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☆ North Korea criticises US, South Korea military drills as 'nuclear blackmail'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, May 19 (Reuters) - North Korea accused the U.S. and South Korea of ramping up "nuclear blackmail" with joint military drills, pledging to take corresponding action against what it called "warmongers' madness," state media KCNA said on Friday. North Korea has reacted angrily to the exercises, calling them a rehearsal for invasion. This week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a military satellite station, saying successfully launching a spy satellite is an "urgent requirement of the prevailing security environment". Kim has said he prioritised a spy satellite programme as part of efforts to advance surveillance technology to improve the country's ability to strike targets in a crisis. The reclusive country in December conducted what it called an important "final phase" test for a spy satellite and said it would complete preparations for the launch by April.

SEOUL, May 17 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday his country is ready to partner with South Korea on critical minerals and clean energy projects, and to fend off North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. Addressing South Korea's parliament, Trudeau said Canada was committed to increase military engagement to mitigate threats to regional security, while working together with Seoul to denuclearise North Korea. "Canada is ready to strengthen our partnership with friends like Korea on everything from critical minerals to high-tech innovation to clean energy solutions," Trudeau said. Yoon and Trudeau will sign an agreement on key mineral supply chains, clean energy conversion and energy security cooperation, a South Korean government official has said. "Canada is committed to increase not just our trade, but also our military engagement as a means of mitigating threats to regional security," Trudeau said.

☆ Canada's Trudeau to visit South Korea; focus on minerals, security
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, May 16 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will arrive in South Korea on Tuesday for a summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol as the two countries seek to boost cooperation on security and critical minerals used in batteries. Yoon and Trudeau are scheduled to hold a summit and joint press conference on Wednesday, followed by an official dinner, said Yoon's deputy national security advisor, Kim Tae-hyo. The two U.S. allies have been exploring ways to deepen cooperation on critical minerals used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries and step up intelligence sharing. Yoon and Trudeau will sign an agreement on key mineral supply chains, clean energy conversion and energy security cooperation, a South Korean government official told Reuters, requesting anonymity as the deal was not finalised. The two countries have also sought to step up security cooperation including intelligence sharing, while navigating an intensifying rivalry between the United States and China.

☆ South Korea to drop mandatory 7-day quarantine for COVID patients from June
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, May 11 (Reuters) - South Korea on Thursday lowered its crisis level for COVID-19 and will from June no longer require infected people to quarantine for seven days, dropping one of the country's few remaining pandemic-related restrictions. Health authorities will still recommend five days of self-isolation for infected people but it will not be mandatory. Requirements that masks be worn at all medical facilities and pharmacies will also be dropped, with masks only mandatory at hospitals with patient wards. Yoon said the government would continue to provide financial support for COVID testing and treatment "for a while". South Korea, which has a population of 52 million, has reported around 31.3 million infections and 34,600 deaths, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

☆ 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.

☆ South Korea's Yoon says nuclear consultative group upgrades U.S. alliance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, May 2 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Tuesday that a planned nuclear consultative group and new partnerships on supply chains and science and technology are an "upgrade" to the country's alliance with the United States. Yoon held a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington last week, during which they agreed to step up nuclear planning over North Korea by launching the consultative group, as anxiety grows in Seoul over Pyongyang's weapons programmes and the American nuclear umbrella. The summit also produced agreements on cyber security, electric vehicles and batteries, quantum technology, foreign assistance and economic investment. "The alliance has gotten a nuclear-based upgrade, and expanded to include supply chain, industrial and science and technology alliances," Yoon told a cabinet meeting. Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Christian SchmollingerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ North Korea blasts U.S.-South Korea summit deal for escalating tension
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, May 1 (Reuters) - North Korea criticised a recent U.S-South Korea agreement to bolster the deployment of American strategic assets in the region for escalating tension to the "brink of a nuclear war," state media KCNA said on Monday. Both leaders agreed to strengthen South Korea's defences and regularly deploy U.S. strategic assets. As part of the efforts, a U.S. Navy nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine will visit South Korea for the first time since the 1980s. KCNA said the agreement stipulated the allies' willingness to take "the most hostile and aggressive action" against North Korea, citing Choe Ju Hyon, whom it described as an international security analyst. Pyongyang has reacted angrily to the Yoon-Biden summit, saying it consolidated its conviction to perfect its "nuclear war deterrent."

