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☆ Kim Ki-Nam, Chief Propagandist in North Korea for Decades, Dies at 94
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Kim Ki-nam, who was often called “North Korea’s Goebbels,” a reference to the Nazi propagandist, because of his role in manufacturing and enforcing totalitarian propaganda for all three generations of the country’s ruling Kim family, has died at 94, North Korean state media reported on Wednesday. Mr. Kim, who was not related to the North Korean dictators, died on Tuesday of multiple organ failures after having been sick for a year, according to the reports. Mr. Kim’s tenure as the leader of North Korea’s propaganda apparatus extended from the days of Kim Il-sung, who founded the country at the end of World War II, to 2017. Propaganda is central to the Kim family’s Stalinist grip on power. The daily coverage of North Korea’s news media, all state-controlled, brims with propaganda designed to keep its 26 million people in the thrall of a personality cult surrounding the ruling family.

Persons: Kim Ki, Korea’s Goebbels, ”, Kim, Kim’s, Kim Il, thrall Locations: North Korean

☆ Stinging Election Loss Leaves South Korean Leader at a Crossroads
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The results, released on Thursday, were disastrous for Mr. Yoon. Voters pushed him to the verge of being a lame duck, giving the opposition one of the biggest parliamentary majorities in recent decades. He becomes the first South Korean president in decades to contend with an opposition-controlled Parliament for his entire time in office. The outcome — and the increasingly polarized South Korean political climate that Mr. Yoon helped intensify — heralded deepening deadlock in a country that is crucial to U.S. efforts to counter China and North Korea. It reduces the odds of Mr. Yoon achieving anything that requires bipartisan support.

Persons: Yoon Suk, Yoon Organizations: Voters, South, Washington Locations: South, South Korean, U.S, China, North Korea, Tokyo

☆ South Korean Parliamentary Election to Set Tone for Rest of Leader’s Term
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In the two years since he was elected, President Yoon Suk Yeol has made his mark in foreign policy, forging deeper ties with the United States and Japan. Mr. Yoon has a shot at a do-over on Wednesday, when South Koreans head to the polls to select a new Parliament. Dozens of parties are vying for the 300 seats in the National Assembly, South Korea’s single-chamber legislature. However, the contest is largely between Mr. Yoon’s conservative People Power Party and the main opposition camp, the liberal Democratic Party. Both have intense followings, but the eventual winner is expected to be decided by moderate and swing voters.

Persons: Yoon Suk Yeol, Yoon Organizations: South Koreans, National Assembly, People Power Party, Democratic Party Locations: United States, Japan

☆ North Korea tests missile, Seoul says, ahead of vote seen as gauge of support for hardline South Korean leader
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —North Korea test-fired a presumed intermediate-range ballistic missile on Tuesday, South Korean officials said, its latest military maneuver since leader Kim Jong Un’s New Year declaration that he was ending a policy seeking reconciliation with the South. Pyongyang’s shows of power included long-range artillery and multiple rocket launchers, which pose a threat to the South Korean capital Seoul and other key areas near the border. But Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said Tuesday’s suspected missile test by North Korea won’t have much effect on the vote. North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui last week quashed recent speculation that Kishida could meet with North Korea’s Kim. North Korea “will not allow any attempt of Japan to contact” Pyongyang, he said, according to KCNA.

Persons: Kim Jong, Yoon Suk Yeol, Kim, Yoon’s, Democratic Party –, Yoon, Leif, Eric Easley, ” Easley, Easley, Tuesday’s, Fumio Kishida, Joe Biden, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Choe Son Hui, North Korea’s Kim, CNN’s Yoonjung Seo Organizations: South Korea CNN, North, South, Korean Central News Agency, CNN, Yoon’s People Power Party, Democratic Party, Ewha Womans University, Assembly, Korean, Philippine, North Korean Foreign, North Korea “ Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, Pyongyang, United States, North, Japan, Washington, China

☆ North Korea Missile Test Hints at Greater Menace to U.S. Bases
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

North Korea launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile off its east coast on Tuesday, an indication that the country was continuing to develop missiles capable of targeting American military bases in the Western Pacific. The missile, launched from near Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, did not fly over Japan, as have some of the IRBMs that North Korea has launched in the past. Instead, it fell in waters between the two countries after flying for 372 miles, the South Korean military said. South Korean and American officials were analyzing data collected from the test to learn more about the missile, the military said. Last month, North Korea said it had tested one such engine on the ground.

