Tag: Skorea

Coronavirus forces BTS to stream album press conference from empty hall

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea’s coronavirus outbreak forced K-pop superstars BTS to Livestream a conference promoting their new album from an empty hall Monday, with members urging fans to take care of themselves. The country has so far confirmed more than 800 cases of the novel coronavirus, by far the largest national total outside China, the origin of the disease. In light of the outbreak BTS streamed the conference on Youtube, the band’s […]

BTS to release new album with 4 million pre-orders

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — K-pop superstars BTS were releasing their new album Friday, breaking records even before it came out as the country’s most pre-ordered album of all time, with its lead single the first track to make its debut on video app TikTok. BTS — or Bangtan Sonyeondan, which translates as Bulletproof Boy Scouts — has gained a huge global following, becoming the first K-pop group to top charts in the US and […]

Samsung joins the fold with Galaxy Z Flip smartphone

by Glenn CHAPMAN SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Samsung on Tuesday unveiled its second folding smartphone, a “Z Flip” handset with a lofty price tag aimed at “trendsetters.” The smartphone flips open, like a case, opening into a 6.7-inch screen, and fits in a pocket when folded. The ultrathin glass used for the screen can be folded and unfolded more than 200,000 times and resists scratches, according to Samsung. The Galaxy Z Flip will […]

China fans desert K-pop star for ‘liking’ Hong Kong tweet

BEIJING, China (AFP) — A South Korean pop star has become the latest celebrity to spark anger on the Chinese internet after he “liked” a tweet about the divisive issue of pro-democracy unrest in Hong Kong. Choi Siwon, a member of popular K-pop boy band Super Junior, was forced to apologize twice after liking a post on Twitter by South Korean newspaper The Chosun Ilbo about the Hong Kong protests. Twitter is blocked in China, […]

K-pop star Goo Hara found dead at her home

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — K-pop star Goo Hara was found dead at her home on Sunday, South Korean police confirmed. Goo, a former member of the girl group Kara, was discovered at her home in Seoul early Sunday evening, officers said. The exact cause of death was still under investigation, they added. South Korea has one of the world’s highest rates of suicide which, according to recent government figures, is among the top causes […]

China bans S. Korea pig imports on swine fever fears

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China has banned pig imports from South Korea after Seoul became the latest to report an outbreak of the African swine fever that has destroyed hog herds and pushed up prices globally. Beijing has been battling to bring an outbreak of the disease among its own pork supply chain under control after at least 1.1 million pigs were culled — an official figure that is widely believed to be much higher. […]

N. Korea fires ‘projectiles’ after offering talks with US

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea on Tuesday fired projectiles toward the sea, South Korea’s military said, hours after Pyongyang said it is willing to hold working-level talks with the United States in late September. Negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington have been gridlocked since a second summit between the North’s leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in February ended without a deal. North Korea twice launched “unidentified projectiles” Tuesday morning in an […]

US approves $800-million in helicopters for SKorea

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US government has approved the sale of $800 million worth of helicopters to South Korea, the Pentagon announced Wednesday, hours after President Donald Trump said Seoul had agreed to pay more for the US military presence in the country. The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the State Department had approved the sale of 12 MH-60R Multi-Mission Seahawk Helicopters and extensive associated radar, communications and weaponry equipment. The helicopters […]

N. Korea threatens more launches after fourth test in 12 days

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea threatened Tuesday to carry out more weapons tests after it fired its fourth set of projectiles in less than two weeks following the start of joint exercises between the US and the South. The rising temperature on the peninsula threatens to derail putative negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington, with the North saying the combined drills were a “flagrant violation” of the process. Pyongyang has always been infuriated by […]

US, S.Korea lack ‘political will’ on peace talks: KCNA

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea on Tuesday said US-South Korean war games are a “flagrant violation” of efforts to reach peace on the Korean peninsula and reflect a lack of “political will” to improve relations. The comments by an unnamed North Korean foreign ministry spokesman, carried by state news agency KCNA, came as Pyongyang fired two “unidentified projectiles” off its eastern coast, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. There were no further […]

S. Korea’s Moon condemns Japan’s ‘reckless’ trade decision

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday condemned Japan’s decision to remove his country from a “white list” of favored trading partners, calling it a “reckless” move and threatening unspecified countermeasures. Tokyo’s “selfish act will inflict tremendous damage on the world economy by disrupting global supply chains”, he said in remarks to a cabinet meeting called at short notice and televised live. “Japan should withdraw its unilateral and unfair measures as […]

Japan to remove Seoul from favored export partner ‘white list’

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan on Friday said it will remove South Korea from a “white list” of favored export partners, a move that Seoul has warned will have “grave consequences” for security ties between the US allies. “The government at a cabinet meeting today approved a revision to the export control law… South Korea, the only Asian nation on the list, will be removed,” Japan’s Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko told reporters. The measure, which […]