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☆ Visits from Japanese and Filipino leaders highlight Biden’s efforts to blunt China’s aggression
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Arlette Saenz | Kayla Tausche | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Biden’s week also includes an official visit for Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, reinforcing his commitment to cultivating partnerships in the Indo-Pacific in the face of China’s rising economic and military power. The historic leaders summit on Thursday between Biden, Kishida and Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos is expected to produce announcements relating to infrastructure, energy security, digital connectivity and maritime security. Meanwhile, Japan has recently loosened restrictions on the export of military technology – paving the way for deeper collaboration with like-minded allies. The first virtual meeting with the four leaders took place in March 2021 with subsequent in-person summits in the years that followed. Biden and his team also have sought to draw in smaller regional neighbors concerned about China’s military and economic aggression.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kishida, Biden, Jake Sullivan, “, Jill Biden, Kishida Yuko, They’re, Ferdinand Marcos, Marcos, ” Sullivan, ”, John Neuffer, ” Biden, ” Rahm Emanuel, Sullivan, zeroed, Japan’s, Yoshihide Suga, Korea’s, Moon Jae, Yoon Suk Yeol, Rodrigo Duterte, Donald Trump, ” Kishida Organizations: Washington CNN, Japanese, CNN, Biden White House, Australia, US Steel, APEC, Washington, Semiconductor Industry Association, Clark Air Base, Subic Naval Base, American, White, Kishida, White House, Pacific, PBS Locations: Japan, Philippines, North Korea, Ukraine, Gaza, India, South Korea, China, Manila, ’, lockstep, Netherlands, Taiwan, Beijing, Thursday’s, US, Australia, South China, South, Russia, Kishida, United States, Tokyo, Seoul, David, United Kingdom, Washington, Vietnam, U.S

☆ North Korea to deploy ‘new’ weapons on border with South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Brad Lendon | Gawon Bae | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —North Korea said Thursday it will deploy new military hardware along the military demarcation line that separates it from the South after Seoul partially pulled back from a 2018 agreement designed to ease tensions along the border, state-run media reported. In response to the North Korean buildup, the US and South Korea – along with Japan – have stepped-up their military cooperation via exercises and deployments that Pyongyang sees as a threat. Earlier this week North Korea denounced the US for its potential sales of advanced missiles to Japan and military equipment to South Korea, calling it “a dangerous act” in a report from KCNA. North Korea said it was “obvious” who the offensive military equipment would be aimed at and used against. Pyongyang also said that South Korea will be held “wholly accountable” for clashes that may break out between the two Koreas.

Persons: Moon Jae, Kim Jong, Kim, “, ” KCNA Organizations: South Korea CNN, Inter, Korean, South, South Korea –, North Korea’s Defense Ministry, ROK Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Korea, North Korea, Pyongyang, Panmunjom, Washington, Japan, KCNA . North Korea, Republic of Korea

[1/6] A rocket carrying a spy satellite Malligyong-1 is launched, as North Korean government claims, in a location given as North Gyeongsang Province, North Korea in this handout picture obtained by Reuters on November 21, 2023. North Korea said it placed its first spy satellite in orbit on Tuesday and vowed to launch more in the near future. Officials in South Korea and Japan, which first reported the launch, could not immediately verify whether a satellite was in orbit. Russia and North Korea have denied conducting arms deals, but are publicly promising deeper cooperation. South Korea's military said it believed the latest rocket carried a reconnaissance satellite and was launched toward the south.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Sabrina Singh, Han Duck, Yoon Suk Yeol, Moon Jae, Kim Jong, KCNA, Adrienne Watson, Vladimir Putin, Lee Choon, Hyunsu Yim, hyang Choi, Josh Smith, Ed Davies, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Reuters, KCNA, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, North, Pentagon, South Korean, Korean, National Security Council, South Korea's National Security Council, National Aerospace Technology Administration, . National Security, South Korea's Science, Technology Policy Institute, South, U.S ., Thomson Locations: North Gyeongsang Province, North Korea, Rights SEOUL, South Korea, Pyongyang, United States, North Korean, Japan, U.S, Britain, South, Korea, Russian, Moscow, Russia, Okinawa