Organizations: Western Pacific, South Korean Locations: Korea, Western, Pyongyang, North Korea, Japan, United States

☆ South Korea’s 2024 Parliament Election: What to Know
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

South Koreans go to the polls on April 10 to select a new 300-member National Assembly. Mr. Yoon won the presidential election in March 2022 by a razor-thin margin, and three months later, his People Power Party won the most big-city mayor and provincial governor races. But two major handicaps have hobbled his presidency: his party’s lack of control in the single-chamber Assembly and Mr. Yoon’s low approval ratings. Mr. Yoon will also see it as lending political legitimacy to his policy of aligning South Korea more closely with the United States. But if the opposition scores a decisive win, it will further weaken Mr. Yoon’s leadership and may turn him into an early lame duck, political analysts say.

Persons: Yoon Suk, Yoon Organizations: National Assembly, Democratic Party, People Power Party Locations: Korea, United States

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were trading mixed Thursday, after Wall Street recovered some losses from the day before. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 momentarily reached a record high in early trading but slipped later to finish at 39,598.71, down 1.2%. “The positive handover from Wall Street, alongside lower Treasury yields and a weaker U.S. dollar, may offer some relief as Fed Chair’s testimony failed to drive much hawkish deviation from his usual script,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market analyst at IG. As always, Wall Street scrutinized each of Powell's words for hints about when the Federal Reserve could begin cutting its main interest rate, which is at its highest level since 2001. “We want to see a little more data so we can become more confident.”Traders have already shelved earlier expectations for a cut in March, and they’re now eyeing June as the likeliest beginning.

Persons: Australia's, ”, Yeap Jun Rong, Jerome Powell, CrowdStrike, Steven Mnuchin, Donald Trump, Powell, ” Powell, Rubeela Farooqi, Locker, Brent, Stan Choe Organizations: TOKYO, Wall, Nikkei, IG, Federal, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Nvidia, Big Tech, New York Community Bancorp, U.S, Treasury, Federal Reserve, Fed, Traders, AP Locations: Hong, Shanghai

☆ South Korea Needs Foreign Workers, but Often Fails to Protect Them
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But the nation is more dependent than ever before on an import to keep its factories and farms humming: foreign labor. This shift is part of the fallout from a demographic crisis that has left South Korea with a shrinking and aging population. President Yoon Suk Yeol’s government has responded by more than doubling the quota for low-skilled workers from less-developed nations including Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal, the Philippines and Bangladesh. Hundreds of thousands of them now toil in South Korea, typically in small factories, or on remote farms or fishing boats — jobs that locals consider too dirty, dangerous or low-paying. With little say in choosing or changing employers, many foreign workers endure predatory bosses, inhumane housing, discrimination and other abuses.

Persons: —, Yoon Suk Organizations: Samsung, Hyundai, LG Locations: South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal, Philippines, Bangladesh

Morgan Stanley raised its price target on General Motors. 6:56 a.m.: Morgan Stanley calls Bloom Energy a 'secular winner' Morgan Stanley reiterated its overweight rating on Bloom Energy , naming it an underappreciated AI beneficiary. The firm also maintained its $22 price target on shares, which suggests shares surging more than 94% from where they closed on Wednesday. — Hakyung Kim 6:14 a.m.: Morgan Stanley steps to the sidelines on ZoomInfo ZoomInfo Technologies is "unlikely to zoom into a recovery," according to Morgan Stanley. — Hakyung Kim 5:40 a.m.: Morgan Stanley raises GM price target A focus shift back to internal combustion engine vehicles can give General Motors another jolt higher, according to Morgan Stanley.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Andrew Percoco, — Hakyung Kim, Antonio Reale, Reale, Hakyung Kim, Elizabeth Porter, Porter, Richard Choe, Choe, Jefferies, NYCB, Jon Arfstrom, Arfstrom, Christopher Danely, Danely, Bank of America's Tal Liani, Liani, Samik Chatterjee, Chatterjee, Adam Jonas, Jonas, — Fred Imbert Organizations: CNBC, General Motors, Qualcomm, Citi, Bloom, Bloom Energy, Bank of America, Santander Santander, Santander, ZoomInfo, JPMorgan, T, RBC, New York, Bancorp New, Bancorp New York Community, Bank, NYCB, Citi Citi, chipmaker Qualcomm, Samsung, Bank of America's, GM Locations: Spanish, Spain, Santander, Europe, U.S, Wednesday's, Bancorp New York

