Trump administration drops Cha as pick for Seoul envoy

Victor Cha, a former White House official who had been the Trump administration's choice to be the next U.S. ambassador to South Korea, is no longer being considered for the post, two U.S. officials said on Tuesday. The Washington Post quoted people familiar with the matter as saying Cha, a Korean-American, had raised concerns with White House officials over their consideration of a risky limited strike on North Korea and about the administration's threats to tear up a bilateral trade deal with Seoul.

Markets seem unfazed by politics

Despite almost nonstop news coverage recently of the high likelihood and adverse implications of a U.S. government shutdown, the performance of stocks and bonds betrayed little evidence of investor concern. Go back a little further and markets have shown a striking ability to shrug off political and geopolitical instability.

Ex-North Korean Spy: Kim Jong Un Is Using The Olympics As A Weapon

The North boycotted the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, which came several months after North Korean agents bombed a commercial airliner, killing more than 100 people. Kim Hyon-hui, one of the two agents responsible, was captured before she could take her own life as her partner did.

Russia is helping North Korea evade international sanctions: Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday Russia is helping North Korea evade international sanctions and that Pyongyang is getting "closer every day" to being able to deliver a long-range missile to the United States. "Russia is not helping us at all with North Korea," Trump said during an Oval Office interview with Reuters.

Rival Koreas agree to form first unified Olympic team

South Korean Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung, center, speaks to the media before leaving for the border village of Panmunjom to attend South and North Korea meeting, at the Office of the South Korea-North Korea Dialog... . South Korean Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung, center, leaves for the border village of Panmunjom to attend South and North Korea meeting, at the Office of the South Korea-North Korea Dialogue in Seoul, South Korea, We... .

North Korea to send cheering squad in Olympics delegation

South Korean Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung, center, speaks to the media before leaving for the border village of Panmunjom to attend South and North Korea meeting, at the Office of the South Korea-North Korea Dialog... . South Korean Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung, center, leaves for the border village of Panmunjom to attend South and North Korea meeting, at the Office of the South Korea-North Korea Dialogue in Seoul, South Korea, We... .

Global stocks stabilize after China-led wobble

Asian stock markets were lower on Thursday after Wall Street posted i... . Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018.

Trump Taunts Kim: My ‘Nuclear Button’ Is ‘Much Bigger’ Than Yours

President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are once again publicly comparing the size of their respective nuclear arsenals, with the president tweeting that the U.S. "nuclear button" is "much bigger & more powerful" than the one controlled by Pyongyang. Trump's comment on Twitter comes in response to Kim's New Year's address in which the Korean leader warned that the whole of U.S. territory is "within the range of our nuclear strike."

Former Joint Chiefs chairman: Nuclear war with North Korea closer than ever

A former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff warned that President Trump's rhetoric aimed at North Korean likely indicates a more aggressive approach to countering the rogue regime's nuclear weapons program. A former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff warned that President Trump's rhetoric aimed at North Korean likely indicates a more aggressive approach to countering the rogue regime's nuclear weapons program.

Report: Russia Sneaked Oil To North Korea On Multiple Occasions In Recent Months

Russian ships have supplied North Korea with oil on at least three occasions since the U.N. slapped various sanctions on the communist country, according to a report Friday from Reuters. The sale of oil from Russia violates sanctions leveled against North Korea over the isolated country's nuclear program, two Western European security sources told reporters.

North Korea: UN Security Council’s 15-0 Vote Choking a Country into Submission

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is being choked into submission if not starvation by the UN Security Council, by a vote of 15-0; i.e. unanimously. None of the 15 UNSC states, let alone the five permanent members, have had the guts to say no to a killer Resolution, drafted and proposed by the United States of America, a name that increasingly stands for international rogue and crime nation.

North Korea says it’s a ‘pipe dream’ that it will give up nukes

The UN Security Council unanimously approved tough new sanctions against North Korea on Friday in response to its latest launch of a ballistic missile that Pyongyang says can reach anywhere on the US mainland. SEOUL: North Korea said it is a "pipe dream" for the United States to think it will give up its nuclear weapons, and called the latest UN sanctions to target the country "an act of war" that violates its sovereignty.

North Korea calls latest UN sanctions ‘an act of war’

SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of - North Korea on Sunday called the latest U.N. sanctions to target the country "an act of war" that violates its sovereignty, and said it is a "pipe dream" for the United States to think it will give up its nuclear weapons. The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved tough new sanctions against North Korea on Friday in response to its latest launch of a ballistic missile that Pyongyang says can reach anywhere on the U.S. mainland.

Shirtless US and South Korea marines meet for sub-zero winter drills

South Korea and US Marines warm up on a snowy hill during a joint winter drill in Pyeongchang US marines teamed up with South Korean officers in military drills in a defiant show of strength on the doorstep of North Korea. Soldiers also took part in hand-to-hand combat and skiing, with a major emphasis placed on team building of marines on both sides.

Stealth jets, other aircraft fly in U.S., South Korean drills

A U.S. Air Force U-2s spy plane prepared to land at the Osan U.S. Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Monday. Hundreds of aircraft including two dozen stealth jets began training Monday as the United States and South Korea launched their combined air force exercise.

US, South Korea begin largest-ever joint air drill

The U.S. and South Korea on Dec. 4 kicked off their largest ever joint air exercise, an operation North Korea has labelled an "all-out provocation," days after Pyongyang fired its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile. The five-day Vigilant Ace drill -- involving 230 aircraft, including F-22 Raptor stealth jet fighters, and tens of thousands of troops -- began Monday morning, Seoul's air force said.

US stealth jets arrive in South Korea as North Korean rhetoric heats up

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalated over the weekend as US stealth fighters moved into the region and official sources from both North Korea and the US said the chances of war are growing. The bellicose rhetoric from North Korea came in two phases: On Saturday, a statement from its Foreign Ministry said US President Donald Trump is "begging for a nuclear war" through what it called an "extremely dangerous nuclear gamble on the Korean Peninsula"; A day later, a commentary from Pyongyang's Rodong Sinmun newspaper, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, said US-South Korea joint air exercises scheduled for Monday to Friday are a "dangerous provocation" pushing the region "to the brink of a nuclear war."