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☆ Travel news: Pan Am will return to the skies in 2025
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-13 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Get the latest news in aviation, food and drink, where to stay and other travel developments. Now, there’s a chance to fly Pan Am again, provided you have deep pockets. Pan Am Brands, which owns the former airline’s licensing rights, will fly a special Pan Am-branded private jet on a 12-day trip from New York City in June 2025. But if you’d rather get out of the city, there’s no shortage of great things to do. Video Ad Feedback Here’s where you can snowshoe, hike an island, blow glass and shuck oysters – all in the same day 02:00 - Source: CNNAmerican spotlight: TacomaCNN Travel recently unveiled its top 10 best towns to visit for 2024.

Persons: there’s, Pan, Benoit Tessier, Roland Garros, CNN’s Richard Quest, Michel, Anthony Bourdain, Frank Herbert, Dale Chihuly, It’s, Lorena Sopêna, Silvio Berlusconi, Silkworm Organizations: CNN, France, Am Brands, Reuters, UNESCO, Saint, Pacific, Tacoma CNN Travel, Tacoma, Rainier, Europa Press, Locals Locations: Pacific Northwest, New York City, Bermuda, Lisbon, Marseille, London, Foynes, Ireland, Pan, Paris, France, of, Europe, Polynesia, Tacoma , Washington, Grit, ”, Barcelona, Spain, Swiss, Lauterbrunnen, Venice, Notting Hill, Milan, Harbin, China

☆ What it’s like to go to summer camp in North Korea
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-12 | by ( Will Ripley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Yuri’s fascination with North Korea began with a TV documentary that portrayed the country as besieged by capitalist neighbors. This curiosity led him to join a “Solidarity with North Korea” group on VKontakte, Russia’s Facebook equivalent. Before the pandemic, the largest source of inbound tourists to North Korea wasn’t Russia – it was China. Video Ad Feedback Student who visited a North Korea children's camp reveals what happens there 03:02 - Source: CNNThe camp offered typical summer activities like beach outings and sandcastle-building competitions but also included peculiar rituals. Yuri Frolov’s story is a powerful reminder of the lengths to which North Korea will go to shape perceptions and cultivate loyalty.

Persons: Yuri Frolov, Frolov, Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, I’ve, “, ”, wasn’t, Yuri Frolov’s Organizations: CNN, Democratic People’s, North Korea, Facebook, Songdowon, Communist Party, North Locations: Democratic People’s Republic, Korea, North, Solidarity, North Korea, Wonsan, North Korea’s, St, Petersburg, Vladivostok, Pyongyang, Moscow, Russia, China, Laos, Nigeria, Tanzania, United States, Burger, Communist, Korean

☆ Bukchon Hanok Village: South Korea to set visitor curfew for historic district to crackdown on tourists
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-11 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Known for its picturesque and well-preserved traditional Korean houses called “hanok,” Bukchon Hanok Village is one of Seoul’s most popular tourist hot spots – attracting thousands of visitors every day. But tourists greatly outnumber residents and complaints about noise, littering and privacy issues in the vicinity have escalated over the years. Located in the Jongno district in downtown Seoul, Bukchon sits near other cultural landmarks like the Jongmyo royal ancestral shrine and the grand Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung palaces. In a bid to ease tensions and control crowds, district officials will start to restrict tourist access to the popular village from as early as October this year. Out-of-control tourists have been especially problematic in Kyoto, one of Japan’s most popular tourist cities, famed for its iconic Gion geisha district.

Persons: Rhee Soo, Lee Youn, ” Lee, Overtourism, Sindere, “, ”, Emma Hägg Organizations: South Korea CNN, CNN, Tourists Locations: Seoul, South Korea, throngs, Jongno, Bukchon, South Korea’s, Korea, Barcelona, Italy’s, Venice, Japan, Mount Fuji, Kyoto, Sweden, Swedish