☆ The First Lady and the Dior Pouch: A Political Crisis Grips South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Then came a much more personal scandal: spy cam footage that showed his wife accepting a $2,200 Dior pouch as a gift. The video of Ms. Kim, which emerged late last year, has caused a rift between Mr. Yoon and one of his most trusted lieutenants. It has roiled his political party — one senior member called on Ms. Kim to apologize and compared her to Marie Antoinette. For nearly two years, Ms. Kim has challenged how this deeply patriarchal society views the role of the presidential spouse. She has talked about Mr. Yoon’s devotion to her, saying in 2022 that he had vowed to cook for her and “kept that promise for the past decade.”

Persons: Yoon Suk, Kim Keon Hee, Kim, Yoon, Marie Antoinette, “, ” Locations: South Korea, United States, Japan

☆ Russia’s Putin to visit North Korea soon, state media says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to visit Kim Jong Un soon, North Korean state media reported Sunday, the latest sign of increasing cooperation between the two authoritarian leaders as war rages in Ukraine and military tensions increase in East Asia. Putin thanked Kim for an invitation to visit Pyongyang and pledged to go there “at an early date,” the report from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the dates for Putin’s visit to North Korea were still being discussed through diplomatic channels and would be announced later, Russian state-run news agency TASS reported. During that visit, Kim praised Russia for standing up to “hegemonic forces” with its war in Ukraine, while Putin signaled a willingness to assist North Korea in developing its space and satellite programs. According to the US Defense Department, Russia has twice in the past month fired North Korean-made missiles at targets in Ukraine.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Putin, Kim, Dmitry Peskov, Choe Son Hui, Sergey Lavrov, ” KCNA, Kim Jong, ” Organizations: South Korea CNN —, Korean Central News Agency, North Korean Foreign, Russian, TASS, CNN, North Korean, US Defense Department, South, US, People’s Assembly Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korean, Ukraine, East Asia, Pyongyang, North Korea, Russian, Moscow, Northeast Asia, Russia, Korea, United States

☆ Is Kim Jong-un Really Planning an Attack This Time?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | More About Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two veteran analysts of North Korea — the former State Department official Robert L. Carlin and the nuclear scientist Siegfried S. Hecker — sounded an alarm this past week in an article for the U.S.-based website 38 North, asserting that Mr. Kim was done with mere threats. “Kim Jong-un has made a strategic decision to go to war,” they wrote. But there is still stark disagreement over where Mr. Kim’s new tack might be leading. “The North Koreans won’t start a war unless they decide to become suicidal; they know too well that they cannot win the war,” said Park Won-gon, a North Korea expert at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. “But they would love their enemies to believe that they could, because that could lead to engagement and possible concessions, like the easing of sanctions.”

Persons: Robert L, Carlin, Siegfried S, Hecker —, Mr, Kim, “ Kim Jong, ”, Donald J, Kim’s Organizations: North, State Department, U.S, Trump, Koreans, Ewha Womans University Locations: North Korea, Korea, Russia, Ukraine, South Korea, United States, Seoul

☆ Putin Showed Intention to Visit Pyongyang Soon, North Korea Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

SEOUL (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin showed his intention to visit Pyongyang soon, North Korea's state media KCNA reported on Sunday. Putin also thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for his invitation to visit as he met North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui who visited Russia last week, KCNA said citing a foreign ministry official. Russia thanked North Korea for its support and solidarity in the Ukraine war, and the two also expressed serious concerns over provocative acts by the United States and its allies against Pyongyang's sovereign rights while agreeing to cooperate in regional affairs, the report said. The cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow will be in line with the U.N. Charter and other international laws, it added. (Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Kim Jong Un, Choe Son Hui, KCNA, Hyunsu Yim, Chizu Nomiyama Organizations: North, North Korean Foreign Locations: SEOUL, Pyongyang, North, Russia, North Korea, Ukraine, United States, Moscow

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares traded mixed Thursday as pessimism spread among investors about any imminent interest rate cut in the United States. Wall Street slipped following another signal that it may have gotten too optimistic about when the Federal Reserve will deliver the cuts to interest rates. Yields climbed after a report showed sales at U.S. retailers were stronger in December than economists expected. Higher yields can crimp profits for companies, while also making investors less willing to pay high prices for stocks. Higher yields hurt all kinds of investments, and high-growth stocks tend to be some of the hardest hit.