[1/4] South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers remarks to the U.S.-Korea Business Council at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 25, 2023. He said the two countries' economies had been facing new challenges and the economic slowdown was unsettling the investment environment. "Competition for technological hegemony, energy issues and climate crises are casting more uncertainties on business activity day by day," Yoon said. "This cooperation should extend beyond semiconductors to future emerging technologies such as AI, Quantum, SMR (Small Modular Reactors) and more," Yoon said. Core technologies from the United States and South Korea's advanced manufacturing capabilities would "create enormous synergies that will benefit both countries," he said.

☆ S.Korea's Yoon to meet Biden as doubts grow over nuclear umbrella
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

More than 64% supported South Korea developing its own nuclear weapons, with about 33% opposed. Yoon has been pushing to boost South Korea's say in operating the U.S. extended deterrence but exactly what that might entail has not been spelt out. A senior U.S. official said on Friday that Biden, during the summit with Yoon, would pledge "substantial" steps to underscore U.S. commitments to deter a North Korean nuclear attack. South Korea, a major producer of artillery shells, says it has not provided lethal weapons to Ukraine, citing its relations with Russia. South Korea tries to avoid antagonising Russia, due chiefly to business interests and Russian influence over North Korea.

☆ South Korea's Yoon to visit US on April 24-30, Yonhap reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SEOUL, April 20 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will visit the United States on April 24-30 for a summit with President Joe Biden, Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday. The two leaders are scheduled to hold a summit and joint news conference on April 26, and Yoon will deliver a speech to the U.S. Congress on April 27, Yonhap said. Yoon's trip would mark the South Korean leader's first state visit to the United States since 2011, and the 70th anniversary of the two countries' alliance. Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Christian SchmollingerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ North Korea criticises G7 over call for denuclearisation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The quoted remarks by North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui came in a statement criticising the United States and other Group of Seven countries. Tension has flared in recent weeks as North Korea has ramped up military activities, and threatened "more practical and offensive" action as U.S. and South Korean forces conduct annual springtime military exercises. North Korea has been reacting furiously to those exercises, calling them a rehearsal for "an all-out, nuclear war." Choe accused the G7 countries of illegally interfering in North Korea's internal affairs by demanding denuclearisation, saying Pyongyang would respond if they attempt to violate its sovereignty and fundamental interests. "North Korea will never get what it wants through nuclear and missile development, and it will only become more isolated from the international community," ministry deputy spokesperson Lee Hyo-jung told a briefing.

☆ S.Korea summons Chinese ambassador over reaction to Yoon's Taiwan remarks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The move came after China and South Korea exchanged harsh words over Yoon's comments in a recent interview with Reuters. "The Taiwan issue is not simply an issue between China and Taiwan but, like the issue of North Korea, it is a global issue." Asked about Yoon's comments, the Chinese foreign ministry denounced Yoon and called on South Korea to "prudently handle matters" related to Taiwan. Hours later, South Korea's foreign ministry hit back and said comments by the Chinese foreign ministry were "unspeakable". A vice foreign minister called in Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming and strongly protested what South Korea called "diplomatic discourtesy", the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement.

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."

☆ South Korea, US, Japan to hold missile defence drills to counter North Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, April 17 (Reuters) - South Korea, the United States and Japan will stage joint naval missile defence exercises on Monday as they push for greater security cooperation to better counter North Korea's evolving missile threats, Seoul's navy said. Monday's drills will be held in international waters between Korea and Japan, bringing together South Korea's 7,600-ton Aegis destroyer Yulgok Yi I, U.S. guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold, and Japan's Atago destroyer, also equipped with Aegis radar systems. The three countries would focus on mastering response procedures from detection to tracking to information sharing by creating a virtual target under the scenario of a North Korean ballistic missile provocation, the South Korean navy said. South Korean and U.S. air forces are separately set to begin their drills on Monday for a 12-day run. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has pledged to move the ties beyond the past and visited Tokyo in March for the first time in 12 years as the country's leader.

