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☆ Samsung Biologics unveils $920 mln manufacturing deals for Pfizer
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, July 4 (Reuters) - South Korea's Samsung Biologics (207940.KS) announced on Tuesday two deals with Pfizer (PFE.N) worth around a combined 1.2 trillion won ($921.38 million) to manufacture products for the U.S. pharmaceutical giant. The latest orders bring this year's combined tally of orders from Pfizer to $1.08 billion, Samsung Biologics said in a statement. Tuesday's announcements include a 922.7 billion won contract, as well as an additional 254.3 billion won order that is a follow-up to a deal previously announced in March. Samsung Biologics welcomed the orders as an expansion of a strategic partnership, adding that it had won total contracts worth 1.93 trillion won so far this year, surpassing last year's annual contract volume. Earlier this year, Samsung Biologics signed deals with Eli Lilly Kinsale and GlaxoSmithKline (GLAX.NS).

Persons: Samsung Biologics, Eli Lilly Kinsale, 1,302.4000, Hyunsu Yim, Ed Davies Organizations: Samsung, Pfizer, Samsung Group, GlaxoSmithKline, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, South Korea

☆ North Korea appears to lift COVID mask mandate, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, July 4 (Reuters) - North Korea appeared to have eased a strict COVID-19 mask mandate, media reports said this week, after state news agencies showed many people maskless. North Korean state television and newspapers did not make any official announcement, but showed crowds of people at theatres and other locations without masks. The report said authorities had eased the mandates because wearing used masks and strict mask control had led to the spread of skin and eye infections. Last August, North Korean state news agency KCNA said Pyongyang had dropped a face mask mandate along with other social distancing rules as leader Kim Jong Un declared victory over COVID-19. North Korea's strict coronavirus curbs have also been criticized by a United Nations report last year as worsening its human rights violations.

Persons: KCNA, Kim Jong Un, Hyunsu Yim, Josh Smith, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: NK News, Free Asia, United Nations, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, North Korea, Korean, Seoul, U.S, North Korean, Pyongyang

☆ Samsung Biologics unveils $897 mln manufacturing deals for Pfizer
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, July 4 (Reuters) - South Korea's Samsung Biologics (207940.KS) announced on Tuesday two deals with Pfizer (PFE.N) worth a combined $897 million to manufacture products for the U.S. pharmaceutical giant. The latest orders bring this year's combined tally of orders from Pfizer to $1.08 billion, Samsung Biologics said in a statement. Samsung Biologics welcomed the orders as an expansion of a strategic partnership, adding that its total contracts so far this year had already surpassed last year's annual contract volume. Earlier this year, Samsung Biologics signed deals with Eli Lilly Kinsale and GlaxoSmithKline (GLAX.NS). In March, Samsung Biologics announced a plan to invest 2 trillion won ($1.54 billion) through September 2025 to build a new factory in South Korea.

Persons: Samsung Biologics, Eli Lilly Kinsale, 1,302.8100, Hyunsu Yim, Ed Davies Organizations: Samsung, Pfizer, Samsung Group, GlaxoSmithKline, Samsung Biologics, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, South Korea

☆ South Korea's Yoon tells unification ministry to be less soft on North
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, July 2 (Reuters) - Having appointed a new unification minister days earlier, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Sunday that the ministry had focused too much on providing aid for North Korea in the past and needed to change. "The Unification Ministry has been acting like the ministry of North Korea aid and it is wrong," Yoon was quoted as telling staff in a statement issued by his press secretary. "It's time for the unification ministry to change." Yoon also urged the ministry to stand up for liberal democratic values and said unification should bring a "better and more human life" to people in the South and North. In 2019, Kim wrote in an online column that the path to unification would open once North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's "regime is overthrown and North Korea is liberated."

