The 32-year-old Vonn’s return from injury is still on track as she prepares for Saturday’s World Cup downhill at the venue for the Pyeongchang Games, where she won training runs on back-to-back days. In bright sunshine and mild conditions in the Pyeongchang region of South Korea on Friday, Vonn finished the 2.7-kilometer course 0.10 ahead of Ilka Stuhec, the world downhill champion from Slovenia.
Category: South Korea
North Korea ties at worst point in decades, South Korea says
North Korea relations have fallen to their worst point in decades and talks are off the table until Kim Jong Un’s regime is ready to give up its nuclear weapons, South Korea Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo said in an interview. “It’s been over 20 years since North Korea’s nuclear threats started, and tensions are at their worst,” Hong, who oversees policy on North Korea, said on Thursday in Seoul.
The Latest: N. Korean envoy rejects Malaysian autopsy
Media film and photograph a North Korean diplomatic vehicle leaving the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, March 2, 2017. Malaysia is scrapping visa-free entry for North Koreans traveling into the country, the state news agency said Thursday in the latest fallout from a deadly nerve agent attack at Kuala Lumpur airport.
North Korea accuses South Korea and US of murder of its citizen
PETALING JAYA: In denying its own involvement, North Korea has accused South Korea and the United States of killing one of its citizens. Yonhap, the largest news agency in South Korea, reported that the deceased was not acknowledged as the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The strange life, and sudden death, of a North Korean exile
The heavy-set man got out of a taxi one night last September and headed for the lobby bar of the swank Wynn Macau – a quiet place, where women are often in evening dresses and gamblers can relax with $300 Cuban cigars. He was dressed casually.
Malaysia to charge two women with murder of Kim Jong Nam
Two women accused of killing the half-brother of North Korea’s leader with a nerve agent in a Kuala Lumpur airport terminal will be charged with murder on Wednesday, Malaysia’s chief prosecutor has said. Mohamed Apandi Ali said the charges against Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong would bring a mandatory death sentence if they are convicted.
NKorea official in Beijing after China’s ban on coal imports
A senior North Korean diplomat arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for talks following China’s ban on coal imports from its neighbor and the killing of the exiled half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Vice Foreign Minister Ri Kil Song will hold talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on “issues of common concern,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a daily news briefing.
NKorea official in Beijing after China’s ban on coal imports
A senior North Korean diplomat arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for talks following China’s ban on coal imports from its neighbor and the killing of the exiled half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Vice Foreign Minister Ri Kil Song will hold talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on “issues of common concern,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a daily news briefing.
Samsung Group to abolish all groupwide tasks
Seoul, Feb 27 – South Korean electronics giant Samsung is planning to abolish its groupwide tasks and let affiliates independently make business decisions, an official said on Monday. The plan is in line with Samsung’s move to abolish the group’s key future strategy office, which has been responsible for coordinating key affairs among affiliates, Yonhap news agency reported.
Kim Jong Nam died within 20 minutes of exposure to nerve agent at airport
A man watches a television showing news reports of Kim Jong-Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, in Seoul on February 14, 2017. Kim Jong-Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has been assassinated in Malaysia, South Korean media reported on February 14. / AFP / JUNG Yeon-Je A man watches a television showing news reports of Kim Jong-Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, in Seoul on February 14, 2017.
Why N. Korea may have used VX to kill leader’s half brother
SEOUL, South Korea>> Was it a poorly executed assassination or did North Korea want to showcase its stockpile of banned chemical weapons? The use of the highly toxic VX warfare agent to kill the estranged half brother of North Korea’s leader has raised questions about Pyongyang’s real motives in one of the strangest killings the world has seen. Some say North Korea, in allegedly bringing a U.N.-classified weapon of mass destruction to kill a man at a busy international airport, intended to show the world what it can do with chemical weapons, which are easily forgotten amid concerns about the country’s advancing nuclear missile technologies.
Korea to conclude land acquisition for THAAD battery this week
South Korea is expected to conclude the land acquisition for the US advanced missile defense system this week with actual deployment to be completed by late June at the earliest, the military said Sunday. The defense ministry said administrative measures to take over the Seongju golf club owned by retail giant Lotte Group will be completed soon.