☆ North Korea scraps military deal with South, vows to deploy new weapons at border
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, February 7, 2023. Russia and North Korea have denied arms deals but have promised deeper cooperation, including on satellites. South Korea resumed the use of crewed and uncrewed reconnaissance aircraft in the border area on Wednesday, Yonhap news agency reported. Critics have said that the pact weakened Seoul's ability to monitor North Korea, and that Pyongyang had violated the agreement. South Korea has said the North Korean satellite was believed to have entered orbit, but it would take time to assess whether it was operating normally.

Persons: Kim Hong, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Moon Jae, Moon Chung, Moon, Kim, Critics, Bruce Klingner, Klingner, Soo, hyang Choi, Josh Smith, David Brunnstrom, Sonali Paul, Ed Davies, Gerry Doyle Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, North, ., U.S . Department of State, CMA, ROK, South Korean, Yonsei University, CIA, U.S, Heritage Foundation, North Korean, Thomson Locations: Gijungdong, North Korea, Panmunjom, South Korea, Rights SEOUL, Seoul, Russia, Pyongyang, . North Korea, Korea, Washington

☆ Military agreement fractures as tensions rise with North Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A rocket carrying a spy satellite Malligyong-1 is launched, as North Korean government claims, in a location given as North Gyeongsang Province, North Korea in this handout picture obtained by Reuters on November 21, 2023. South Korea had accused Pyongyang of violating the agreement after North Korean artillery shells fell into a maritime buffer zone that was supposed to be free of live-fire drills under the agreement. The North then said South Korea had resumed the use of propaganda loudspeakers at the border in violation of the agreement. South Korea's military will restart aerial surveillance in border areas, which had been conducted before the agreement was signed, the defence ministry said. South Korea said, however, its decisions on whether to take further actions to pull out of the military agreement would depend on the North's follow-up moves.

Persons: Han Duck, Kim Jong Un, Moon Jae, denuclearisation, Kim Myung, Ed Davies, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Reuters, KCNA, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, South, Korean, CMA, North, BE, Thomson Locations: North Gyeongsang Province, North Korea, Rights SEOUL, South Korea, Korea, South, Pyongyang, Seoul

North Korea said it placed its first spy satellite in orbit on Tuesday. South Korea's military said North Korea's military reconnaissance satellite was believed to have entered orbit, but it would take time to assess whether it was operating normally. Critics have said the pact weakened South Korea's ability to monitor the North's near the border while North Korea had violated the agreement. South Korea said it was suspending a clause in the agreement and resuming aerial surveillance near the border. North Korea had notified Japan of a satellite launch after two failed attempts to put what it called spy satellites into orbit this year.

Persons: Kim, Kim Jong Un, KCNA, Adrienne Watson, Jonathan McDowell, Shin Won, sik, Kim Jong, Shin, Yoon Suk Yeol, Yoon, Moon Jae, Critics, Carl Vinson, U.N, Antonio Guterres, Vladimir Putin, Hong Min, Hyunsu Yim, hyang Choi, Josh Smith, Hyonhee Shin, Joyce Lee, Liz Lee, Satoshi Sugiyama, Ed Davies, Jack Kim, Gerry Doyle, Alex Richardson, Kim Coghill Organizations: Reuters, KCNA, REUTERS Acquire, North, ., U.S, Andersen Air Force Base, Pentagon, . National Security, Harvard – Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, U.S . Space Force, South Korea's Defence, National Security, South Korean, Korea's Defence, Korea Institute for National Unification, South, U.S ., Thomson Locations: North Gyeongsang Province, North Korea, Korea, South Korea, SEOUL, United States, . North Korea, Pyongyang, Pacific, Guam, U.S, South, Britain, North, Santa Fe, Korean, Japan, China, North Korea's, RUSSIA, Russian, Russia, Minwoo, Seoul, Beijing, Tokyo