Persons: Yoon Suk Yeol, Kim Yung, Yoon, Kim, Kim Jong, Hyunsu Yim, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Thomson Locations: SEOUL, North Korea, Korea, South, Korean

☆ South Korea LGBT festival proceeds, bumped from prime spot by Christian group
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, July 1 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands attended South Korea's largest annual LGBT festival on Saturday, vowing to continue fighting for gay rights after the Seoul city government denied them a prime spot and gave it to an anti-LGBT Christian group. "You can see a lot of hateful banners behind me as well as those that support us on our right," said Yang Sun-woo, chief organiser of the Seoul Queer Culture Festival. "South Korea is enjoying a rise in global status but LGBT rights here are at rock bottom," she said. The Christian group CTS, which has vocally opposed homosexuality, said it was not trying to thwart LGBT people. "Some ask why we need this queer festival, but it is the only time a year where we can all enjoy ourselves out in the open."

Persons: Yang Sun, ”, Cho Jong Yun, Kim Kyu Jin, Kim Saeyeon, Kyu Jin Kim, Nicole Kim, Hong Joon, Daewoung Kim, Hyunsu Yim, William Mallard Organizations: South, Christian, Seoul Queer Culture, CTS, LGBT, Gallup, Minwoo, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, Seoul, COVID, Korea, South Korea, Daegu

☆ ‘You have to ask for help if you need it’: Billie Jean King encourages tennis players struggling with demands of the tour to seek support
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Billie Jean King has urged players that are struggling with the demands of being a tennis professional to seek support from psychologists. “Being a pro-athlete is hard,” tennis great King, who won 39 major titles, told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. “The WTA [Women’s Tennis Association] has been fantastic with mental health for years, but people would say: ‘Why aren’t you doing anything?’Billie Jean King says support is available for players on the WTA Tour. The governing body has provided staff that are dedicated to athletes’ mental health for more than 25 years, with a Mental Health Care Provider available in person at tournaments, including all four grand slams, and there are virtual meetings available upon request in between tournaments. Naomi Osaka withdrew from the 2021 French Open, citing her mental health.

Persons: Billie Jean King, Naomi Osaka, Sabalenka, “, Emma Raducanu, King, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, JP Yim, Kathleen Stroia, Ukraine –, Aleksandr Lukashenko, Tim Clayton, Raducanu, ”, hadn't, Clive Brunskill, “ We’ve, I’ve, ’ ” Organizations: CNN, WTA, Mental Health, ‘, Virginia Slims Circuit, WTA Tour, Wimbledon Locations: Paris, Ukraine, Osaka, Belarus

REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File PhotoSEOUL, June 29 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday picked a conservative scholar and an outspoken critic of North Korea's human rights record as the country's new unification minister handling relations with Pyongyang in a cabinet reshuffle. Kim, 63, served as a presidential secretary for unification and a human rights envoy under the conservative Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations. North Korea has long rejected criticism of its rights conditions as part of a plot to overthrow its rulers. Kim is the right person to pursue a "principle-based" and consistent North Korea policy, said Yoon's chief of staff, Kim Dae-ki. The unification ministry's role ranges from cross-border dialogue and exchanges to studying human rights abuses in North Korea and helping defectors resettle in the South.

Persons: Kim Hong, Yoon Suk, Kim Yung, Yoon, Kim, Lee Myung, Kim Jong, Kim Dae, Jang Mi, Soo, hyang Choi, Hyunsu Yim, Jack Kim, Ed Davies, Gerry Doyle Organizations: South, REUTERS, Sungshin Women's University, North, Thomson Locations: Korean, South Korean, Paju, South Korea, SEOUL, Pyongyang, North Korea, North Korean, Korea, United States

☆ South Korea to return to Japan's 'white list' for exports on July 21
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TOKYO, June 27 (Reuters) - Japan will reinstate South Korea to its "white list" for exports with fast-track trade status effective July 21, Japanese trade minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Tuesday, a crucial step for resolving an economic row between the two nations. Japan lifted export curbs on high-tech materials to South Korea in March as the nations mended ties amid North Korea's repeated missile launches and China's stepping up defence activities. South Korea's trade ministry welcomed the move as a "complete recovery of trust between the two countries in export control". The ministry also said it would work closely with Tokyo on bilateral and multilateral export control issues in future. Reporting by Miho Uranaka in TOKYO, Hyunsu Yim in SEOUL, writing by Kaori Kaneko Editing by Chang-Ran KimOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yasutoshi Nishimura, Miho Uranaka, Hyunsu Yim, Kaori Kaneko, Chang, Ran Kim Organizations: South, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Japan, South Korea, Tokyo, SEOUL