Persons: Australia's, Korea's Kospi, Seng, Brent, Stan Choe, Yuri Kageyama Organizations: TOKYO, Nikkei, Shanghai, Federal Reserve, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, U.S, Treasury, Amazon, Fed, Traders, CME Group, European Central Bank, U.S . Bancorp, Sporting Goods, Spirit Airlines, JetBlue Airways, JetBlue, U.S ., AP Locations: United States, Hong, U.S, New York

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were trading mostly lower on Wednesday after a decline overnight on Wall Street, while Tokyo's main benchmark momentarily hit another 30-year high. S&P 500 futures fell 0.5% to 4,775.25. Companies across the S&P 500 are likely to report meager growth in profits for the fourth quarter from a year earlier, if any, if Wall Street analysts' forecasts are to be believed. But optimism is higher for 2024, where analysts are forecasting a strong 11.8% growth in earnings per share for S&P 500 companies, according to FactSet. The index remains within 0.6% of its all-time high set two years agoFor now, traders are penciling in many more cuts to rates through 2024 than the Fed itself has indicated.

Persons: Australia's, Korea's Kospi, Stephen Innes, Brent, Stan Choe, Yuri Kageyama Organizations: TOKYO, Dow, Nikkei, Companies, Wall, Federal Reserve, Fed, U.S, AP Locations: Hong, Shanghai, New York

☆ North Korea Says It Is No Longer Interested in Reunifying With the South
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

North Korea’s approach toward South Korea has swayed widely over the past decades. But, according to state media reports on Tuesday, North Korea has formally abandoned peaceful reunification as a key policy goal. In announcing the drastic shift, the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, said the North no longer saw the South as “the partner of reconciliation and reunification” but instead as an enemy that must be subjugated, if necessary, through a nuclear war. In recent decades, the reunification of the two Koreas has become increasingly unlikely as the economic gap between them widened and mutual enmity deepened. Mr. Kim unveiled his new stance on South Korea in a party meeting at the end of last month and in a speech he gave to the North’s rubber-stamp parliament, the Supreme People’s Assembly, on Monday.

Persons: Kim Jong, Kim Organizations: Supreme Locations: South Korea, North Korea

☆ Russia to Build on Putin-Kim Agreements as North Korean Minister Visits Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Monday said Russia was developing relations with "our partner" North Korea in all areas and would build on agreements reached between their leaders when they met at a Russian space launch centre last year. In September, President Vladimir Putin welcomed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to the Vostochny space launch facility in Russia's far east and promised to help North Korea build satellites. "North Korea is our closest neighbour and partner, with whom we are developing and intend to further develop partnerships in all areas," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said as North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui began a visit to Moscow. The United States and Ukraine this month accused Russia of firing North Korean-supplied short-range ballistic missiles at Ukraine, something Russia declined to confirm or deny. Peskov said Russia hoped a Putin visit to North Korea, at Kim's invitation, would take place "in the foreseeable future", but he said no date had yet been agreed.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Dmitry Peskov, Choe Son Hui, Kim, Putin, Peskov, Mark Trevelyan, Angus MacSwan Organizations: North, North Korean Foreign, Reuters Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Korea, Russia's, North Korea, Moscow, United States, Iran, Ukraine

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Monday claimed it flight-tested a new solid-fuel intermediate-range missile tipped with a hypersonic warhead as it pursues more powerful, harder-to-detect weapons designed to strike remote U.S. targets in the region. There are also concerns about an alleged arms cooperation between North Korea and Russia as they align in the face of separate, intensifying confrontations with Washington. The Biden administration said it has evidence that missiles provided by North Korea to Russia had been used in the war in Ukraine. In a joint statement last week, the U.S., South Korea and their partners said the missile transfer supports Russia’s war of aggression and provides North Korea with valuable technical and military insights. North Korea earlier this month fired a barrage of artillery shells near the disputed western sea boundary with South Korea, prompting the South to conduct similar firing exercises in the area.

