Category: South Korea

Ousted South Korean president prepares to return home

In this Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, file photo, a South Korean national flag with a picture of impeached South Korean President Park Geun-hye is seen during a rally opposing her impeachment in Seoul, South Korea. Hundreds of police officers, reporters and supporters of the ousted president have gathered near her Seoul home in anticipation of her return from the presidential palace.

S.Koreans celebrate Park’s removal, but ousted leader silent

A day after a court removed her from power over a corruption scandal, ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye maintained her silence on Saturday as her opponents and supporters divided the capital’s streets with massive rallies that showed a nation deeply split over its future. Park has been unseen and unheard from since the Constitutional Court’s ruling on Friday, which ended a power struggle that had consumed the nation for months.

The Latest: Police say 2 dead in S. Korean protests

The Latest on South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s removal from office Friday by the Constitutional Court : South Korea’s defense minister has ordered the military to be on alert for possible North Korean provocations attempting to exploit “unstable situations at home and abroad.” In a video conference on Friday with military commanders, Defense Minister Han Min Koo said North Korea can make “strategic or operational” provocations at any time.

South Korea’s Scandal-Mired President Is Formally Ousted. What’s Next?

Here's a look at possible scenarios in the frantic weeks ahead and some of the potential presidential contenders vying for the presidential Blue House: With Park now formally unseated, the country, by law, must hold a presidential by-election within 60 days. This means the vote will likely take place on May 9. The winner of the election will be immediately sworn in as the country's leader, according to South Korea's National Election Commission.

South Korea’s president formally ousted by court

Court formally removed impeached President Park Geun-hye from office over a corruption scandal that has plunged the country into political turmoil and worsened an already-serious national divide. It capped a stunning fall for Park, the country’s first female leader who rode a wave of lingering conservative nostalgia for her late dictator father to victory in 2012, only to see her presidency crumble as millions of furious protesters filled the nation’s streets.

North Korea intelligence network active in Malaysia: Source

The presence of North Koreans in the country, masquerading behind careers in various fields, was all planned in order to form an organised intelligence network, a source told Bernama. KUALA LUMPUR: While Malaysia and North Korea are doing their best to solve the diplomatic spat between the two governments, attention is now focused on the presence of more than 1,000 North Korean citizens in Malaysia.

U.S. rejects China’s proposal

South Korea’s Ambassador Cho Tae-yul, left, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, center, and Japan’s Ambassador Koro Bessho hold a joint news conference after consultations of the United Nations Security Council, Wednesday, March 8, 2017. ORG XMIT: UNRD109 less South Korea’s Ambassador Cho Tae-yul, left, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, center, and Japan’s Ambassador Koro Bessho hold a joint news conference after consultations of the United Nations Security Council, … more The United States on Wednesday rejected China’s proposal for a halt to joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises if North Korea suspends its nuclear and missile activities.

U.S. rejects China’s proposal

South Korea’s Ambassador Cho Tae-yul, left, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, center, and Japan’s Ambassador Koro Bessho hold a joint news conference after consultations of the United Nations Security Council, Wednesday, March 8, 2017. ORG XMIT: UNRD109 less South Korea’s Ambassador Cho Tae-yul, left, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, center, and Japan’s Ambassador Koro Bessho hold a joint news conference after consultations of the United Nations Security Council, … more The United States on Wednesday rejected China’s proposal for a halt to joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises if North Korea suspends its nuclear and missile activities.

Why North Korea doesn’t trust China an inch

People walk past portraits of the late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea. Photo / AP The assassination of Kim Jong Nam, the older brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un who had been under Chinese protection and living in Macau, was followed by another round of missile launches by Pyongyang, stirring vocal anger from Seoul and Tokyo and quiet fury from Beijing.

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.

9 Koreans Nabbed on Philippines Sex Tour

Nine Korean men have been arrested in the Philippines in connection with a sex tour to the island of Cebu. They were arrested in a villa in the Central Visayas region on Saturday, according to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul on Monday.

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.

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.

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.

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 .

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.

Key retailer stocks suffer extended loss…

Stocks of major retailers and their affiliates with business ties to China continued to plunge early Monday morning, as Beijing has intensified its measures against South Korea in what appears to be retaliation for the deployment of an advanced US anti-missile battery. Shares of retail giant Lotte Group affiliates were hammered, with Lotte Shopping Co.

SK Innovation set to expand EV battery c…

SK Innovation Co., the country’s top oil refiner, said Monday that its board of directors has approved a proposal to double the company’s electric vehicle battery production capacity, in order to meet growing demand. The proposal calls for the construction of two EV battery production lines, which will churn out EV cells with a combined 2 GWh, larger than its current 1.9 GWh capacity.

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.

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.

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.

South Korea to retaliate against China – discrimination’, says minister

Trade minister says China is taking unfair measures against Chinese firms in protest over Seoul’s decision to deploy an anti-missile shield South Korea’s trade minister said on Sunday the government’s responses against discriminating action by China towards South Korean companies will be strengthened and he feels “deep concern” over recent measures taken by Beijing.

Other mysterious deaths of North Korea’s perceived enemies

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech in Pyongyang in this undated image from video distributed on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017. SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — An outcast from North Korea’s ruling family was killed with a weapon believed to belong to North Korea’s chemical arsenal and several North Koreans are wanted for questioning.

China’s ‘unofficial’ sanctions rattle South Korea

South Korean businesses were rattled Friday by signs that the deployment of a controversial U.S. missile system in the country could spark a travel boycott by China. The government in Seoul said it believed Chinese authorities had told travel agencies in Beijing to stop selling trips to South Korea, intensifying fears of a trade war between the neighbors.