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The United States and South Korea on Monday updated a bilateral security agreement with the aim of more effectively countering North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in Seoul for annual security talks with South Korean military officials, including Defense Minister Shin Won-sik, which were focused on boosting nuclear deterrence against North Korea. They agreed to start as planned a real-time information sharing arrangement on North Korean missile launches in December. They also agreed to set up multiyear plans in coming weeks to enhance their trilateral military exercises, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said. U.S. and South Korean officials have accused North Korea of providing munitions and military equipment to Russia to help boost its war in Ukraine.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, Shin Won, Austin, Shin, ” Austin, Yoon Suk, Minoru Kihara, Yoon, ”, Moon Jae, Kim Jong Un, Antony Blinken, Kim Organizations: Korean, U.S . Defense, South Korean, Defense, Austin, ROK, South, Japanese, Korea’s Defense Ministry, Shin, U.S, United Nations Command, Foreign Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, United States, Seoul, Japan, North Korea, Ukraine, Korean, Republic of Korea, U.S, South Korean, Washington, Hamas, Korea, Israel, Russia, South, Pyongyang, Moscow . U.S, Austin

☆ Fearing China, South Korea targets firms building Taiwan navy submarines
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Ju-Min Park | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

SI Innotec, which was fined in August 2022, and Park, who received a suspended prison sentence, deny wrongdoing and have appealed. The equipment was not designed solely for military purposes and did not involve sensitive technology, SI Innotec told Reuters. SI Innotec said the contract, at CSBC's request, listed the equipment's primary use as for wind power generation. "The accused were fully aware that the subject equipment would be used to manufacture a military submarine", the court ruled. It was at this point that Seoul's foreign ministry told DAPA it disapproved of the deal, one of them said.

Persons: Tsai Ing, Narwhal, Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Park Mal, sik, China's, DAPA, Moon Jae, Taiwan's, Innotec, SI Innotec, Moo, sik —, —, Yang Hyang, Yang, KHNT's, KHNT, Cho Hyeon Gyu, 1,343.1000, Ben Blanchard, Faith Hung, Tian, Katerina Ang, Josh Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Administration, Keumha Naval Technology, South, Police, Foreign Ministry, Democratic Progressive Party, Indigenous Defense, South Korean, Foreign Trade, SI, Thomson Locations: Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Rights SEOUL, Beijing, Seoul, U.S, China, South Korea, Park, Taipei, Netherlands, Pacific, Beijing . U.S, Changwon, Korea

☆ Opinion: The transformation of Kim Jong Un’s sister
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Sheena Mckenzie | Cnn Opinion | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The woman was Kim Yo Jong — younger sister of the North Korean leader and one of the country’s most important political advisors. Kim Jong Un's sister stands alongside the North Korean leader at the Vostochny Сosmodrome in the Amur region, Russia, on September 13, 2023. CNN: Of all the members of the Kim Dynasty, why did you choose to focus on Kim Yo Jong in your book? South Korean President Moon Jae-in (right) shakes hands with Kim Yo-Jong (middle), North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's sister, in 2018. I’ve watched hundreds of hours of North Korean footage and read thousands of North Korean articles and statements in writing this book.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong, Yoon Lee, ” Kim Yo Jong, Sung, Kim Yo, Kim, Alonso Nichols, Tufts University Sung, Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Chol, Jong, Cleary, Kim Il Sung, Stalin, Moon Jae, ”, Joe Biden “, Lord David Alton, Kim’s, I’ve, that’s, Yoo Lee, It’s, it’s, Jang, Thaek Organizations: CNN, North, North Korean, South Korea —, Woodrow Wilson International Center, Scholars, Tufts University, Jong Un, Soviet Army, South Korea’s, Games, South, House, United Nations Locations: Pyeongchang, South Korea, North Korean, Amur, Russia, North, North Korea, Switzerland, Mt, Paektu, China, Korean, Communist, Pyongyang, Handout, United

Putin reportedly arrived in Vladivostok on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to state TV Russia 24. Kim, meanwhile, appears to be on a train heading to Russia, a South Korean government official told CNN. With its borders sealed because of that for much of the past three years, North Korea has only recently begun to relax travel restrictions. Vladivostok lies 130 km (80 miles) from the border with North Korea. North Korea is already under United Nations and US sanctions imposed over Pyongyang’s weapons of mass destruction program.