☆ NATO allies call China a ‘decisive enabler’ of Russia in Ukraine war as bloc eyes Asia security threats
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-11 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Hong Kong CNN —China is a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine, NATO leaders said Wednesday, as the defense alliance hardens its stance on Beijing and the “systemic challenges” they say it poses to their countries’ security. For the third consecutive year, leaders of New Zealand, Japan and South Korea attended the NATO leaders’ summit in another sign of closer ties between the bloc and those countries, as well as Australia. NATO’s increasing focus on AsiaThe NATO leaders’ declaration is the latest step in what has been the bloc’s gradual hardening of tone on China in recent years. NATO leaders first mentioned the need to jointly address “opportunities and challenges” posed by China in a 2019 declaration, before moving to refer to “systemic challenges” the country poses in 2021. “The Indo-Pacific is important for NATO, given that developments in that region directly affect Euro-Atlantic security,” the leaders said in their declaration.

Persons: ”, Joe Biden, China’s, “, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Bobylov, –, Putin, Kim Jong Un Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, NATO, US, ’, Getty Images China, Union, European Union, EU, Wednesday, North Locations: China, Hong Kong, Ukraine, Beijing, Washington, Russia, Moscow, North America, Europe, Asia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Russian, ”, North Korea, Iran, Pyongyang, Tehran, North, Pacific

☆ South Korea to mass produce lasers that can take out drones at $1.50 a hit
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-11 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —South Korea is beginning the mass production of a low-cost laser weapon that has successfully shot down small drones during testing, the country’s key arms agency said Thursday. The release did not give a cost for the weapon, but said each shot fired would only cost about $1.50. In Ukraine, the Middle East and elsewhere, small drones - some available off the shelf - have shown the ability to disable or destroy multimillion-dollar pieces of military hardware, including tanks. The agency said South Korea is the first country to publicly acknowledge it will deploy a mass-produced laser weapon. In 2022, the US Navy successfully tested a high-energy laser system against a target representing a cruise missile.

Persons: DAPA, ” James Black, ” Organizations: South Korea CNN, Korea’s, Administration, RAND, Korea Institute for Defense, Hanwha Aerospace, US Navy Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Ukraine, RAND Europe, Britain

☆ South Korea: Flying aboard the AC-130J Ghostrider, carrying America’s biggest gun in the sky
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Brad Lendon | Mike Valerio | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

AC-130 gunners Joe Gipson (back) and Isaac Dowell tend the 105mm cannon aboard a US Air Force AC-130J during a live-fire exercise over South Korea. A 105mm howitzer is seen at the rear of a US Air Force AC-130J at Osan Air Base, South Korea, in early June 2024. ‘Spooky’ historyUS Air Force gunships trace their lineage back to the Vietnam War, when the service set up 7.62 mm guns to fire out one side of a C-47 transport aircraft. With the AC-130J model, introduced in 2017, the Air Force removed the machine guns in favor of the more precision-guided munitions. The AC-130’s crew acknowledges the dangers of ground fire to their aircraft, and some analysts question its usefulness in any potential conflict with North Korea.

Persons: Ghostrider, Joe Gipson, Isaac Dowell, Brad Lendon, John Ikenberry, Kim Jong Un, ” Ikenberry, Heath Curtis, Mike Valerio, Curtis, ”, Justin Burris, Peter Layton, Layton, Maj, Christopher Mesnard, CNN’s Yoonjung Seo, Gawon Bae Organizations: Korean Peninsula CNN, US Air Force AC, CNN, Air Force Special Operations Command, US Air Force, Osan Air Base, South, Air Force, National Museum of, Operation, US, Griffith Asia Institute, Royal Australian Air Force, Operations Command Locations: Hurlburt Field, Florida, South Korea, Seoul, North Korea, Washington, Korea, Maj, New Mexico, United States, Vietnam, Asia, Grenada, Panama, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kunduz, Iraqi, Persian, Khafji, Saudi Arabia, Korean, Australia, Operations Command Korea

Unionized workers at Samsung Electronics said Wednesday they would go on an indefinite strike, an escalation of a rare labor dispute that could disrupt the technology giant’s world-leading chip business. An estimated 6,500 workers walked off the job on Monday for a planned three-day strike over pay and working conditions. The Nationwide Samsung Electronics Union decided to extend the strike after “hearing no word” from the company, according to Lee Hyun Kuk, the vice president of the union, which represents 28,000 workers, or a fifth of the Samsung’s global work force. The union said it has been negotiating with Samsung since January over vacation days and wages. “As the strike goes on, the management’s blood will dry out and they will eventually come to the negotiating table on their knees,” the union said in a statement.

