Category: South Korea

Deaths From Starvation Tripled in North Korea: South Korean Spy Agency

Deaths from starvation in North Korea have tripled compared to last year, according to South Korea’s state intelligence agency. Despite the dire situation, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is believed to weigh around 300 pounds. Yoo Sang-bum, the executive secretary for the Parliamentary Intelligence Committee, said that prices of corn and rice in North…


US Must Make North Korea Aware of ‘Consequences’ of Its Launches: Nuclear Envoy

North Korea must be made aware of the “consequences” of its escalatory behavior after its recent spy satellite launch sparked tensions in the Korean Peninsula, the U.S. nuclear envoy said on Sunday. In an interview with Yonhap News Agency (YNA), U.S. nuclear envoy Sung Kim said the United States must convince North Korea that diplomacy…


South Korean Unification Minister: Walking the Line Between US and China Won’t End Well

South Korean Unification Minister Kwon Young-se recently renounced the idea that the country’s diplomacy “should walk the line between the U.S. and China,” suggested by some public opinion. He used an analogy from Aesop’s Fable to describe the outcome of that mentality. In an interview with Korean broadcaster KBS on May 19, Kwon said if…


US, South Korea Issue Cybersecurity Advisory Following North Korean Satellite Launch

The United States and South Korea on Friday issued a joint cybersecurity advisory against Kimsuky, a North Korean hacking group accused of stealing “high-tech” information for North Korea’s satellite development. The advisory [pdf] was issued following North Korea’s recent launch of a military spy satellite into space, which ended in failure due to a rocket…


South Korea Salvaging Suspected Wreckage of North Korea’s Crashed Spy Satellite

South Korea conducted a salvage operation on Wednesday to recover an object presumed to be the wreckage of a North Korean military spy satellite that had crashed into the sea due to rocket malfunction. North Korea launched its military reconnaissance satellite using the newly developed “Chollima-1” rocket at around 6.27 a.m. local time on Wednesday…


South Korea Cuts Tariffs on Food Imports to Ease Living Costs

South Korea will cut tariffs from June on higher priced edible products, including pork and sugar, to help ease people’s living costs, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. The tariffs on seven food items will be lowered to 0 percent from as high as 10 percent currently, in response to short-term supply shortages, the ministry said…


South Korea Forms Diplomatic Relations With Niue

The South Korean government has moved to establish formal diplomatic relations with Niue, the last remaining Pacific island nation with which South Korea did not have diplomatic ties. Foreign Minister Park Jin and Niue Premier Dalton Tagelagi signed a joint statement on Monday to formalize their countries’ diplomatic ties on the sidelines of the Korea–Pacific…


Man Who Opened Asiana Plane Door in Mid-Air Tells Police He Was ‘Uncomfortable’

SEOUL—A passenger on an Asiana Airlines flight told police he opened a door on the plane minutes before it landed in Daegu, South Korea, on Friday because he was “uncomfortable,” Yonhap News Agency reported. The man, in his thirties, was detained on landing. He told police that he opened the door because he “wanted to…


China’s Ban on US Chipmaker Micron a Ploy to Divide the US-South Korea Alliance: Experts

Just after the G-7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, the Chinese regime announced that it is banning products from U.S. memory chip maker Micron, citing national security risks. The move has put the U.S.-led coalition against Beijing to the test, experts say. Beijing’s move to ban Micron was intended to use the market vacated by Micron…


South Korea Detains Passenger After Asiana Plane Door Opened Mid-Air

SEOUL—South Korean police on Friday detained a man who opened a door of an Asiana Airlines plane minutes before it was due to land in the city of Daegu, causing panic among the passengers, officials said. The Airbus A321-200 plane landed safely at around 12:40 p.m. (0340 GMT). It had set off from the holiday…