Persons: CNN — Kim Jong, Vladimir Putin, Kim, Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Donald Trump –, Xi Jinping, Moon Jae, Sergei Shoigu, Jake Sullivan Organizations: CNN, Ukraine, Russia “, Russia, South, North, The North, Russian, White House, United Nations Locations: Russia, Pyongyang, Moscow, United States, North Korean, Vladivostok, Monday, South Korean, North Korea, Singapore, Hanoi, North, South Korea, China, The, The North Korea, Korea, Ukraine

By accepting an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report last month that greenlit Japan's Fukushima water release, Yoon could encourage fresh dissent that China will try to amplify, analysts say. On Monday, Park Gu-yeon, vice minister of government policy coordination at the prime minister's office, said both sides have made "substantial progress" on the water release issue. A senior South Korean official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of diplomatic sensitivity, said the government did not see it as a source of friction. "China absolutely will try to exploit Fukushima to drive a wedge between South Korea and Japan," said David Boling, a director at consulting firm Eurasia Group. In July, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Japan had shown selfishness and arrogance, and had not fully consulted the international community about the water release.

Persons: Rafael Mariano Grossi, Kobayakawa, Joe Biden, Yoon Suk Yeol, Fumio Kishida, Biden, David, Yoon, Japan Rahm Emanuel, Moon Jae, Christopher Johnstone, Antony Blinken, they've, David Boling, Joshua Kurlantzick, Wang Wenbin, Hirokazu Matsuno, Tim Kelly, Sakura Murakami, Hyonhee Shin, Josh Smith, David Brunnstrom, Trevor Hunnicutt, Ekaterina Golubkova, Lun Tian, Yoshifumi, Gerry Doyle Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, Tokyo Electric Power Co, Japanese, Reuters, U.S, IAEA, Biden's National Security Council, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Japan, South Korean, South, Gallup, Eurasia Group, Council, Foreign Relations, Global Times, Thomson Locations: Futaba, Japan, TOKYO, SEOUL, South Korea, Tokyo, China, Washington, East Asia, Taiwan, Beijing, Russia, North Korea, United States, Australia, Britain, Seoul, Seoul . U.S, Fukushima, Korean

☆ A space race on the Korean Peninsula
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +13 min

It was not until 2013 that it became the first South Korean rocket to place a satellite in orbit. SPACE CENTRES Russia also helped South Korea build its Naro Space Center while training and launching the first South Korean astronaut on a mission to the International Space Station. In his first summit with former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised to dismantle Sohae, but as talks stalled, North Korea expanded the site. North Korea faces the same challenges, and must avoid flying over South Korea. “The road from South Korea to space has opened now,” President Yoon Suk Yeol said after the 2022 Nuri launch.

Persons: Kim Jong, Moon Jae, Nuri, Jonathan McDowell, Markus Schiller, Schiller, “, ”, ” Schiller, Robert Schmucker, Pyongyang’s, McDowell, KARI, Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un, Dave Schmerler, James Martin, “ Sohae, ” McDowell, Korea’s Nuri, Yoon Suk Yeol Organizations: North, South Korean, U.S, Harvard – Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, REUTERS, Elon, SpaceX, South, Soviet, Federation of American Scientists, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Space Center, International Space, Korea Aerospace Research, James, James Martin Center, Nonproliferation Studies, International Maritime Organization Locations: Seoul, Pyongyang, South Korea, North Korea, Korean, Japan, China, Korea, Washington, United States, Russia, Naro, Europe, U.S, Britain, Switzerland, Soviet Union, Soviet, Cholsan County, South Korean, South, Tonghae, North Korea’s, Sohae, Indonesia, Philippines, Okinawa

☆ Japan PM Kishida visits Seoul to forge closer ties amid N.Korea threats
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

South Korean officials are hopeful that Kishida will make some kind of gesture in return and offer some political support, although few observers expect any further formal apology for historical wrongs. But the historical differences between South Korea and Japan also threaten to cast a shadow over the blossoming ties between its two leaders. The majority of South Koreans believe Japan hasn't apologised sufficiently for atrocities during Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of Korea, Lee said. "They think that Prime Minister Kishida should show sincerity during his visit to South Korea, such as mentioning historical issues and expressing apologies," she added. Still, South Korea is an "important neighbour that we must cooperate with on various global issues," Japan's foreign ministry has said.