Persons: Lee Hyun Kuk Organizations: Samsung Electronics, Nationwide Samsung Electronics Union, Samsung, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company

☆ Japan: US sending dozens of F-15EX, F35 fighter jets in $10 billion modernization
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-05 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Japan said basing the new fighter aircraft in the country would enhance US capabilities there. But from 2022, as the twin-engine fighters neared the end of their service life, the US Air Force began pulling them from Kadena. The F-15EX is the Air Force’s newest fighter jet, with the first operational plane delivered to the Oregon Air National Guard in early June. The F-35As that will be stationed at Misawa Air Base are the Air Force’s newest stealth fighters. F-35s deliver “an enhanced capability to survive in the advanced threat environment in which it was designed to operate,” an Air Force fact sheet says.

Persons: Yoshimasa Hayashi, Carlos Barria, 15EX, Peter Layton, ” Layton, Layton, ”, CNN’s Hanako Montgomery Organizations: CNN, Defense Department, Pentagon, Japan Alliance, Misawa Air Base, Kadena Air Base, Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, U.S . Air Force, Chinese Communist Party, US Air Force, Boeing, Military, Air Force’s, Oregon Air National Guard, USAF, Air Force, Griffith Asia Institute, Royal Australian Air Force, Japan Locations: Japan, Okinawa, Hiroshima, Honshu, United States, U.S, China, Russia, North Korea, Tokyo, East, North, Pyongyang, Britain, Australia, Nevada, Taiwan, Kadena, Washington

☆ North Korean failed missile test may have fallen near capital Pyongyang, South Korea says
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-01 | by ( Gawon Bae | Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —A ballistic missile launched by North Korea on Monday might have had an “abnormal” flight trajectory and could have fallen inland, possibly near the capital of Pyongyang, the South Korean military said. North Korea launched two ballistic missiles on Monday morning, according to reports from the South Korean, American and Japanese governments. South Korea later said the North Korean claim was false. Meanwhile, both nations are drawing closer to their respective partners – with North Korea recently signing a defense agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin and South Korea stepping up cooperation with Japan and the United States. “Pyongyang is also determined not to appear weak while South Korea conducts defense exercises with Japan and the United States.”

Persons: Lee Sung, ” Lee, Lee, Kim ramped, Vladimir Putin, Leif, Eric Easley, Kim, ” Organizations: South Korea CNN, North, South Korean, South Korea’s, Chiefs of Staff, Korean Central News Agency, Nations, Ewha Womans University, Central Committee, Worker’s Party, South Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, Pyongyang, South, South Hwanghae, Changyon, North Korea’s, Japan, United States

☆ The Clues Inside North and South Korea’s Balloons
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-29 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The balloons started drifting over in May when North Korean defectors and other activists living in South Korea launched dozens of plastic inflatables to deliver propaganda, or thought bombs. North Korea responded with more than 2,000 trash balloons. The Times had access to cargo packed by two Seoul-based activist groups. A typical balloon launched by one of them, the Committee for Reforming and Opening North Korea, carries a dispenser that spits out 25 leaflets every five minutes once it reaches an altitude of two to three miles.

