Tag Archives: South Korea

The New York Times reports: North Korea launched two ballistic missiles off its east coast on Wednesday, the country’s first ballistic missile test in six months and a violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions that ban North Korea from conducting such tests. Hours after the missiles were launched, South Korea announced that its president, Moon Jae-in, had just …

Reuters reports: In their first calls with Joe Biden since the U.S. election, the leaders of Japan, South Korea and Australia on Thursday reaffirmed plans to form close ties with the president-elect to tackle issues including climate change and regional security. The three key Asian allies – Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Australian Prime …

The Guardian reports: Japan’s government has reportedly decided to release more than 1m tonnes of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea, setting it on a collision course with local fishermen who say the move will destroy their industry. Media reports said work to release the water, which is being stored in more than 1,000 …

ABC News reports: A controversial South Korean pastor tested positive for COVID-19 after participating in an anti-government mass rally on Saturday that drew tens of thousands of people in calling for the ouster of South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Health authorities have warned against outdoor gatherings for fear of spreading the virus but many worshippers of the Sarang Jeil Church …

The Korea Herald reports: Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon was found dead on Friday, according to police, in what appears to be one of the country’s highest-profile suicides in recent history. The body of Park, 64, was found at Mount Bukak, hours after he was reported missing. The exact cause of his death remained under investigation. Park’s daughter filed a police …

Reuters reports: South Korea warned of a second wave of the new coronavirus on Sunday as infections rebounded to a one-month high, just as the authorities were starting to ease some pandemic restrictions. The fresh outbreak comes just as the government was easing some social distancing restrictions and moving to fully reopen schools and businesses, in a transition from intensive …

Reuters reports: South Korean and Chinese officials on Tuesday cast doubt on reports North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was ill after media outlets said he had undergone a cardiovascular procedure and was in “grave danger” CNN cited a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the matter as saying Washington was “monitoring intelligence” that Kim was in grave danger after …

Reuters reports: An So-young had a gut feeling that the 31st person in South Korea to test positive for the coronavirus might be a member of the controversial religious sect she quit four years ago. What caught An’s attention was how health authorities were struggling to track the woman’s movements before she was tested. “That’s their culture, they have to …

Raw Story reports: BlazeTV host Jon Miller took to Twitter after Korean director and screenwriter Bong Joon-ho won the Oscar for best screenplay for “Parasite” to complain about him not speaking English. Twitter users quickly went after the triggered conservative, calling out the racist attacks. When the “Parasite” creator won for best director, writer Yashar Ali asked if Miller was …

NPR reports: At Sunday’s Oscars, on a night when almost everything went as planned and as usual, the one true surprise came in the biggest moment of all. For the first time ever, a film in a foreign language won best picture when Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite, a comedy-drama-thriller about class and secrets, took the big prize. Bong also won the …

Reuters reports: Hit South Korean boy band BTS will not be given exemption from mandatory military service, the defense ministry has said, reaffirming its policy of no exceptions for pop stars. The decision is likely to fuel debate in South Korea, which remains technically at war with North Korea, about whether entertainers and athletes should have to do their full …

The Korea Daily reports: Seoul’s festival had the theme “Queeround,” signifying that there are LGBT people all around us. According to its organizers, a record number of about 120,000 people took part in the festivities despite the sweltering heat, which reached a high of 33 degrees Celsius (91.4 degrees Fahrenheit). Although the festival was organized by Koreans, there was a …

Reuters reports: A senior North Korean official is headed to New York to discuss an upcoming summit, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, the latest indication that an on-again-off-again meeting between Trump and North Korea’s leader may go ahead next month. Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Committee, was scheduled to fly to the …

The Los Angeles Times reports: In a dramatic diplomatic setback, President Trump on Thursday abruptly pulled out of his scheduled nuclear summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un with a letter to Kim blaming recent harsh statements from officials in Pyongyang. About two hours later, speaking at the White House, Trump called the cancellation “a tremendous setback for North …

CNBC reports: President Donald Trump said Tuesday that there’s a substantial chance that his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “may not work out” for June. Trump made the remark while he met with Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s president, for pivotal discussions ahead of the American president’s planned meeting with the North Korean dictator. The summit is scheduled …

The Telegraph reports: North Korea threatened Wednesday to cancel a much-anticipated and unprecedented summit between its leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump, the South’s Yonhap news agency reported. Pyongyang also cancelled high-level talks due Wednesday with Seoul over the Max Thunder joint military exercises between the US and the South, Yonhap said citing the North’s official news …

Politico reports: British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said U.S. President Donald Trump would be a deserving winner of the Nobel Peace Prize if he can solve problems in Iran and on the Korean peninsula. “If Trump can fix North Korea and the Iran nuclear deal then I don’t see why he’s any less of a candidate for the Nobel Peace …

NBC News reports: With just weeks to go before President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are expected to hold their first-ever summit, Pyongyang on Sunday criticized what it called “misleading” claims that Trump’s policy of maximum political pressure and sanctions are what drove the North to the negotiating table. The North’s official news agency quoted a …

The BBC reports: North Korea is changing its time zone to match the South after last week’s inter-Korean summit, according to its state media. The country will move its clocks forward by 30 minutes on Saturday, said the official KCNA news agency. The reset is “the first practical step” to “speed up the process for the North and the South …

The New York Times reports: Keeping diplomatic developments coming at a head-snapping pace, the South Korean government said on Sunday that North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, had told President Moon Jae-in that he would abandon his nuclear weapons if the United States agreed to formally end the Korean War and promise not to invade his country. In a confidence-building gesture …