SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) — South Korean presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo cast his vote on Tuesday (May 9) in Seoul. Ahn Cheol-soo of the centrist People’s Party was joined by his wife and daughter when he voted at a polling station in Seoul. The vote will end months of leadership vacuum. Park was ousted on charges of bribery and abuse of power in March to become South Korea’s first democratically elected president to be forced […]
Tag: South Korea
Polls open in South Korea’s presidential election
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Koreans went to the polls Tuesday to choose a new president after Park Geun-Hye was ousted and indicted for corruption, this against a backdrop of high tensions with the nuclear-armed North. More than 139,000 voting stations opened at 6 am local time (2100 GMT) across the country under overcast skies, with turnout expected to hit a record high. Voters have been galvanized by anger over the sprawling bribery and abuse-of-power […]
N. Korea accuses CIA of plot to assassinate Kim Jong-Un
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea on Friday accused the Central Intelligence Agency of plotting with South Korea to assassinate leader Kim Jong-Un, amid soaring tensions in the flashpoint region. The CIA and Seoul’s Intelligence Services have “hatched a vicious plot” involving unspecified “biochemical substances” to kill the hermit state’s young leader during public ceremonial events in Pyongyang, the Ministry of State Security said. For the CIA “assassination by use of biochemical substances including radioactive […]
South Korea’s ‘Bill Gates’ seeks to break political mould
by Park Chan-Kyong, Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — One of the main challenges to the frontrunner in South Korea’s presidential race is an IT multi-millionaire who has given away much of his fortune and is now looking to break the country’s political mold. Ahn Cheol-Soo was pursuing medical studies at the prestigious Seoul National University in 1988 when his computer became infected with Brain, regarded as the first widespread technological virus. Burning […]
Crane collapses in South Korea, kills five
GEOJE, South Korea (Reuters) – At least five people were killed in Geoje, South Korea on Monday (May 1) after a crane collapsed and fell onto a construction site, fire station authorities said. Samsung Heavy Industries’ 32-tonne crane toppled at around 2:50 p.m. (0550 GMT) injured 20 people. Six of them are in serious condition, authorities added. Geoje is a coastal city located about 400 km (250 miles) southeast of Seoul South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries […]
China demands US halt missile shield in S. Korea
BEIJING, China (AFP) — China called Tuesday for the immediate suspension of a controversial missile defense system hours after Washington confirmed the shield was now operational in South Korea. “China’s position is clear-cut and firm. We oppose the deployment of the (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) system in (South Korea) and urge relevant sides to immediately stop the deployment. We will firmly take necessary measures to uphold our interests,” foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at […]
S.Korea says U.S. strategic bombers flew over Korean peninsula in joint drill
OSAN, South Korea (Reuters) — Two U.S. B-1B bombers were deployed over the Korean peninsula on Monday (May 1) during a joint drill with South Korea’s air force, South Korea’s ministry said. South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told a briefing that the deployment of U.S. bombers was part of efforts to deter provocation by North Korea and respond to threats posed by the North’s nuclear and missile programs.
THAAD missile defense system now operational in S. Korea
by Thomas Watkins Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A controversial missile defense system whose deployment has angered China is now operational in South Korea, a United States defense official said Monday. Washington and Seoul agreed to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery deployment in July in the wake of a string of North Korean missile tests. “It has reached initial intercept capability,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. This initial […]
Trump says he wants South Korea to pay for $1-billion Thaad missile defense system
PYEONGTAEK, South Korea (Reuters) — U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters on Thursday (April 27) that Seoul should pay for a U.S. anti-missile system that he priced at $1 billion. In an interview with Reuters, Trump said the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system now being deployed in South Korea to defend against a potential missile attack from North Korea would cost about $1 billion and questioned why the United States was paying for […]
US missile defence equipment reaches S.Korea site
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) – US troops began delivering a missile defence system that has infuriated China to a deployment site in South Korea Wednesday, amid heightened tensions over the North’s nuclear ambitions. Washington is urging Beijing — Pyongyang’s sole major ally — to do more to rein it in, but the Asian giant has reacted with fury to the planned installation of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. The US and ally […]
South Korea, US hold joint military drill
POCHEON, South Korea (Reuters) — South Korean and United States troops held a joint live-fire exercise on Wednesday (April 26) amid mounting tensions on the Korean peninsula. The two countries staged the live fire drill featuring a wide array of army aviation, artillery, and armored vehicles at an artillery range in Pocheon, about 50 kilometers (about 31 miles) northeast of Seoul. The South Korean defense ministry said about 2,000 troops from both countries participated in […]
South Korean presidential candidates battle in TV debate
SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) — South Korea’s two main presidential candidates Moon Jae-in and Ahn Cheol-soo spoke about security and diplomatic issues including the deployment of the controversial United States Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in a TV debate on Tuesday (April 25) night. Frontrunner Moon has said the decision to deploy the THAAD should be made by the next president and that cooperation amongst South Korea, the US and China are necessary […]