Organizations: North Korean, Times Locations: South Korea, Korea, Seoul

The debate between Donald J. Trump and President Biden had analysts in Asia fretting. During Thursday night’s debate, President Biden told former President Donald J. Trump that the United States is the “envy of the world.”After watching their performance, many of America’s friends might beg to differ. In Europe and Asia, the back-and-forth between the blustering Mr. Trump and the faltering Mr. Biden set analysts fretting — and not just about who might win the election in November. Image Mr. Biden leaving the debate stage. Kasit Piromya, Thailand’s foreign minister from 2008 to 2011 and a former ambassador to the United States, lamented the state of American politics.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Biden, ”, fretting —, ” Simon Canning, ” Sergey Radchenko, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, “, Putin, “ I’ve, Mr, Kenny Holston, François Heisbourg, Trump’s, “ I’m, Heisbourg, Radoslaw Sikorski, Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, Sikorski, Joe Biden’s, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Daniela Schwarzer, Bogdan Butkevych, “ Trump, Chan Heng Chee, Ms, Chan, Lee Byong, ’ ”, Koichi Nakano, Haiyun Jiang, Narendra Modi, Tara Kartha, —, Shen Dingli, don’t, Kasit, Damien Cave, Lee Wee, Choe Sang, Vivian Wang, Camille Elemia, Mujib Mashal, Ségolène Le Stradic, Marc Santora Organizations: Johns Hopkins School, International Studies, —, Mr, Russia, New York Times, Trump, Bertelsmann Foundation, Washington , D.C, Credit, Kremlin, Kyiv Independent, Biden unnerves, Institute for Far Eastern, Kyungnam University, Sophia University, The New York Times, Washington, National Security Council of, ”, Weibo Locations: Asia, Australian, United States, Europe, Australia, Washington, Russia, China, North Korea, Ukraine, Lebanon, Iran, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Gaza, Jerusalem, France, Washington ,, American, Ukrainian, North, Seoul, “, United, Tokyo, The New York Times India, National Security Council of India, New Delhi, Beijing, India, Communist, Shanghai, U.S, Southeast Asia

☆ CoolApp: Cambodia’s WhatsApp-like messaging app critics fear could be used for state surveillance
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Cambodian strongman leader Hun Sen has thrown his weight behind a new homegrown messaging app, which critics say is a way for the government to monitor and undermine political discussion in the country. One of the world’s longest-serving leaders, Hun Sen has ruled Cambodia with an iron fist for more than three decades. Though his eldest son, Hun Manet, succeeded him as prime minister last year, Hun Sen remains the ruling party’s center of power. Greater online surveillanceInternet freedom in Cambodia has experienced a drastic regression under Hun Sen’s rule, rights groups say. CNN has reached out to Hun Sen’s office for comment.

Persons: Hun Sen, WhatsApp, ”, Vietnam’s, Hun Manet, Lim Cheavutha, Hun Sen’s, Hun, Mu Sochua, leader’s, China’s, “, Sam Rainsy, ” Sam Rainsy Organizations: CNN, Facebook, US State Department, United Nations, Meta, Reuters, Communist Party, CoolApp Locations: Cambodian, Cambodia, Southeast Asia

☆ Mount Halla: Soup broth harming South Korea’s highest mountain, warn officials
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-27 | by ( Lilit Marcus | Gawon Bae | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —South Korea’s highest mountain is facing environmental damage from an unexpected source – instant noodles. Mount Halla, measuring 1,947 meters (1.2 miles) tall, is the country’s highest mountain and located on popular vacation destination Jeju Island. Mount Halla is part of the UNESCO-listed Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes heritage site. Last year, 923,680 people visited the mountain, according to government statistics. According to Korean media, ramyun is now offered for sale at the top of the Matterhorn, the Alpine peak in Switzerland.

Persons: Mount Halla, ramyun Organizations: CNN, South, Office, Mount, Mount Halla, UNESCO Locations: South Korea, Switzerland

☆ Italian animation company agrees to $538,000 penalty for ‘apparent violations’ of US sanctions on North Korea
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —An Italian animation company has agreed to pay the US Treasury Department $538,000 for “apparent violations” of US sanctions against North Korea by doing business with a North Korean state-owned animation studio, the department said Wednesday. The outsourcing contract made explicit reference to North Korea, the department said. Mondo’s use of the US financial system to send money to North Korea triggered the Treasury investigation and the threat of fines. Along with Russia, North Korea is among the most heavily sanctioned governments in the world. But the North Korean animation industry has provided an important source of revenue for Pyongyang, according to experts.