☆ YouTube removes North Korean 'vloggers' after South Korea blocks accounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The channels featured English-speaking young women, including a girl as young as 11, who claimed to offer an unfiltered look at every day life in North Korea as informal video bloggers, or "vloggers." The YouTube spokesperson said in a statement that the decision to remove the channels was taken to comply with "U.S. sanctions and trade compliance laws, including those related to North Korea." According to NK News, a Seoul-based website that tracks North Korea, the YouTubers have been linked to the Pyongyang-based Sogwang Media Corporation which seeks to expand the country’s external outreach through social media. North Korea-linked Twitter accounts, including those of so-called "friendship associations" in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, have also been blocked in South Korea due to legal demands. Some researchers have complained that removing the accounts cuts off sources of information about North Korea and its media.

Persons: Harry Potter, Hyunsu Yim, Josh Smith, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: YouTube, U.S, South, Korea Communications Standards, National Intelligence Service, North Korean, Google, NK News, Sogwang Media Corporation, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, North, North Korea, South Korea, Seoul, Pyongyang, United Kingdom

☆ South Korea aims to curb private education spending, axe 'killer questions'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We will cut the vicious cycle of killer questions in exams, which leads to excessive competition among students and parents in private education," education minister Lee Ju-ho told a briefing. The ministry also vowed to crack down on private education "cartels" by ramping up efforts to monitor what it termed false and exaggerated advertising by private schools targeting exam preparations. Local media have reported on alleged connections between the private education industry and government education officials in drawing up college entrance exams that require private tutoring to master. Nearly eight in 10 students use in private education products such as cram schools, known as "hagwons", according to the report. Shin So-young, an activist at civic group The World Without Worry About Private Education, said the planned changes may not be enough to contain the competition.

Persons: Yoon Suk, Lee Ju, Yoon, Shin, Woongjin Thinkbig, 1,302.0300, Soo, hyang Choi, Hyunsu Yim, Jack Kim, Ed Davies, Gerry Doyle Organizations: South Korea, Education, Thomson Locations: South, SEOUL, South Korea's, South Korea, KS, MegaStudyEdu

☆ Netflix CEO says $2.5 bln Korean investment won't exploit local talent
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

South Korea has created some of the Californian company's biggest shows, which have become synonymous with the broader international success of the country's cultural exports and spurred it to announce a $2.5 billion investment in Korean content in April. Don Kang, Netflix's vice president of Korean content, said the company was planning to expand its content investment to films and non-fiction, after previously focusing on series. On Wednesday, Sarandos met with celebrated South Korean director Park Chan-wook and film students and said telling stories from other countries, not just Hollywood, was his "most proud decision". South Korea has produced four of Netflix's 10 most-watched non-English language series, including "Squid Game", "The Glory" and "Extraordinary Attorney Woo". But as Netflix is by far the biggest streaming platform in South Korea, there are also concerns over its dominance.

Persons: Ted Sarandos, Sarandos, Don Kang, Scanline, Han Duck, Park Chan, Woo, 1,293.1100, Hyunsu Yim, Ed Davies, Sam Holmes Organizations: Netflix, Korea Radio Promotion Association, Eyeline Studios, South, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, South, Korea, Seoul, South Korea, Eyeline Studios Korea, United States

The car maker said it plans to spend about 35.8 trillion won on EVs in the period to 2032, targeting the sale of 2 million EV units annually by 2030. To enhance its competitiveness in batteries and develop next-generation batteries, Hyundai Motor plans to invest 9.5 trillion won over the next 10 years, it said in the statement. Hyundai Motor said it plans to introduce competitive lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries with increased energy density and improved low-temperature efficiency for the first time around 2025. In China, Hyundai Motor said it will halt production at another plant this year following the shutdown of its fifth plant. It also plans to reduce the available model numbers from 13 to eight to focus on SUVs and Genesis luxury brand models.