FM Yun to raise voice against N. Korea’s human rights, chemical weapons issues
South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will attend international conferences this week to speak out against North Korea’s human rights abuses and shed light on Pyongyang’s use of chemical weapons, government officials said Sunday. Yun plans to visit Geneva on Monday and Tuesday to attend a session of the UN Human Rights Council and the Conference on Disarmament, Seoul’s foreign ministry said.
Failure to launch foundation on NK human rights to enter sixth month
South Korea has yet to launch a foundation to support civic groups’ activities that aim to improve North Korea’s human rights situation even though a relevant law took effect six months ago, government officials said Sunday. The law aimed at improving North Korea’s dismal human rights situation came into force in September 2016, but the foundation has failed to start work as the main opposition party is delaying recommending candidates for board members, sources said.
S. Korea, US moving to use latest detection gear to counter NK chemical biological threats
South Korea and the United States are moving to employ their latest detection equipment to prepare for North Korean chemical and biological weapons in the joint military drill planned for this year, sources said Sunday. The move is in response to Pyongyang being accused of using the lethal VX nerve agent to kill Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, at a crowded airport in Malaysia on Feb. 13. The allies have been conducting the Able Response chemical and biological warfare exercise every year for the past six years.
AP Explains: What chemical weapons N. Korea possesses
North Korea may have found a new use for its large stockpile of chemical and biological weapons, which are meant to attack South Korean and U.S. troops in case of another war. Malaysian police said Friday that a chemical weapon – the toxic VX nerve agent – was used to kill the estranged half brother of Pyongyang’s absolute leader at the Kuala Lumpur airport on Feb. 13. If North Korea’s involvement is confirmed, this would be an unusual and extremely high-profile use of its chemicals in an assassination.
Thomas L Friedman: Meet the five Trump administrations
It should be clear by now that there are five different Trump administrations swirling before our eyes – Trump Entertainment, Trump Cleanup, Trump Crazy, Trump GOP and the Essential Trump – and no one can predict which will define this presidency, let alone make a success of it. Trump Entertainment shows up every day now in the form of an outrageous “alternative fact,” a pugnacious news conference, a tweet denouncing the news media as “the enemy of the American people” – or as a pep rally in Florida, unconnected to any particular legislative agenda and organized entirely for the purpose of giving the president an ego sugar high.
AP Explains: What chemical weapons does N. Korea possess
North Korea may have found a new use for its large stockpile of chemical and biological weapons, which are meant to attack South Korean and U.S. troops in case of another war. Malaysian police said Friday that a chemical weapon – the toxic VX nerve agent – was used to kill the estranged half brother of Pyongyang’s absolute leader at the Kuala Lumpur airport on Feb. 13. If North Korea ‘s involvement is confirmed, this would be an unusual and extremely high-profile use of its chemicals in an assassination.
AP Explains: What chemical weapons does N. Korea possess
North Korea may have found a new use for its large stockpile of chemical and biological weapons, which are meant to attack South Korean and U.S. troops in case of another war. Malaysian police said Friday that a chemical weapon – the toxic VX nerve agent – was used to kill the estranged half brother of Pyongyang’s absolute leader at the Kuala Lumpur airport on Feb. 13. If North Korea ‘s involvement is confirmed, this would be an unusual and extremely high-profile use of its chemicals in an assassination.
Life expectancy is going up everywhere except in the U.S.
Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events Elderly people work out with wooden dumbbells in the grounds of a temple in Tokyo to celebrate Japan’s Respect for the Aged Day. The estimated number of people ages 80 or older topped the 8 million mark for the first time in Japan.
North Korea has large chemical weapons stockpile: Seoul
North Korea has not signed a global chemical weapons convention that prohibits the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons. Kim Jong-Nam , the murdered half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un AFP/Toshifumi KITAMURA, Ed JONES SEOUL: North Korea has up to 5,000 tonnes of chemical weapons, South Korean experts said Friday , including the toxin used to assassinate its leader’s half-brother.