Persons: KCNA, Kim Jong Un, ” KCNA, Kim, Choe Sun Hui, Sergey Lavrov, Biden, Yoon Suk Yeol, Donald Trump, Trump Organizations: South, Korean Central News Agency, North, Korea’s, Chiefs, Staff, U.S, Russian Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, North Korea, North, Korean, Pyongyang, Guam, Japan, Pacific, United States, Seoul, Tokyo, Russia, Washington, North Korean, U.S, Korea, Ukraine

☆ North Korea Launches Rocket With Its First Spy Satellite
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | More About Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL — North Korea launched a rocket on Tuesday in what South Korea said was an attempt to put its first military reconnaissance satellite in orbit, this time with technological help from Russia. The rocket flew to the south over the sea between the Korean Peninsula and China, the South Korean military said in a brief statement. North Korea launched its new Chollima-1 rocket from its satellite launching station in Tongchang-ri near its northwestern border with China in May and again in August. This week, North Korea told the International Maritime Organization that it would soon make a third attempt. And this time, North Korea received assistance from Russia, helping the North overcome its technological shortcomings, according to South Korean officials who have monitored its launch preparations in Tongchang-ri in recent weeks.

Persons: Korea , Organizations: South Korean, South, International Maritime Organization Locations: SEOUL, North Korea, Korea, Russia, China, United States, South Korea, Japan, Tongchang, , South Korean

CNN —After more than three years of going missing from world soccer, North Korean striker Han Kwang Song has reappeared, playing for his country in two recent World Cup qualifiers and scoring in the 6-1 win over Myanmar on Tuesday. Attempting to qualify for the World Cup for a third time, North Korea lost 1-0. The North Korea football federation, the Asian Football Confederation and world soccer governing body FIFA didn’t respond to CNN’s request for comment on Han’s return to international football. The return of the North Korean wunderkind has surprised soccer pundits and fans, who worried about his safety and promising career being cut short. The Covid-19 pandemic led to North Korea fully sealing its borders, making it impossible for Han and fellow repatriated North Korean nationals to return home.

Persons: Han Kwang, Han, Duhail, –, Korean wunderkind, Max Canzi, ” Canzi, Han’s, Nicholas Pennington, Kwang, Choe, Pölten, Alberto Mier, Qatar’s, ”, Kim Jong, Kim, Tullio M Organizations: CNN, North, Myanmar, North Korean, Qatar, Al, Asian Football Confederation, FIFA, Korean, Serie, CNN Sport, Syria, Cagliari, Austria’s SKN, Italy’s, UN, Juventus, United Nations Security Council, Qatar Stars, Qatar Stars League, UNSC, Qatar Airways, Perugia, Getty, Tokyo, Beijing Winter Games, International Olympic Committee Locations: North Korean, Syria, Saudi Arabian, Jeddah, North Korea, Yangon, Rome, Qatar, Korean, Pyongyang, Myanmar, Austria’s SKN St, Arezzo, Qatari, Korea, Ahli, Doha, Puglia, Beijing, Asia

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares traded mixed Tuesday after a rally on Wall Street that was led by gains in Microsoft following its announcement that it was hiring Sam Altman, former CEO of OpenAI, the ChatGPT maker. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 gained 0.7% to 4,547.38, coming off its third straight winning week. Microsoft said it will also continue its partnership with OpenAI, as fervor around artificial-intelligence technology and the huge profits it’s expected to create wow Wall Street. This week is relatively light on reports that could sway the hopes on Wall Street that have underpinned that drop in Treasury yields. In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude fell 61 cents to $77.22 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Persons: Sam Altman, Seng, ” Tan Boon Heng, Australia's, Kospi, Lowe’s, Brent, Stan Choe Organizations: TOKYO, Microsoft, OpenAI, Mizuho Bank, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Federal Reserve, Traders, Nvidia, Deere, HP, Treasury, New York Mercantile Exchange, U.S ., AP Locations: Shanghai, Beijing, U.S