Persons: 1,280.8200, Hyunsu Yim, Heekyong Yang, Ed Davies, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Hyundai, Kia Corp, EVs, Hyundai Motor, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, KS, United States, Seoul, China

☆ Hyundai Motor to invest $85.41 bln by 2032 to accelerate EV plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SEOUL, June 20 (Reuters) - South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS) plans to invest about 109.4 trillion won ($85.41 billion) in the period through to 2032, the company said on Tuesday, including around 35.8 trillion won allocated for electric vehicles (EVs). Hyundai Motor, which together with affiliate Kia Corp (000270.KS) is among the world's 10 biggest automakers by sales, also said in a statement for the company's investor day that it plans to lift localisation of EV production in the United States, its biggest market, by increasing the share of output from 0.7% to 75% by 2030. The carmaker is targetting the sale of 2 million EV units annually by 2030 and aims to achieve a more than 10% profitability rate for EVs in the same year. ($1 = 1,280.8200 won)Reporting by Hyunsu Yim Editing by Ed DaviesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: 1,280.8200, Hyunsu Yim, Ed Davies Organizations: Hyundai, Kia Corp, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, KS, United States

☆ Who is Alibaba's new CEO Eddie Wu and chairman Joe Tsai?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Eddie Yongming Wu will step in as CEO, while Joe Tsai will take over as chairman on Sept. 10. Eddie Wu, incoming CEOEddie Wu is one of the co-founders of Alibaba, who first served it as a technology director back in 1999. Joe Tsai, incoming chairmanAnother co-founder of Alibaba, Joe Tsai was appointed as the company chief financial officer until 2013 and currently serves as executive vice chairman. He is also the chairman of Alibaba's logistics unit Cainiao, as well as a member of the Taobao and Tmall division. Joe Tsai will take up the role of chairman at Alibaba after current chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang steps down.

Persons: BABA BABA, Daniel Zhang, Eddie Yongming Wu, Joe Tsai, Jack Ma, Eddie Wu, Alibaba, Wu, Eddie Wu's, shouldn't, Jacob Cooke, Cooke, Jp Yim, Tsai, Lazada, Michael Evans Organizations: Alibaba, Ant Group, CNBC, Getty, Brooklyn Nets Locations: China, U.S, Lazada, Europe, Singapore, Asia

☆ Hyundai to consider joining Tesla's North American charging standard alliance
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, June 20 (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) will consider making its vehicles more readily compatible with the charging standard Tesla (TSLA.O) is pushing for in North America, the South Korean automaker's CEO said on Tuesday. Tesla's Superchargers make up about 60% of available U.S. fast chargers and Ford (F.N) and General Motors (GM.N) have in recent weeks struck deals with Tesla to use its charging technology, now dubbed the North American Charging Standard (NACS). Jaehoon Chang, who is also Hyundai's president, said the company would consider joining the alliance of automakers shifting to Tesla's standard, but that it would have to determine that was in the interest of its customers. One issue, he said, is that Tesla's current network of Superchargers does not allow for the faster charging Hyundai's electric vehicles can achieve on other chargers. Hyundai's new electric cars, including the Ioniq 5, use an 800-volt electrical architecture to allow for faster charging, while Tesla's Superchargers operate at a lower voltage.

Persons: Tesla's Superchargers, Tesla, Jaehoon Chang, Chang, Tesla's, Biden, Hyunsu Yim, Kevin Krolicki, Jan Harvey Organizations: Hyundai, Korean, Ford, General Motors, American, U.S, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, KS, North America, U.S, Seoul

☆ 'Netflix Effect' lifts Korean content but market control worries grow
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Netflix's market weight in South Korea dwarfs that of local platforms such as Tving, Wavve and Watcha. Netflix boasted a 38.2% market share in South Korea last year, according to Mobile Index, overshadowing Tving's 13.1%. Unlike the EU, South Korea does not have laws requiring foreign streaming services to produce or invest in local content. While the project was commissioned by Netflix UK, it centres on genetic cloning fraud in South Korea and includes file clips from broadcasters’ archives. "The government needs to come up with a system to ensure that excess profits can be returned to South Korean creators."

