America and Caribbean regional group, where Chile, Costa Rica and Venezuela were vying for two seats. The result saw Chile get 144 ...

Missile launches were 'simulation' of nuclear-strike on South: North Korea

North Korea preparing to hold its first nuclear weapon test in five years: Reports

North Korea launches missile toward sea after US-South Korea drills

The South Korean military said North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters on Sunday, the latest in the country's barrage of weapons tests in recent days. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement the launch occurred early Sunday but gave no further details, including how far the weapon may have flown. The Japanese government also said North Korea fired what was a possible ballistic missile. The Japanese coast guard said it has warned ships around the country's coasts about falling objects and urged them to stay away. The launch, the North's sixth round of weapons tests in two weeks, came hours after the United States and South Korea wrapped a new round of naval drills off the Korean Peninsula's east coast. The drills involved a US aircraft carrier. North Korea's military warned Saturday that the US redeployment of the aircraft carrier near the Korean Peninsula is causing a considerably huge negative splash in regional security, as it defended its

US aircraft carrier, S Korea warships start new naval drills amid tensions

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan launched a new round of naval drills with South Korean warships on Friday, a day after North Korea fired more ballistic missiles and flew warplanes in an escalation of tensions with its rivals. The Reagan and its battle group returned to the waters near the Korean Peninsula after North Korea earlier this week launched a nuclear-capable missile over Japan in response to the carrier group's earlier training with South Korean navy ships. North Korea views US-South Korean military exercises as a practice to invade the country. The latest two-day drills, which also involve US and South Korean destroyers and other ships, were taking place in international waters off the peninsula's east coast. The drills are aimed at bolstering the allies' defence capabilities and will involve training to escort the Reagan southeast of South Korea's southern island of Jeju, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. We will continue to .

Joe Biden writes to S Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol seeking talks on IRA

US President Joe Biden has sent a letter to South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol expressing his willingness to continue frank and open-minded talks on the US Inflation Reduction Act

S Korea, US fire 4 missiles into East Sea against N Korea's provocation

South Korea and the United States fired four ground-to-ground missiles into the East Sea in joint drills, a day after North Korea's intermediate-range ballistic missile launch

One in every two South Koreans have been infected with Covid-19: Report

Nearly one in two South Koreans have been infected with Covid-19, with the reinfection rate on the rise, the government said Wednesday

Six-month wait for public to see the wild cats: Project Cheetah Head

In a Q&A, S P Yadav says there have been concerns about the reintroduction project in terms of the ecological adaptation of the felines and co-habitation with other species

Iran to receive $7 billion of its frozen foreign exchange assets from US

Negotiations have been held in recent times between Iran and the U.S. over Iran's 7 billion dollars of frozen foreign exchange resources from South Korea which are on the verge of being released

S Korean President's approval rating sinks after hot mic incident

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol saw his approval rating slump to the lowest level again after his remarks caught on a hot mic in New York triggered an uproar at home, a poll revealed on Friday.

North Korea fires missiles after Kamala Harris leaves South Korea

In a show of defiance, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Thursday, hours after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris flew home from a visit to South Korea during which she emphasised the ironclad U.S. commitment to the security of its Asian allies. It was the third round of missile launches by North Korea this week, extending a record pace in weapons testing as it accelerates a push to expand its arsenal and pressure Washington to accept it as a nuclear power. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North Korean missiles were fired nine minutes apart from an area near the city of Sunchon, just north of the capital, Pyongyang, and flew toward waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. It didn't immediately release more details. Japan's military said it also detected a launch. North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday, while Harris was in Japan, and fired one before she left Washington on Sunday. Harris earlier capped h