N.Korea Blames Seoul for Kim Jong-nam’s Death
North Korea in its first statement on the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, the estranged half-brother of leader Kim Jong-un, alleged a conspiracy orchestrated by South Korea. Without naming Kim Jong-nam, whom it merely described as “a citizen” of North Korea, the official KCNA news agency accused Malaysian authorities of conspiring with South Korea to sabotage the North.
Toxic nerve agent VX was used to murder North Korean leader’s half brother in Malaysia
Swabs taken from Kim Jong Nam show he was killed by a chemical classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations. Malaysian police have revealed a preliminary report has shown the murder of Kim Jong Nam was carried out using a highly toxic chemical known as VX nerve agent.
N.Korea raps China over post-assassination sanctions
North Korea issued a rare reproach of China on Thursday, saying its main diplomatic backer was “dancing to the tune” of the United States for halting North Korean coal imports because of its nuclear and missile programmes. The North’s state-run KCNA news agency did not refer directly to China by name but in an unmistakable censure it accused a “neighbouring country” of going along with North Korea’s enemies to “bring down its social system”.
Northrop’s Presentation of Bereishit Dance Company is Cancelled, 2/28
Northrop’s planned presentation of Bereishit Dance Company of Seoul, South Korea has been cancelled. The company was scheduled to appear on Tuesday, February 28 as part of the Northrop Dance 2016//17 season, but has not yet been granted visas for their U.S. tour.
US muscle flexing not a cure to DPRK issue
A surface-to-surface medium- and long-range ballistic missile Pukguksong-2 is test-fired by DPRK on Jan 12, 2017. [Photo/VCG] China will not import coal from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for the rest of 2017, the Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday.
Analysis: As China ups heat on NKorea, US faces questions
China’s surprising suspension of North Korean coal imports puts pressure not only on Pyongyang, but also on President Donald Trump. The question for him: Should the U.S. respond with new North Korea negotiations? Years of failed efforts to stem North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs have followed a usual pattern.
Police: Suspects in N. Korean death coated hands with poison
The two women suspected of fatally poisoning a scion of North Korea’s ruling family were trained to coat their hands with toxic chemicals, then wipe them on his face, police in Malaysia said Wednesday, announcing they were seeking a North Korean diplomat in connection with the attack. But the North Korean Embassy ridiculed the police account of Kim Jong Nam’s death, demanding the immediate release of the two “innocent women” and saying there was no way they could have poisoned him.
Police: Suspects in N. Korean death coated hands with poison
The women suspected of fatally poisoning a scion of North Korea’s ruling family were trained to coat their hands with toxic chemicals then wipe them on his face, police said Wednesday, announcing they were now seeking a North Korean diplomat in connection with the attack. Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar told reporters that authorities are searching for two new North Korean suspects, including the second secretary of North Korea’s embassy in Kuala Lumpur and an employee of North Korea’s state-owned airline Air Koryo.
Study: Life expectancy to keep rising, though U.S. to lag behind
While most people born in rich countries will live longer by 2030 – with women in South Korea projected to reach nearly 91 – Americans will continue to have one of the lowest life expectancies of any developed country, a new study predicts. Scientists once thought an average life expectancy beyond 90 was impossible but medical advances combined with improved social programs are continuing to break barriers, including in countries where many people already live well into old age, according to the study’s lead researcher, Majid Ezzati of Imperial College London.
ROK conglomerate will damage its business if it agrees to missile deal
File photo shows Seoungju residents chant slogans during a protest against the government’s decision on deploying a US THAAD anti-missile defense unit in Seongju, in Seoul, South Korea, July 21, 2016. The banner reads “Desperately oppose deploying THAAD”.
Beijing likely to steer clear of Kim killing
Wading into the killing of Kim Jong-nam would only antagonise North Korea, at a time when its missile programme is the leading concern, experts say Beijing will maintain its distance from the murky saga of the murder of the estranged elder brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in a bid to avoid further complicating its relations with its volatile neighbour, diplomatic sources and Chinese observers said. It is not known whether the head of the reclusive state was involved in the killing of Kim Jong-nam, but even if the younger Kim was linked to the death, Beijing was expected to stay silent as any accusations would only drive Pyongyang further into isolation.
