Category: Asia

US, China lock horns on missile defense against NKorea

In this March 7, 2017, photo, protesters shout slogans during a rally to oppose the plan to deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, in front of the Defense Ministry in Seoul, South Korea. If China was hoping for a concession from the U.S. after recently suspending coal imports from cash-poor North Korea it got the opposite.

Police say terror suspect killed in gunbattle in north India

Police say they have killed a man suspected of masterminding the bombing of a passenger train that injured eight people this week in India. Senior Police official A. Satish Ganesh said Wednesday that an anti-terrorist police squad engaged the suspect in an 11-hour gunbattle overnight after tracking him down at the home of a Muslim cleric in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

Turkish Stream, Akkuyu NPP high on agenda at Moskow-Ankara talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan will discuss the implementation of projects on building the first Turkish nuclear power plant Akkuyu and the construction of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline during the meeting in Moscow scheduled for March 10. “The agenda, in particular, includes the implementation of joint projects to build the first Turkish nuclear power plant Akkuyu and the construction of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline,” RIA Novosti reported with reference to the Kremlin statement. In addition, the leaders of the countries “will discuss the entire complex of issues of Russian-Turkish relations with an emphasis on further restoring mutually beneficial trade and economic ties.”

Malaysian PM Hints at Severing Ties with N.Korea

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak hinted at the possibility of severing diplomatic ties with North Korea completely after it kicked out the North Korean ambassador over the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half-brother, Kim Jong-nam. Asked if it was possible that all ties with the rogue nation will be severed, Najib said Malaysia has to wait and see, according to the Star daily.

North Korea bans Malaysians from leaving

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his estranged older half-brother Kim Jong Nam, who was murdered at Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur airport. Pyongyang says it will ban Malaysians from leaving North Korea amid diplomatic disputes over the death of leader Kim Jong Un’s estranged half-brother.

US moves parts of controversial missile defence to SKorea

SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of – U.S. missile launchers and other equipment needed to set up a controversial missile defence system have arrived in South Korea, the U.S. and South Korean militaries said Tuesday, a day after North Korea test-launched four ballistic missiles into the ocean near Japan. The plans to deploy the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence system, or THAAD, by the end of this year have angered not only North Korea, but also China and Russia, which see the system’s powerful radars as a security threat.

US setting up missile defense system in South Korea

The United States has begun to set up an anti-missile system in South Korea to help protect that nation from a possible North Korean attack. The arrival of the first elements of the system had been long-planned but occurred the day after another round of provocative North Korean missile tests.

Missile tests add pressure on Trump over North Korea

South Korea army soldiers install a tent in Yeoncheon, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Monday, March 6, 2017. North Korea on Monday fired four banned ballistic missiles that flew about 1,000 kilometers , with three of them landing in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, South Korean and Japanese officials said, in an apparent reaction to huge military drills by Washington and Seoul that Pyongyang insists are an invasion rehearsal.

Missile tests add pressure on Trump over North Korea

South Korea army soldiers install a tent in Yeoncheon, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Monday, March 6, 2017. North Korea on Monday fired four banned ballistic missiles that flew about 1,000 kilometers , with three of them landing in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, South Korean and Japanese officials said, in an apparent reaction to huge military drills by Washington and Seoul that Pyongyang insists are an invasion rehearsal.

Kim Jong Un supervised North Korea missile launch, state media says

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the country’s ballistic missile launches Monday, according to North Korea’s state news agency KCNA. The report called the test a drill of the army’s Hwasong artillery units, part of a strategic force “tasked to strike the bases of the US imperialist aggressor forces in Japan in contingency.”

US condemns a unacceptablea North Korea missile launches

The U.S. State Department said it “strongly condemns” the launches of several missiles by North Korea on Sunday, calling it a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. “The United States strongly condemns [North Korea’s] ballistic missile launches tonight, which violate UN Security Council Resolutions explicitly prohibiting North Korea’s launches using ballistic missile technology,” State Dept.

