SEOUL , South Korea (AFP) — The newly-elected chief organiser of the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea vowed Thursday to quell concerns prompted by the sudden departure of his predecessor less than two years before the Games. Lee Hee-Beom, a former commerce minister, took over from Korean Air chairman Cho Yang-Ho who resigned last week to focus on his ailing shipping business. Cho had been in the job since July 2014 and was largely […]
Tag: South Korea
Ex-director of Asia’s top film fest charged with fraud
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean prosecutors pushed ahead Tuesday with embezzlement charges against the former director of Asia’s top film festival, despite widespread criticism that the allegations are politically motivated. The future of South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has been threatened by a bitter dispute which organisers say is rooted in political anger over the screening of a film in 2014 that was critical of the government’s handling of the Sewol ferry […]
China, Russia rap US missile defence plan in S. Korea
BEIJING , China (AFP) — China and Russia on Friday rapped US plans to put a missile defense system on the Korean peninsula, less than 24 hours after Pyongyang twice tested projectiles thought to be capable of reaching American territory. A series of missile tests and nuclear blasts by North Korea have pushed Seoul into talks with Washington about deploying the US’s sophisticated Theater High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD), which fires projectiles to smash […]
South Korea says another North Korean nuclear test appears imminent
South Korea’s Unification Ministry said on Wednesday (April 27) that a North Korean nuclear test appeared imminent as the North’s ruling Workers’ Party plans to hold a congress from May 6, the first such conference in 36 years. North Korea’s drive to develop nuclear capabilities has intensified since January, when it conducted its fourth nuclear test and followed that with a string of tests of missiles that could deliver such a weapon. Old rival […]
South Korea’s Park confirms signs North Korea preparing fifth nuclear test
Seoul, South Korea (AFP)—South Korean President Park Geun-Hye on Monday confirmed a flurry of intelligence reports suggesting that North Korea is readying to conduct a fifth nuclear test in defiance of tightened United Nations sanctions. “Signs that it is preparing a fifth nuclear test have recently been detected,” Park told a cabinet meeting. Her remarks followed South Korean media reports in which unnamed government and intelligence officials spoke of a spike in activity at the […]
IAEA and South Korean officials discuss nuclear issues
SEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) – Officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and South Korea held an annual meeting in Seoul to boost cooperation on nuclear issues on Thursday (April 7). IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Safeguards, Tero Varjoranta, and South Korean foreign ministry’s Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs, Choi Jong-moon, led the fourth South Korea-IAEA High-Level Consultation. The both sides discussed ways to cooperate their response […]
N. Korea claims solid-fuel rocket success
Seoul, South Korea (AFP)—North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has claimed a “historic” advance in the country’s nuclear strike capability with the successful test of a solid-fuel rocket engine, state media said Thursday. The announcement came as South Korean President Park Geun-Hye ordered the military to “strengthen readiness” in the wake of multiple North Korean threats to launch nuclear and conventional missile attacks. Tensions have been soaring on the divided Korean peninsula since the North carried […]
South Korea confirms first case of Zika virus
(Reuters) — South Korea reported its first confirmed case of the Zika virus on Tuesday (March 22) in a 43-year old male who have travelled to Brazil, its center for disease control said. “This patient is the first Zika virus-infected patient in South Korea. However, the fever has subsided,” said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Jung Ki-suck at a news conference. “The patient is a 43 year-old-male. He visited Brazil for 22 […]
S. Korea says prepared for another North nuclear test
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea is fully prepared for North Korea to carry out a fifth nuclear test in defiance of tough UN sanctions imposed over its surprise fourth test in January, officials said Monday. Military tensions have escalated sharply on the Korean peninsula in recent weeks, with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un threatening further tests and missile launches, partly in response to ongoing South Korea-US military exercises. Last Friday, the North test-fired […]
N. Korea fires missiles, liquidates South assets
by Park Chan-Kyong SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — North Korea looked to ratchet up already elevated tensions on the Korean peninsula still further Thursday, firing a pair of short-range missiles and announcing the liquidation of all remaining South Korean assets on its territory. The moves were a direct response to unilateral sanctions announced by South Korea on Tuesday to punish the North for its January nuclear test and last month’s long-range rocket launch. Military tensions […]
South Korea, US launch military drills, North threatens nuclear strikes
by Giles Hewitt SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea and the United States kicked off their largest-ever joint military drills on Monday, prompting fresh warnings from North Korea of “indiscriminate” nuclear strikes against Seoul and the US mainland. The annual exercises always raise tensions on the divided Korean peninsula and the situation is particularly volatile this year, given the North’s recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch and its fury over the tough UN […]
N. Korea fires short-range projectiles
Seoul, South Korea (AFP)—North Korea fired short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast on Thursday, South Korea’s defense ministry said, hours after the United Nations Security Council imposed tough new sanctions on Pyongyang. The ministry said six projectiles with an apparent range of 100-150 kilometers (60-90 miles) were fired into the East Sea (Sea of Japan) at 10 a.m. (0100 GMT). Spokesperson Moon Sang-Gyun said the ministry was still analyzing whether they were […]