Persons: It’s, Mondo, Matteo Corradi, Kim Jong Un, “ It’s, Jenny Town, CNN’s Gianluca Mezzofiore Organizations: CNN, US Treasury, North, Treasury, Mondo TV, Tigers, Treasury Department, Stimson, United Nations Locations: Italian, North Korea, Korean, Rome, China, Italy, London, North Korean, Korea, ”, Russia, Pyongyang

☆ This Golf Galaxy employee was so nervous he drank three beers before a crucial playoff. Here’s what happened next
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Jack Bantock | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —There are a variety of methods golfers can call upon to soothe their anxiety in the face of a dreaded playoff. Three beers and eight nerve-wracking holes later, the 27-year-old stamped his ticket to his first ever PGA Tour event. Nick Bienz works at Golf Galaxy, has never played any pga tour sanctioned event, he is so nervous he’s pounding beers. He had attempted to qualify for events before, including several on the Korn Ferry Tour – the PGA Tour’s developmental circuit – but had never been so close to getting over the line. “I don’t remember hitting the putt,” Bienz added to the PGA Tour.

Persons: Nick Bienz, Hoagland, Bienz, Ryan French –, ” Bienz, “, BeXgsjiWFv, –, ’ Bienz, Tom Kim, Scottie Scheffler, ’ ”, Kevin Kisner –, couldn’t, ‘, ‘ I’m, ’, ”, “ I’m Organizations: CNN, Golf Galaxy, Indiana University, Purdue University Indianapolis, IUPUI, PGA, Detroit Golf Club, French Locations: Hoagland , Indiana, Washington , Michigan, Bienz, South, Ohio

☆ North Korea’s latest missile test likely ended in failure, South Korea’s military says
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A North Korean ballistic missile test Wednesday likely ended in failure, South Korea's military said, days after the North protested the recent regional deployment of a U.S. aircraft carrier for a trilateral military drill with South Korea and Japan. A North Korean ballistic missile test Wednesday likely ended in failure, South Korea's military said, days after the North protested the recent regional deployment of a U.S. aircraft carrier for a trilateral military drill with South Korea and Japan. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are analyzing details of the North Korean launch. Yonhap cited an unidentified South Korean military source as saying North Korea was believed to have tested a hypersonic missile. South Korea's military said Monday said it was ready to turn on its loudspeakers again.

Persons: didn't, Yonhap Organizations: South Korea's, Chiefs, Staff, South, Japan's Defense, Korean Locations: Korean, U.S, Korea, Japan, South, South Korean, North Korea, South Korea

☆ North Korea Says It Tested Multiple-Warhead Missile Technology
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

North Korea said for the first time on Thursday that it had tested technology for launching several nuclear warheads with a single missile, days after President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia visited the North and raised the prospect of expanded military and technical cooperation. The test on Wednesday was “aimed at securing the MIRV capability,” the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reported. MIRV stands for “multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle,” a missile payload containing several warheads, each of which can be sent to a different target. The report said the test had involved part of a MIRV system, not a full-fledged multiple-warhead missile. But experts believe the North is far from mastering the technology.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, “, MIRV, Kim Jong, Kim Organizations: Korean Central News Agency Locations: Korea, Russia, United States

☆ North Korean trash balloons briefly close Seoul airport runways
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Takeoffs and landings at South Korea’s Incheon International Airport were disrupted on Wednesday for about three hours before dawn because of balloons launched by North Korea filled with refuse, an airport spokesperson said. North Korea has flown balloons carrying trash into South Korea since late May, with hundreds landing in South Korea. The disruption to domestic and international flights occurred between 1:46 a.m. and 4:44 a.m., and the runways have re-opened since then, Incheon International Airport Corporation said. North Korea has said the balloons are retaliation for a propaganda campaign by North Korean defectors and activists in the South who regularly send over balloons carrying food, medicine, money and leaflets criticizing the North’s leaders. Among the items carried by the North Korean balloons have been articles printed with Hello Kitty characters, badly worn clothing, and soil containing traces of human feces and parasites, South Korea has said.