☆ South Korea fires warning shots after North's boat crosses sea border
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, April 16 (Reuters) - South Korea fired warning shots toward a North Korean vessel that crossed the maritime border on Saturday, South Korea's military said a day after the incident which came amid recent tension over the North's missile tests. The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it fired warning shots and broadcast warnings to expel a North Korean patrol boat that breached the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto sea boundary, at around 11:00 a.m. on Saturday (0200 GMT Saturday). "Our military maintains decisive battle posture while monitoring the enemy's movements in preparation for potential provocations regarding NLL violations by North Korean patrol boats," the JCS said in a statement on Sunday. During the operations, a South Korean patrol ship came into "minor contact" with a nearby Chinese fishing vessel due to bad visibility, resulting in no safety issues but slight injuries among the South Korean crew, the JCS added. Last October, the two Koreas traded warning shots in the western waters, accusing each other of breaching the sea border in an area where confrontations have often occurred.

☆ Explainer: What is solid-fuel technology, and why is North Korea eager to develop it?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, April 14 (Reuters) - North Korea says it has tested a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), its first known use of the propellant in a longer-range projectile, as it seeks the capability to launch with little preparation. Here are some characteristics of solid-fuel technology, and how it can help the North improve its missile systems. North Korea claims to have tested a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Hwasong-18WHO HAS THAT TECHNOLOGY? South Korea said on Friday it had already secured "efficient and advanced" solid-propellant ballistic missile technology. North Korea said the development of its new solid-fuel ICBM, the Hwasong-18, would "radically promote" its nuclear counterattack capability.

[1/5] Choi Jin-mook, 48, Chief Director of Drug Addiction Rehabilitation Centre (DARC) and visiting professor of Department of Addiction Rehabilitation and Social Welfare at Eulji University, listens to a recovering drug addict during a group counselling for drug addicts in Incheon, South Korea, April 1, 2023. South Korea has only six drug rehabilitation centres, according to Choi, including just two run by the food and drug safety ministry. In comparison, Japan - with 126 million people to South Korea's 52 million - has about 90 rehab centres. PRISON NOT REHABOne of the biggest problems is that South Korea's corrections system focuses mostly on punitive detention and lacks rehabilitation support, Choi said. Some drug crimes are also punishable by death although South Korea has not carried out any executions since 1997.

☆ South Korea to lend 500,000 rounds of artillery shells to US, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, April 12 (Reuters) - South Korea reached an agreement last month to lend the United States 500,000 rounds of 155 mm artillery shells that could give Washington greater flexibility to supply Ukraine with ammunition, a South Korean newspaper reported on Wednesday. The DongA Ilbo newspaper cited unnamed government sources saying that South Korea decided to "lend" the ammunition instead of selling in order to minimise the possibility of South Korean shells being used in the Ukraine conflict. It said the loaned shells would be used primarily by the United States to fill its stockpile. Having bought 100,000 rounds of the shells last year, the U.S. government had asked to buy the same amount or more in February, but the South Korean government sought another way to supply the ammunition to its ally. South Korea is a key U.S. ally and major producer of artillery ammunition, but has sought to avoid antagonising Russia in light of economic ties and Moscow's influence over North Korea.

☆ North Korea's Kim calls for more 'practical, offensive' war deterrence
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, April 11 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for strengthening the country's war deterrence in a "more practical and offensive" manner to counter what it called moves of aggression by the U.S. and South Korea, state media KCNA said on Tuesday. North Korea has been reacting angrily to a recent series of the allies' joint military exercises, which KCNA said were intended to prepare for "an all-out war" and forced Pyongyang to explore "powerful practical action", including military options. Kim ordered further reinforcing the country's war deterrence with "increasing speed" and in a "more practical and offensive" manner, KCNA said. The meeting "discussed practical matters and measures for machinery to prepare various military action proposals that no means and ways of counteraction are available to the enemy," it added. South Korea and the U.S. forces have conducted annual springtime exercises since March, including air and sea drills involving a U.S. aircraft carrier and B-1B and B-52 bombers, and their first large-scale amphibious landing drills in five years.