☆ We've been calling Kim Jong Un's daughter by the wrong name, and it's all because of Dennis Rodman, Korean ex-spy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Kim Jong Un's daughter has been known to the world as Kim Ju Ae since North Korea debuted her in 2022. But a former South Korean spy veteran says her name is actually Kim Eun Ju, per The Korea Times. AdvertisementA retired South Korean spy said the world has been giving the wrong name to daughter of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, The Korea Times reported. Advertisement"I heard that Kim introduced his daughter to Rodman during his visit to North Korea, saying in Korean that 'jeo-ae' is his daughter. South Korean officials and intelligence services have since referred to Kim's daughter as "Kim Ju Ae," and a year later, she continues to feature heavily in North Korean propaganda.

Persons: Kim Jong, Kim Ju, Kim Eun Ju, Dennis Rodman, Kim Jong Un, —, Choe Su Yong, Choe, Rodman, Kim . Choe, Kim Organizations: Korea Times, Service, The Korea Times, South Korea's National Intelligence Service, NBA, Times, Guardian, Business Insider, South, The Times, Radio Free Asia, Korea's Unification Ministry Locations: North Korea, South Korean, Korean

☆ President’s War Against ‘Fake News’ Raises Alarms in South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | More About Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Allies of President Yoon Suk Yeol are attacking what they see as an existential threat to South Korea, and they are mincing few words. In this case, the accused is not a foreign spy, but a Korean news outlet that has published articles critical of Mr. Yoon and his government. The president, a former prosecutor, is turning to lawsuits, state regulators and criminal investigations to clamp down on speech that he calls disinformation, efforts that have largely been aimed at news organizations. Since Mr. Yoon was elected last year, the police and prosecutors have repeatedly raided the homes and newsrooms of journalists whom his office has accused of spreading “fake news.”Some South Koreans accuse Mr. Yoon of repurposing the expression as justification for defamation suits and to mobilize prosecutors and regulators to threaten penalties and criminal investigations. Many are exasperated that their leader has adopted the phrase, a rallying cry for strongmen around the world that is also further dividing an increasingly polarized electorate at home.

Persons: Yoon Suk, Yoon Locations: South Korea, Korean

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were trading mixed Tuesday as investors looked ahead to a week that could see more swings in financial markets, including key reports on U.S. consumer confidence and the job market. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 150.16 Japanese yen from 149.04 yen. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 49.45 points, or 1.2%, to close at 4,166.82 on Monday. Because it’s the most valuable stock on Wall Street, it is also the most influential stock on the S&P 500. Big Tech soared much more than the rest of the market early this year, which helped to lift the S&P 500 but also meant big expectations for continued growth.

Persons: Australia's, Korea's Kospi, Brent, Stan Choe, Damian J, Troise Organizations: TOKYO, Nikkei, Bank, Bank of Japan, U.S . Federal Reserve, U.S, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Apple, Big Tech, Treasury, Fed, Workers, U.S ., CVS Health, Pfizer, Starbucks, Traders, Benchmark Locations: Hong, Shanghai, Japan’s, Israel, Iran

☆ US, South Korean warplanes kick off joint air drills
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A U.S. Air Force B-52 strategic bomber, C-17 aircraft along with South Korea's Air Force F-35As take part in a joint drill, South Korea, December 20, 2022. The annual drills, called Vigilant Defense, will run until Friday, featuring variants of the F-35 stealth fighter from both the United States and South Korea, among other aircraft, South Korea's Air Force said. The drills are aimed at improving interoperability between the two militaries by performing major air missions such as air-to-surface live fire drills, defensive counter air operation and other emergency training. "We will maintain the best combat readiness to immediately respond to and strongly punish any provocation by the enemy through an intense training simulating an actual situation," South Korea's military said in a statement. North Korea has long condemned joint drills between the United States and South Korea as a rehearsal for invasion and proof of hostile policies by Washington and Seoul.

Persons: Choe Son Hui, Soo, hyang Choi, Lincoln Organizations: U.S . Air Force, South Korea's Air Force, The Defence Ministry, Rights, South Korea, Vigilant Defense, Korea's Air Force, North Korean Foreign, Thomson Locations: South Korea, Rights SEOUL, United States, South, North Korea, Russia, Moscow, Pyongyang, Korea, Washington, Seoul

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