Persons: Kitty Organizations: South Korea’s, International, Incheon International Airport Corporation, China Cargo, North Locations: South, North Korea, Incheon, South Korea, Korean, Jeju, Shanghai, Yantai, China, Korea, North Korean, Seoul, Gyeonggi

For many years, South Korean activists and North Korean defectors have sent balloons to the North, loaded with propaganda material criticizing dictator Kim Jong Un and USB sticks filled with K-pop songs and South Korean television shows – all strictly prohibited in the impoverished, highly isolated nation. Choi, co-founder of the Committee for Reforming and Opening North Korea, is among the North Korean defectors who have vowed to continue sending balloons to their homeland. The leaflets include declarations of freedom for the North Korean people, and propaganda messages against dictator Kim Jong Un. Charles Miller/CNNFitted with GPS trackers, the activists can monitor these next generation “smart” balloons in real time on journeys that often span hundreds of kilometers. Relations between the two countries thawed somewhat in 2017 and 2018, allowing some South Korean elements, including parts of its pop culture, to seep into the hermit nation.

Persons: Choi, Kim Jong, Kim Yo Jong, North, Yoonjung Seo, Kim Jong Un, Charles Miller, ” Choi, “ It’s, ‘, ’ ”, Kim ramped, Vladimir Putin, ” Organizations: South Korea CNN, CNN, South, North, South Korean, North Korean, GPS, Workers ’ Party, Nations, Chiefs of Staff Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, South Korea’s, South Korean, Korean, Pyongyang, Korea, China, “ North Korea, North Korean, Japan, United States

☆ US aircraft carrier arrives in South Korea as Russia-North Korea defense pact deepens regional fears
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-24 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Besides signing the defense deal with Kim Jong Un, Putin also linked security on the Korean Peninsula to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, threatening to arm North Korea should South Korea provide military aid to Kyiv. The aircraft carrier’s presence in Busan is just the latest in a series of US military moves to show Washington’s “ironclad” commitment to its own treaty ally in South Korea. Earlier this month, US Air Force B-1B bombers participated in a live-fire exercise on the peninsula, the first time in seven years those long-range strike aircraft have dropped live munitions in South Korea. The visit of the USS Theodore Roosevelt to Busan marks the second time a Nimitz-class carrier has visited South Korea in seven months. Neither the US nor South Korea would give details or exact dates of the upcoming Freedom Edge exercise.

Persons: Theodore Roosevelt, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Putin, Kim, ” Putin, Carl Vinson, Roosevelt, “, ”, Dwight D, Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, United States Navy, DPRK, Democratic People’s, CNN, US Air Force, United Nations, South, Nimitz, Hornet, South Korean, Pentagon Locations: Hong Kong, South Korea, Washington, Seoul, Tokyo, North Korea, Russia, Busan, Japan, Russian, Pyongyang, Ukraine, Kyiv, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North, Korea, Moscow, Yemen, Iran, Pacific, Yokosuka

☆ Japan and South Korea Are Fighting Over an App at a Tense Time
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-24 | by ( River Akira Davis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A joint venture set up in 2019 by two top Japanese and South Korean companies was hailed as a beacon of cooperation amid strained diplomatic relations. Executives from South Korea’s Naver and Japan’s SoftBank Group said they would jointly own the operator of Line, a South Korean-developed messaging app popularized in Japan. Five years later, Japan and South Korea have made significant strides in easing longstanding historical tensions. Japan and South Korea, both key United States allies in Asia, have a sensitive history. Japan colonized Korea from 1910 until Japan’s surrender in World War II in 1945, and Japan and South Korea have often scuffled over territory and geopolitical differences.

Persons: Japan’s Locations: South Korea’s, Korean, Japan, South Korea, States, Asia, Korea

☆ North Korean balloons ‘presumed’ to be carrying waste seen in South Korea as tensions flare
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-24 | by ( Gawon Bae | Michael Mitsanas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Seoul CNN —North Korean balloons “presumed” to be carrying waste were spotted in South Korea on Monday, reigniting a tit-for-tat exchange as tensions on the Korean Peninsula continue to heighten. On Thursday, a South Korean advocacy group flew 20 large balloons carrying thousands of anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets and USB sticks with South Korean entertainment toward North Korea. The balloons also carried damaged clothes from a South Korean brand, signaling “hostility towards South Korean goods,” as well as clothes with imitations of Disney characters, according to the ministry. In the meantime, a US Navy aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea over the weekend ahead of trilateral exercises with South Korea and Japan in the waters near the peninsula. US and South Korean officials signed a new memorandum of understanding on diplomatic intelligence sharing and analysis on Monday, according to South Korea’s foreign ministry.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Kim Yo Jong, North, ”, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong, Kristina Kormilitsyna, Kim Organizations: Seoul CNN —, Korea’s, Chiefs, Staff, South, North, US Navy, Korean, ROK, DPRK, United Nations, Northeast Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Gyeonggi Province, Seoul’s, Korean, North Korea, ”, Pyongyang, Japan, Russia, United States, DPRK, Northeast Asia, Europe

