Tag Archives: South Korea

The Korea Herald reports: Tens of thousands of people marched through central Seoul on Saturday to stand up for equality for sexual minorities in South Korea’s biggest pride parade, despite vocal opposition from anti-gay protesters. Despite sporadic rain, 85,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their supporters gathered at Seoul Plaza, rally organizers said. It was the largest crowd …

The Hill reports: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said early Sunday that he doesn’t think President Trump is planning a preemptive strike against North Korea. “I don’t think so, Jake,” McCain told host Jake Tapper on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I think that we have to consider that option as the very last option. And for a number of reasons …

The Telegraph reports: Mike Pence, the US vice president, fired another clear shot across North Korea’s bow on Wednesday, warning that Washington’s “shield stands guard and sword stands ready”. Speaking to more than 2,500 US and Japanese military personnel on the flight deck of the USS Ronald Reagan as it was moored in the US naval base at Yokosuka, 50 …

Reuters reports: U.S. Vice President Mike Pence put North Korea on notice on Monday, warning that recent U.S. strikes in Syria and Afghanistan showed that the resolve of President Donald Trump should not be tested. Pence and South Korean acting president Hwang Kyo-ahn, speaking a day after a failed missile test by the North and two days after a huge …

The New York Times reports: China warned on Friday that tensions on the Korean Peninsula could spin out of control, as North Korea said it could test a nuclear weapon at any time and an American naval group neared the peninsula in a show of resolve. “The United States and South Korea and North Korea are engaging in tit for …

CNN reports: Amid increasing tension with North Korea, Vice President Mike Pence will travel to South Korea Saturday, on a scheduled trip as part of his first official visit to the Asia-Pacific region. The trip comes at a critical moment for the Trump administration and US allies, after escalated posturing from North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un and growing concerns …

NBC News reports: The U.S. is prepared to launch a preemptive strike with conventional weapons against North Korea should officials become convinced that North Korea is about to follow through with a nuclear weapons test, multiple senior U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News. North Korea has warned that a “big event” is near, and U.S. officials say signs point to …

NASDAQ.com reports: The benchmark averages have surrendered earlier gains on news that China has deployed 150,000 troops to the North Korean border, and the U.S. is considering further sanctions against Russia. The reports caused the S&P 500 to falter at trendline resistance at 2,370 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average to fall back to support at the 50-day moving average. …

Reuters reports: Samsung Group chief Jay Y. Lee was arrested on Friday over his alleged role in a corruption scandal rocking the highest levels of power in South Korea, dealing a fresh blow to the technology giant and standard-bearer for Asia’s fourth-largest economy. The special prosecutor’s office accuses Lee of bribing a close friend of President Park Geun-hye to gain …

The New York Times reports: North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward the sea off its eastern coast on Sunday, in what South Korea called the North’s first attempt to test President Trump’s policy on the isolated country. The projectile took off at 7:55 a.m. from Banghyon, a town near North Korea’s northwestern border with China, and flew 310 miles …

AFP reports: A giant South Korean-built manned robot that walks like a human but makes the ground shake under its weight has taken its first baby steps. Designed by a veteran of science fiction blockbusters, the four-metre-tall (13-foot), 1.5 ton Method-2 towers over a room on the outskirts of Seoul. The hulking human-like creation bears a striking resemblance to the …

Reuters reports: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd scrapped its flagship Galaxy Note 7 smartphone on Tuesday less than two months after its launch, dealing a huge blow to its reputation and outlook after failing to resolve safety concerns. Samsung announced the recall of 2.5 million Note 7s in early September following numerous reports of the phones catching fire and on Tuesday …

Stars & Stripes reports: South Korea has signed off on a U.S. decision to give same-sex couples the same legal protections and benefits as military families under the status of forces agreement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday. The statement came after the American Military Partner Association, a Washington-based advocacy group, announced that South Korea had been added to …

Forbes reports: Gay pride faced Christian outrage in central Seoul in a showdown that dramatized the conflict between Korea’s deeply conservative values and the country’s latter-day surge toward democratic equality. Advocates and foes of gay rights clashed after a gay pride rally on the grassy plaza in front of Seoul City Hall that drew several thousand people — many celebrating …

Via Buzzfeed: A court in the South Korean capital Seoul ruled Tuesday that police violated the law when they banned a pride march to be held June 28 as the culmination of the Korean Queer Cultural Festival, according to a press release from organizers. Police had denied permits to hold the march, citing conflicting applications for events that overlapped the …

Citing threats from Christian groups who last year physically blockaded the Seoul Pride parade, last week the Seoul police denied a permit for what would be South Korea’s 16th annual such event. The Korea Queer Cultural Festival kicked off this week anyway, but not without a rabble of Christian protesters who were watched over by about 1000 cops. Via the …

Earlier this week Seoul police banned this year’s gay pride parade, citing threats from Christian groups who disrupted last year’s parade by lying down in the street. Today the parade’s organizers are vowing to stage their event anyway. Woo Ji-Young, executive director of the festival’s organising committee, accused the police of caving in to pressure from conservative Christians. “The police …

Last year Christian activists disrupted Seoul Pride when hundreds lay down in the street to prevent the parade from proceeding. That tactic may prevent this year’s parade from happening at all. Via the Korea Observer: South Korea’s Pride Parade has been rejected by the Namdaemun Police Station and Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency due to pressure from conservative groups according to …

Via RT News: North Korea has said the razor attack on the US ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, was “just punishment” for the two countries’ joint military drills. The assault has left the US official’s face slashed, but he is now recovering. Lippert was at a breakfast forum earlier in central Seoul when the attack occurred. During the attack, …

Via press release: At 5 PM on December 10, the fifth day of the sit-in, the mayor requested a private conversation with the protesters. Consequently, a delegation consisting of six representatives from both LGBT activist groups and civil NGOs met with him. From the start, dialogue had been one of the protesters’ demands. During the private conversation, the mayor apologized …