Persons: Ted Sarandos, Han Duck, Heo Seung, Yoon Suk Youl, Hwang Dong, hyuk, Aditya Thayi, Lim Jong, 1,281.7400, Hyunsu Yim, Sam Holmes Organizations: Netflix, South, Korea Economic Research, Mobile, EU, Reuters Netflix, Sejong University, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, Seoul, Korea, South, U.S, London

☆ North Korea says botched satellite launch was 'gravest failure'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KCNA via REUTERSSEOUL, June 19 (Reuters) - North Korea has said its botched military satellite launch last month was the "gravest failure" at the ruling party's latest key meeting, state media KCNA reported on Monday. The enlarged plenary meeting was held between Friday and Sunday, ordering workers and researchers to analyze the failed military satellite launch and prepare for another in the near future. Those in charge of the satellite launch were "heavily criticized," the report said. It marked the eight enlarged plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the country's ruling party. North Korea also vowed it will continue to develop its nuclear capability and strengthen solidarity with other countries that oppose what it called the "U.S. strategy for world supremacy."

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Hyunsu Yim, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: 8th Central Committee of, Workers ' Party of, North, Korean Central News Agency, KCNA, REUTERS, Workers ' Party of Korea, North Korean, Korea's Unification Ministry, Thomson Locations: Workers ' Party of Korea, Pyongyang, North Korea, REUTERS SEOUL, U.S

☆ ‘Squid Game’ Season 2: New details revealed
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Dan Heching | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Get ready, because everyone’s favorite lethal game show is preparing for a big return. Netflix shared exclusive new details for the second season of its runaway hit South Korean thriller series “Squid Game” on Saturday, as part of its Tudum Global Fan Event in Brazil. A new teaser for the second season of “Squid Game” announced both returning and new cast members, with series lead Lee Jung-jae, playing cash-strapped everyman Seong Gi-hun, back for a second round. Standout cast member Oh Yeong-su, who played the elderly and unassuming Oh Il-nam in the first season of “Squid Game,” has yet to be confirmed as a returning cast member, even though his involvement in the game was revealed to be a bit more complicated at the end of the show’s first season. A release date for Season 2 of “Squid Game” was not immediately available.

Persons: ”, Lee Jung, jae, Seong, Lee Byung, Yim, Kang Ha, Yang Dong, Oh Organizations: CNN, Netflix Locations: Brazil

☆ South Korea, U.S. to hold high-level meeting on cyber security
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SEOUL, June 16 (Reuters) - South Korea and the United States will hold a high-level meeting on cyber security in Washington on June 20, the presidential office in Seoul said on Friday. The meeting is seen as a follow-up to the summit between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden in April. Reporting by Hyunsu Yim Editing by Ed DaviesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yoon Suk Yeol, Joe Biden, Hyunsu Yim, Ed Davies Organizations: Korean, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, United States, Washington, Seoul

☆ U.S. nuclear-powered submarine arrives at South Korea's Busan port
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, June 16 (Reuters) - A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine has arrived at a port in the South Korean city of Busan, the South Korean military said on Friday. It is the first time in nearly six years that a submarine classified as "SSGN" by the U.S. Navy, or a cruise-missile submarine, has stopped off in South Korea. The arrival comes after North Korea fired two short-range missiles off its east coast on Thursday and follows a failed attempt by Pyongyang to launch a spy satellite last month. In April, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed in Washington to "further enhance the regular visibility of strategic assets" on the Korean Peninsula. The leaders also agreed that a U.S. Navy nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) will visit South Korea for the first time since the 1980s to help demonstrate Washington's resolve to protect the country from a North Korean attack.