Four North Korean suspects fled Malaysia after airport Kim Jong Nam’s murder
Four North Korean suspects in the murder of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un fled Malaysia on the day he was attacked at Kuala Lumpur airport and apparently killed by a fast-acting poison, police said Sunday. A North Korean man, a Vietnamese woman and an Indonesian woman have been arrested already in connection with the death of Kim Jong Nam last Monday, which has triggered a diplomatic spat between Malaysia and Pyongyang.
Coco Rocha joined by daughter to ring Nasdaq closing bell
EXCLUSIVE: ‘She cares more about destroying me than her own kids.’ Ex of ‘vindictive’ Lisa Marie Presley hits back at claims she found ‘disturbing’ pictures of children on his computer, promising bombshell revelations about her ‘It’s a fake presidency’: Mika Brzezinski fires back at Trump after the President’s marathon press conference criticizing the media and Morning Joe’s feud with advisor Kellyanne Conway Revealed, the intriguing truth about infidelity: Only men have the adultery gene, career women fuel divorce and men stray most aged 55 to 65 Massachusetts woman ‘is raped and nearly a dozen tourists are bound and robbed’ by masked gunmen at popular Colombian beach resort Manchester United soccer legend Dwight Yorke ‘is denied entry into US’ under Trump’s border laws because of ‘Iranian stamp in his passport’ ‘Far exceeded my expectations’: Face transplant recipient hails staggering … (more)
Was it brother? Lover? Or crime gang? Rumors abound in North Korea
As Malaysian police continue their inquiry into the death of Kim Jong Nam, the outcast half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, there’s plenty of speculation surrounding what seems as one of the stranger killings the world has recently seen. North Korea killed Kim Jong Nam because he planned to create an exile government around defectors, says one rumor.
Samsung boss arrested on corruption charges
Lee Jae-Yong is the son of Samsung chairman Kun-Hee Lee and due to take full control of the company. Lee has become the first Samsung boss to be arrested .
Was it brother? Lover? Or crime gang? N. Korea rumors abound
In this June 4, 2010, file photo, dressed in jeans and blue suede loafers, Kim Jong Nam, the eldest son of then North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, waves after his first-ever interview with South Korean media in Macau. Kim was assassinated at an airport in Kuala Lumpur, telling medical workers before he died that he had been attacked with a chemical spray a Malaysian official said Tuesday.
Donna Air and Kate’s brother James Middleton lucky in love
EXCLUSIVE: ‘She cares more about destroying me than her own kids.’ Ex of ‘vindictive’ Lisa Marie Presley hits back at claims she found ‘disturbing’ pictures of children on his computer, promising bombshell revelations about her ‘It’s a fake presidency’: Mika Brzezinski fires back at Trump after the President’s marathon press conference criticizing the media and Morning Joe’s feud with advisor Kellyanne Conway Will you be able to use your FACE to unlock the iPhone 8? New handset ‘will have a front-facing 3D laser scanner so it recognizes you’ Democrat from ultra-liberal Portland, Oregon says he’s looking at the 25th amendment because he fears for Trump’s mental health ‘I woke up to see a little boy at the end of my bed’: People reveal the creepiest things that have ever happened to them Batten down the hatches: Most powerful storm to hit southern California in years barrels in bringing up … (more)
How North Korean mountain and myth may have inspired murder
A desolate but lovely volcano on the North Korea-China border could be the key to unraveling the sudden, mysterious death of an exiled scion of North Korean royalty.
Acting president pledges to nurture 100 global venture firms by 2020
Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Friday pledged to nurture 100 global venture firms by 2020 as part of the government’s efforts to promote startups, create jobs and revitalize the economy. To achieve this goal, the government plans to provide “strategic, tailored” assistance, including legal counseling, to help venture firms prepare for their entry into foreign markets or expand their presence abroad.