Prosecutor accuses Samsung chief of conspiring to hide…

He denies any knowledge of alleged bribery payments from Samsung to entities controlled by a friend of the impeached South Korean president The billionaire was put in a 71-square-foot detention cell with a toilet in the corner when he was arrested SEOUL – A special prosecutor accused Samsung chief Jay Y. Lee of plotting to make fake documents to disguise millions of dollars in bribes. South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye colluded with her friend Choi Soon-sil to receive the bribes from Samsung Group, the prosecutor said in a statement on Monday.

India overestimates Dalai Lama’s political value: Chinese media

The Chinese media has accused India of using the Dalai Lama card to deal with China’s growing economic and political influence in South Asia and warned New Delhi of “severe consequences” if it hosted the Tibetan spiritual leader in a “disputed” area in Arunachal Pradesh. “Despite objections by China, India will host the Dalai Lama in a disputed region on the China-India border in coming weeks,” state-run Global Times said in an op-ed.

N. Koreans’ cyber lives rigidly censored

North Koreans have gained unprecedented connectedness with greater access to media and devices like cellphones over Kim Jong Un’s five-year rule. But residents’ embrace of a state-controlled network has opened the way to unparalleled state censorship and surveillance in the long-isolated, totalitarian country.

2,000-year-old bronze ware unearthed in Chengdu

Chinese archeologists discovered a large deposit of bronze items in Chengdu, capital of Southwest China’s Sichuan province, when excavating a tomb cluster dating from between the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period . Wang Tianyou, head of the archeological team from the Chengdu Cultural Relic Research Institute, said they have excavated 180 tombs in an area the size of two soccer fields, from which 540 bronze ware items were unearthed, ranging from weapons, utensils and tools to ritual statues.

Changzhou Culture Week held in Berlin

The China Cultural Center in the German capital of Berlin has hosted a series of activities to celebrate the 45th anniversary of ties between China and Germany. The three-day Changzhou Culture Week, held from Feb 24-26, featured cultural elements from China’s Jiangnan – the Southern reaches of the Yangtze River – including folk music, opera, and exhibitions of paintings, calligraphy and traditional Chinese handicrafts.

DPRK fires multiple ballistic missiles into east waters

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has fired multiple ballistic missiles into east waters as combined forces of South Korea and the United States launched their joint military exercises, the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea said Monday. The JCS was quoted by local media as saying that several ballistic missiles of an unidentified type were fired from Tongchanri-ri in the DPRK’s northwest region at about 7:36 am local time .

Xi calls on Shanghai to lead way

Chinese President Xi Jinping joins a panel discussion with deputies to the 12th National People’s Congress from Shanghai Municipality at the annual session of the NPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua] President Xi Jinping said China will continue to open up in all respects, particularly in further liberalizing and facilitating trade and investment, while calling on Sunday for Shanghai to take a leading role in deepening reform and boosting innovation.

North Korea fires 4 banned ballistic missiles into sea

A visitor walks by the TV screen showing a news program reporting about North Korea’s missile firing, at Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 6, 2017. North Korea on Monday fired four banned ballistic missiles that flew about 1,000 kilometers , with three of them landing in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, South Korean and Japanese officials said, in an apparent reaction to huge military drills by Washington and Seoul that Pyongyang insists are an invasion rehearsal.

Internet helps promote organ donation in China

The myriad services just a swipe of the finger away in China are no longer limited to food delivery, airport check-ins, or finding a bike on the street. Once beset by misconceptions and opaque proceedings, the Internet is unleashing explosive growth of people signing up for organ donation.

Korean govt. tightens monitoring of economy, financial market

The South Korean government said Monday that it will monitor the local financial market and the economy around the clock in order to reduce any possible fallout from North Korea’s latest missile launch. The unidentified projectiles were launched from an area near the North’s Dongchang-ri long-range missile site at 7:36 a.m. and flew about 1,000 kilometers before splashing into the East Sea, according to the military.