☆ North Korea says U.S.-South Korea drills push tension to 'brink of nuclear war'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Yonhap via REUTERS/File PhotoSEOUL, April 6 (Reuters) - North Korea on Thursday accused the U.S. and South Korea of escalating tensions to the brink of nuclear war through their joint military drills, vowing to respond with "offensive action," state media KCNA reported. KCNA released a commentary by Choe Ju Hyon, whom it called an international security analyst, criticising the exercises as "a trigger for driving the situation on the Korean peninsula to the point of explosion." "Now the international community unanimously hopes that the dark clouds of a nuclear war hanging over the Korean peninsula will be removed as early as possible," it added. "The drills have turned the Korean peninsula into a huge powder magazine which can be detonated any moment," it added. North Korea has reacted furiously to the exercises, calling them a rehearsal for invasion.

☆ North Korea slams U.S. for protecting raiders of Spain embassy in 2019 case
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, April 4(Reuters) - North Korea criticized the U.S. for refusing to extradite a man who was accused of staging a break-in at North Korea's embassy in Spain in 2019, saying Washington was protecting terrorism, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday. The North Korean embassy in Madrid issued a statement marking the fourth anniversary of the raid, during which a group of men bound and gagged staff for hours before driving off with computers and other devices. "But the U.S. is openly protecting and encouraging acts of terrorism against our citizens abroad based on groundless claims," it added. The embassy called Washington's behaviour "daylight robbery" and "gangster," demanding it provide a formal apology and compensation and arrest and extradite the raiders. The FBI gave the items to Spanish authorities who eventually returned them to the embassy.

☆ 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.

☆ North Korea's Kim orders more production of weapons-grade nuclear materials
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, March 28 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for scaling up the production of weapons-grade nuclear material to grow the country's arsenal, saying it should be ready to use the weapons at any time, state media KCNA said on Tuesday. Kim made the remarks as he inspected the country's nuclear weapons programme, including new tactical nuclear weapons and technology for mounting warheads on ballistic missiles, and examined nuclear counterattack operation plans, KCNA said. He was also briefed on an IT-based integrated nuclear weapon management system called Haekbangashoe, which means "nuclear trigger," whose accuracy, reliability and security were verified during recent drills simulating a nuclear counterattack, it added. Kim ordered the production of weapons-grade materials in a "far-sighted way" to boost its nuclear arsenal "exponentially" and produce powerful weapons, KCNA said. North Korea's military simulated a nuclear airburst with two tactical ballistic missiles during Monday's training, KCNA said in a separate dispatch.

☆ North Korea unveils new nuclear warheads as Kim orders more weapons-grade materials
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SEOUL, March 28 (Reuters) - North Korea unveiled new, smaller nuclear warheads as leader Kim Jong Un called for scaling up the production of weapons-grade nuclear material to expand the country's arsenal, state media KCNA said on Tuesday. KCNA released photos of the warheads, dubbed Hwasan-31, during Kim's visit to the Nuclear Weapons Institute, where he inspected new tactical nuclear weapons and technology for mounting warheads on ballistic missiles, as well as nuclear counterattack operation plans. Kim ordered the production of weapons-grade materials in a "far-sighted way" to boost its nuclear arsenal "exponentially" and produce powerful weapons, KCNA said. "The frantic war drills in the puppet region are not just military drills but nuclear war drills for a preemptive strike ... pursuant to the U.S. political and military option to escalate confrontation with the DPRK and finally lead to a war," it said. DPRK is an abbreviation for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

☆ South Korea, US to hold largest live-fire drills amid North Korea tension
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, March 22 (Reuters) - South Korean and U.S. forces will hold their largest-ever live-fire exercises in June in a show of force to North Korea, which has ratcheted up tension with numerous missile launches, South Korea's defence ministry said on Wednesday. "During the live-fire exercises, the combined forces will demonstrate the alliance's formidable firepower and mobility on an unprecedented scale." In recent weeks, North Korea has been ramping up its military tests, firing an intercontinental ballistic missile last week and conducting a nuclear counterattack simulation against the U.S. and South Korea over the weekend. The United States has about 28,500 troops in South Korea. North Korea has reacted furiously to those drills, calling them a rehearsal for its invasion.

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