Last year the former leader of Yoon’s party hit out at what he said was the “evil influence” YouTube channels. “After President Yoon Suk Yeol came to power, there have been many cases where the presidential office filed complaints to the media,” Jung said. It has since consistently ranked top in terms of real-time daily viewership on YouTube in South Korea. To Professor Jung, it’s a success that demonstrates “voices cannot be silenced.”Kim, meanwhile, hopes to build a show with as much recognition as any on traditional media. “I will create a type of press that has not yet existed on YouTube,” Kim said.

☆ Factbox: Old disputes overshadow visit by Japan's Kishida to South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

May 5 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will be visiting South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday in the latest effort to improve bilateral ties. - Relations between the two North Asian U.S. allies have been strained over disputes dating to Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of Korea. - Relations deteriorated in 2019 when Japan restricted exports of high-tech materials for making chips and display panels to South Korea. - In late March, Japan's trade ministry lifted export curbs to South Korea on the high-tech materials, while South Korea withdrew its complaint filed at the World Trade Organization on Japan's export controls. Under Yoon, South Korea has resumed trilateral military drills and agreed to more intelligence sharing on issues like tracking ballistic missile launches from North Korea.

It was the first time that Seoul suggested a willingness to provide weapons to Ukraine, more than a year after ruling out the possibility of lethal aid. During the summit, Yoon said he will seek "tangible outcomes" on the allies' efforts to improve responses to evolving threats from North Korea, which has ramped up military tests, and launched its first solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile last week. In February, South Korea and the U.S. staged table-top exercises simulating a North Korea nuclear attack as part of Seoul's efforts to play a bigger role in Washington's nuclear policy over the North. "I think there's no big problem if Japan is joining, but since there's been much progress between the U.S. and South Korea, it would be more efficient to create this system ourselves first." "The Taiwan issue is not simply an issue between China and Taiwan but, like the issue of North Korea, it is a global issue."

☆ Trump and his sons say his indictment makes the US like a 'third world' country, but plenty of other democracies have prosecuted ex-leaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Trump and his sons are decrying his indictment as a sign the US is now a "third world" country. But other democracies across the world have prosecuted, convicted, and even jailed former leaders. Trump's sons offered similar takes, portraying the charges against the former president as a political attack orchestrated by his opponents. Trump is the first former US president to be criminally charged, and his indictment comes amid a period of historic political polarization. The researchers said that in "mature democracies, prosecutions can hold leaders accountable and solidify the rule of law."

☆ North Korea executes people for South Korean videos, drugs - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A North Korean flag flies on a mast at the Permanent Mission of North Korea in Geneva October 2, 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File PhotoSEOUL, March 30 (Reuters) - North Korea executes people for drugs, sharing South Korean media, and religious activities as it stifles its citizens' human rights and freedom, its rival, South Korea, said in a report on Thursday. "Executions are widely carried out for acts that do not justify the death penalty, including drug crimes, distribution of South Korean videos, and religious and superstitious activities." Reuters could not independently verify the South Korean government's findings but they were in line with U.N. investigations and reports from non-governmental organisations. Nearly 34,000 North Koreans have settled in South Korea but the number of defectors has fallen sharply because of tighter border security.

☆ Factbox: South Korea moves to resolve historical, legal disputes with Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSEOUL, March 6 (Reuters) - South Korea on Monday proposed establishing a public foundation to compensate victims of wartime forced labour by Japan, to help resolve strained ties between the two countries. Efforts to overcome historical disputes between South Korea and Japan were renewed under South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who took office in May, with both countries vowing to improve ties. Japan says the matter of any compensation for forced labour was settled under a 1965 treaty normalizing diplomatic ties and providing South Korea with economic assistance. - Relations deteriorated in 2019 when Japan restricted exports of high-tech material to South Korea. Under Yoon, South Korea has resumed trilateral military drills and agreed to more intelligence sharing on things like tracking ballistic missile launches from North Korea.