Persons: Yoon Suk Yeol, Joe Biden, Hyunsu Yim, Ed Davies Organizations: South Korean, U.S . Navy, North Korea, South, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, U.S, Korean, Busan, South Korea, Pyongyang, Washington

☆ North Korean hackers create fake web portal, South's spy agency says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, June 15 (Reuters) - North Korean hackers have set up a fake website that looks almost identical to the popular South Korean web portal Naver, marking a more sophisticated attempt to target users in the South, Seoul's spy agency said. "North Korea's hacking attacks targeting South Koreans are getting more elaborate," the spy agency said in a statement on Wednesday. Naver (035420.KS), which is operated by the tech giant of the same name, is South Korea's most-used web portal and search engine and offers various services ranging from email, news aggregation and online shopping. North Korean hackers have been blamed for cyberattacks netting millions of dollars, though Pyongyang previously has denied being involved in cybercrime. International monitors say stolen money has been pumped into North Korea's sanctioned nuclear and missile programs.

Persons: Seoul's, Daum, Hyunsu Yim, Ed Davies, Lincoln Organizations: National Intelligence Service, United Nations, International, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, Naver, South, Pyongyang, cybercrime, North Korea, Korean

More than 85% of the South Korean public oppose Japan’s plan, according to a survey last month by local pollster Research View. Seven in 10 people said they would consume less seafood if the wastewater release goes ahead. "We are getting more customers than usual lately and many of them seem worried about the planned wastewater release," he said. Social media posts talking about buying salt in large amounts and urging people to do the same have also gone viral. Order volumes and inquiries about buying salt have increased as of late, according to the local branches of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation known as Nonghyup in Sinan County, a region famous for producing sea salt.

Persons: Japan's, Hyun Yong, gil, Daewoung Kim, Jimin Jung, Hyunsu Yim Organizations: sil, South, South Korea's Ministry of, Fisheries, “, country’s, Of Fisheries Cooperatives, National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, NHK, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, Fukushima, Seoul, Tokyo, Sinan County, South Korea, Insanaga, KS, Japan

☆ North Korean youth group donates rocket launchers to military - media
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, June 7 (Reuters) - A North Korean youth group has donated rocket launchers to the military in a show of "fervent patriotism", state media KCNA reported on Wednesday, as the isolated state confronts what it sees as growing foreign threats. The donation of military equipment took place at a ceremony on Tuesday as the Korean Children's Union (KCU), a political youth group, celebrated its 77th anniversary. The KCU, whose members are known for their red scarfs, was set up to promote the North's political ideology including "Juche", or self reliance. North Korea has defied U.N. Security Council resolutions by test firing various missiles, including its biggest intercontinental ballistic missile this year. The donated rocket launchers were dubbed "Sonyeon", which means boy in Korean, although the youth group's members include boys and girls.

Persons: KCNA, Hyunsu Yim, Ed Davies, Robert Birsel Organizations: Korean Children's Union, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, Korean, North Korea

☆ North Korea's Kim Yo Jong promises more spy satellite launches -KCNA
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, June 1 (Reuters) - North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, leader Kim Jong Un's sister, has said her country's military spy satellite will soon enter into orbit and promised Pyongyang will increase military surveillance, state media KCNA reported on Thursday. Her remarks follow the failure of a North Korean satellite launch on Wednesday. In her statement, Kim said the criticisms of Wednesday's test were "self-contradiction" as the U.S. and other countries have already launched "thousands of satellites." In a separate statement carried by KCNA, North Korea's vice foreign minister Kim Son Gyong criticized U.S.-led military drills in the region including a multinational anti-proliferation naval drill. "However, activity at the main launch pad is consistent with post-launch assessment and clean-up efforts."

Persons: Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong, Kim, KCNA, Antonio Guterres, Kim Son Gyong, Hyunsu Yim, Josh Smith, Chris Reese, Grant McCool Organizations: South, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, Pyongyang, Korean, South Korean, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, United States, North, U.S

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