Malaysian mission in Pyongyang should be closed: ex-diplomat

A former ranking Malaysian diplomat has asserted that his country should shut down its embassy in Pyongyang as a countermeasure against North Korea’s alleged assassination of Kim Jong-nam, a half brother of the North’s leader Kim Jong-un, a US broadcaster reported Monday. The Pyongyang-based Malaysian mission which is virtually of no use should be surely closed as a strong message to the North that the acts it is now conducting can never be accepted, Dennis Ignatius was quoted as saying in a phone interview with Voice of America.

N. Korea fires more banned missiles

In this Feb. 2, 2017 file photo, a mock North Korea’s Scud-B missile, center left, and South Korean missiles are displayed at Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, South Korea. North Korea on Monday, March 6, 2017, fired a projectile into the waters off its east coast, South Korea’s military said, in an apparent missile test that comes days after Washington and Seoul began huge military drills that Pyongyang insists are an invasion rehearsal.

N.Korean ambassador faces deadline to leave Malaysia

North Korea’s ambassador to Malaysia faced a deadline to leave the country Monday after authorities here declared him “persona non grata” and accused Pyongyang of trying to manipulate the investigation into the poisoning of Kim Jong Nam, the North Korean leader’s half brother, at a Kuala Lumpur airport. The Malaysian government on Saturday gave Ambassador Kang Chol 48 hours to leave the country after he refused to apologize for his strong accusations over Malaysia’s handling of the investigation into the Feb. 13 killing.

Spring Festival events attended by 280 mln overseas

The Ministry of Culture said it organized more than 2,000 events to celebrate this year’s Spring Festival in over 500 cities of more than 140 countries and regions. Addressing a meeting held here on Saturday and Sunday on cultural events, Minister Luo Shugang said that 280 million people overseas attended Spring Festival celebrations.

Chinese automaker FAW sees robust sales growth

FAW Group, a leading Chinese automaker, said that sales surged at the start of the year on the back of expanding sales outlets. FAW Group, based in the northeastern city of Changchun, reported over the weekend that wholesale volume of various vehicles rose 21 percent year on year to 552,000 units in the first two months of this year.

Veil on military funds

Parliament’s spokesperson, Fu Ying, said yesterday defence spending for this year would rise about 7 per cent, accounting for about 1.3 per cent of gross domestic product – the same level as the last few years. However, the actual defence spending target for this year was not included in the country’s budget released at the opening of parliament’s annual session on Sunday, as it has been in previous years.

Lotte may harm itself by yielding to THAAD

No THAAD! Lotte out of China!” This is what was written on the banner held by a group of protesters in front of a Lotte-invested supermarket in the city of Qidong, East China’s Jiangsu province, on Thursday. Such protests were organised after the Republic of Korea conglomerate Lotte Group accepted a plot of land in exchange for its Skyhill Golf Course in Seongju where the US’ Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system will be deployed, a move which China is strongly opposed to because it will destabilise the strategic balance in East Asia in favor of the United States.

Leader backs trade jump with Baku

In a meeting with visiting Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Sunday, the Supreme Leader called for a 10-fold hike in trade between Iran and Azerbaijan given the great potential in the two countries. “The level of economic cooperation is very low compared to the two countries’ potentialities and facilities, and trade turnover should increase up to 10 times of the current level,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei suggested.

South Korea to quadruple reward fee for North Korean defectors

South Korea is quadrupling its reward fee for defectors from North Korea who are willing to hand over classified information on the reclusive country’s military secrets. The Ministry of Unification announced Sunday that it would pay up to 1 billion won — eclipsing the previous maximum of 250 million won.

Japan’s emperor pays respects to Thailand’s late king

Japanese Emperor Akihito paid his respects to the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej on Sunday, arriving in Bangkok following a weeklong trip to Vietnam aimed at winning support against Chinese expansionism. The monarchies – two of a handful remaining in Asia – have maintained close ties.