☆ China is watching warily as Putin and Kim forge new ‘alliance’
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-23 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Putin said Russia and North Korea have ramped up ties to a “new level.” Kim, meanwhile, called the new “alliance” a “watershed moment” in bilateral relations. In contrast, the reaction from China, the main political and economic patron for both Russia and North Korea, has been all but muted. “But they do know that China plays an irreplaceable role for both Russia and North Korea,” she said. China remains the largest trade partner to both Russia and North Korea, providing a crucial lifeline to the heavily sanctioned economies. “China doesn’t think that an alliance between Russia and North Korea would be a betrayal,” said Liu with the City University of Hong Kong.

Persons: Vladimir Putin glided, Kim Jong, Xi Jinping, Kim, Putin, ” Kim, Xi, Liu Dongshu, Liu, Kim Jong Un, ” Liu, Beijing doesn’t, Alexander Ryumin, ”, Edward Howell, Russia –, ” Yun Sun Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Benz, China’s Foreign, City University of Hong, KCNA, North Korea Treaty, Cooperation, Mutual Assistance, Getty, –, University of Oxford, North, Stimson Locations: China, Hong Kong, Pyongyang, Beijing, North Korea, Russia, United States, Japan, South Korea, Ukraine, Northeast Asia, City University of Hong Kong, Soviet Union, Friendship, North, Korean, Russian, Iran, Moscow, United Kingdom, Washington

☆ ‘My vision went dark’: CNN reporter experiences 6G-force before hitching a fighter jet ride
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-22 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Four South Korean F-4 fighter jets fly in formation on May 8, 2024, during a commemorative final flight of the aircraft. That test would come a few weeks before the F-4 flight at a South Korean Air Force medical facility south of Seoul. Lendon in the back seat of a South Korean F-4 Phantom flying over southern South Korea on May 8, 2024. South Korean Air Force F-4s flying in formation with two KF-21 fighter jet prototypes over southern South Korea on May 8, 2024. A total of 120 are expected to be delivered to the South Korean Air Force by 2030, and the jet is expected to be exportable.

Persons: Douglas, Lendon, –, didn’t, I’m, It’s, Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, I’d, don’t, South Korea Brad Lendon, Daegu –, vomited, “, ”, wouldn’t Organizations: South Korea CNN —, South Korean Air Force, US Navy, CNN, US Navy Blue Angels, US Air Force Thunderbirds, hometown Cleveland National Air, South, McDonnell, US, Korean, Wright, Daegu Air Base, Daegu, General, KF, Korean Air Force, South Korean Air Force Korea Aerospace Industries, Phantoms, Boeing, South Korean Airforce, Suwon Air Base Locations: Suwon, South Korea, Midway, Japan, Vietnam, North Korea, Seoul, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Daegu, Ohio, Korean, South Korean

☆ His Photos Exposed a Bloody Crackdown, but His Identity Was a Secret
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-21 | by ( Choe Sang-Hun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It is an iconic image — a black-and-white photo of a blood-splattered student being clubbed by a paratrooper medic. It was the first photo to slip through the military cordon around Gwangju, South Korea, in 1980, exposing the brutal suppression of what would be known as the Gwangju Democratization Movement. But for years, the identity of the photographer — an unassuming man named Na Kyung Taek — remained a secret. Mr. Chun’s rule ended in 1988, and now many in South Korea support a Constitutional revision to sanctify Gwangju’s role in the country’s democratization. But he was still haunted by what he saw that fateful spring.

Persons: —, Na, Chun, Chun’s Locations: Gwangju, South Korea, South

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