☆ Kim Jong Un may be prepping his daughter as his successor because he wants a woman in charge to modernize North Korea's image, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But it will likely have little impact on the lives of ordinary North Korean women. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his sister Kim Yo Jong attend a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on April 27, 2018. "Kim Jong Un is a feminist — at least if judged by the incredibly low standards of North Korea," Andrei Lankov, a North Korea expert recently wrote for NK News. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un talks with his daughter Kim Ju Ae at a banquet in Pyongyang, North Korea February 7, 2023. "Discrimination against women and girls in North Korea is widespread and is accepted as a natural part of everyday life in North Korea," said Joon.

☆ South Korea's new 'stealthy' fighter jet just hit a supersonic milestone
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Maya Carlin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

South Korea's KF-21 Boramae "Fighting Hawk" made its first supersonic flight in January. Roughly 65% of the KF-21's parts are domestically produced, a major feat for South Korea. Positioned near the PRC and the Hermit Kingdom, South Korea considers aerial-defense capabilities to be paramount to its security. ReutersDespite its advanced electronics capabilities, Seoul refers to its KF-21 fighter as a 4.5-generation fighter. The Boramae's recent test flight makes Seoul the eighth nation to produce a supersonic fighter.

☆ Fukushima wastewater release would have limited impact on South Korean waters - study
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Ju-Min Park | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The release of waste water from Japan's wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant would have a negligible effect on South Korean waters, according to a government study published on Thursday. "That change would be too small to detect," an official at the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology said. The analysis comes as South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol is seeking to improve relations with Japan after years of tensions. The water release has raised concerns from neighbouring countries, including China and South Korea. The simulation study has "no connection" to normalising relations between South Korea and Japan, said Oh Haeng-nok, an official at South Korea's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

☆ South Korea defence paper calls North 'enemy', estimates plutonium stockpile at 70 kg
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, Feb 16 (Reuters) - South Korea released its latest defence white paper on Thursday, describing North Korea as its "enemy" for the first time in six years and reporting an increase in Pyongyang's stockpile of weapons-grade plutonium. The biennial white paper offers a glimpse into the reclusive North's growing arsenal of nuclear weapons and missiles, as well as its conventional military capabilities. "As North Korea continues to pose military threats without giving up nuclear weapons, its regime and military, which are the main agents of the execution, are our enemies," the document said. To beef up its nuclear stockpile, North Korea has continued reprocessing spent fuel from its reactor and possesses about 70kg (154lb) of weapons-grade plutonium, up from 50kg estimated in the previous report, it said. Its 2020 edition said the North was "generally" complying with the agreement, which was sealed on the margins of a 2018 summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

A star law professor, Cho was a key aide to former President Moon Jae-in and briefly served as a justice minister before resigning and being indicted on a dozen charges, including bribery and document fraud in late 2019. It eventually gave rise to incumbent President Yoon Suk-yeol, who then as prosecutor-general investigated Cho and other graft scandals. Chung has already received a four-year sentence for the charges and irregularities over family investment, while her daughter's medical school and university cancelled her admission. The court also imposed fines of 6 million won ($4,900), which it said Cho had taken from his daughter's medical school as bribes in the form of a scholarship. ($1 = 1,228.7300 won)Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Gerry Doyle and Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ After embarrassing incursion by North Korean drones, South Korea vows to speed up work on its own stealth drones
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Hyung-Jin Kim | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

North Korean drones flew into South Korean for the first time in five years on Monday. A local county office sent emergency text messages notifying residents of a new batch of North Korean drones. South Korean TV footage of a North Korean drone on December 26. It was the first time North Korean drones entered South Korean airspace since 2017. South Korean Defence Ministry/Getty ImagesOn Monday, South Korea sent its own surveillance assets, apparently unmanned drones, across the border as corresponding steps against the North Korean drone flights.

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