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☆ Watch: Pharrell Williams and G-Dragon sell private collection
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-06 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | Charles Miller | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

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Seoul, South Korea CNN —North Korea claims it is sending 250 new tactical ballistic missile launchers toward its border with South Korea, in the latest bellicose declaration by leader Kim Jong Un against its neighbor. Photographs published by the North Korean state newspaper Rodong Sinmun showed what appears to be vehicle-based missile launchers, with dozens of large green military trucks lined up in neat rows before Kim. Kim personally oversaw the transfer of equipment to military commanders and chiefs of staff, and delivered a speech claiming the new missile launchers were built with North Korean technology, state 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. There have been at least three incidents of South Korea firing warning shots since May after North Korean military personnel crossed the demarcation line, the midpoint of the Demilitarized Zone between the two countries.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Sinmun, Kim, ” Kim, Joseph Dempsey, “ Organizations: South Korea CNN, North, International Institute for Strategic Studies, South Korea –, North Korean Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Korea, North Korean, Korean, North Korea, North, Pyongyang, Russia, Washington, Japan

☆ North Korea’s trash balloons fall near South’s presidential office
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-24 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The discovery at the presidential office Wednesday came after South Korean authorities warned the public to beware of falling objects as suspected North Korean trash balloons moved south toward the northern area of Gyeonggi province. “While monitoring trash balloons sent by North Korea in cooperation with the Joint Chiefs of Staff today, we identified trash that fell in the presidential office area in Yongsan,” the presidential security service said later in a statement. “North Korea’s actions clearly violate international law and seriously threaten the safety of our citizens,” JCS said in a statement after an earlier balloon incident. Despite repeated North Korean warnings, the South Korean activists were “not stopping this crude and dirty play” she said. The South Korean Defense Ministry said the US planes will join with South Korean F-15, F-16 and FA-50 fighters in exercises that will end August 8.

Persons: –, Kim Jong, Kim Yo Jong, ” Kim Yo Jong, “, Washington Organizations: South Korea CNN, South, North, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Korea’s, Chiefs of Staff, South Korean, North Korean, Korean Central News Agency, US Marine Corps, Suwon Air Base, South Korean Defense Ministry, US Defense Department, Marine Corps, ” Locations: Seoul, South Korea, South, Gyeonggi province, North Korea, Yongsan, Pyongyang, South Korean, North Korean, North Korea’s, United States, ” North Korea, North

CNN —A prominent North Korea expert and former CIA analyst has been indicted by a New York grand jury on charges of secretly working for the South Korean government in exchange for designer goods, Michelin star meals and $37,000 for a fund that she controlled. The indictment alleges Terry acted as a “valuable source” of information for the South Korean government. She has authored reports for both American and South Korean news outlets. South Korea is a key US ally in the Asia-Pacific, though Terry’s indictment is not the first case of alleged collusion to test the two countries’ friendship. Internal Pentagon documents leaked last year described, in remarkable detail, private conversations between two senior South Korean national security officials, whom the US had allegedly wiretapped.

Persons: Sue Mi Terry, ”, “, Terry, Louis Vuitton, Iva Zorić, ” Zorić, Antony Blinken, Lee Wolosky, ” Wolosky, emptively, George W, Bush, Barack Obama Organizations: CNN, CIA, New, South Korean, Michelin, US National Security Council, ROK, South, Council, Foreign Relations, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, Foreign, Seoul’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, East, FBI, Oceanic, National Security Council, Pentagon Locations: North Korea, New York, Republic of Korea, ROK, Korean, Korea, South Korea, United States, Seoul, Japan, Asia

The echoes of well-known North Korean songs celebrating friendship spilled into nearby neighborhoods, as families filled booths serving both North and South Korean treats such as the deep-fried confection yakgwa, and fruit punch, or hwachae. A booth at the Defectors' Day festival sells North Korean styles of traditional treats, including watermelon punch (hwachae) and the deep-fried sweet yakgwa. Maybe there (are) many thousands of thousands of North Korean defectors who want to come to (South) Korea and have a prosperous life. “We express our respect and applause to the 34,000 North Korean defectors who are pioneering new lives every day (in South Korea), he said. “I didn’t know that a day like Defectors’ Day would happen, but now that it has been established, I feel like I have to work harder,” she said.

Persons: ’, Kim Jong Un, Mike Valerio, ”, resettling, –, Daeheyon, ‘, ’ ”, “, Kwon Ji, Yoonjung Seo, Yoon Suk Yeol, ” Yoon, “ It’s, Han Bong, he’d Organizations: South Korea CNN —, North, South, CNN, ”, Sunday, Blue House Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, Pyongyang, North, South, Korean, China, Asia, South Koreans, Korea, North Koreans

☆ 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

☆ Samsung workers in South Korea declare an indefinite strike to campaign for better pay and leave policies
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Diksha Madhok | Yoonjung Seo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Seoul/New Delhi CNN —The largest labor union at Samsung Electronics in South Korea has declared an indefinite strike after a three-day walkout failed to yield any ground in a tense dispute between workers and the tech giant over pay and bonuses. The announcement Wednesday follows a strike earlier this week involving 6,000 workers, mainly from the company’s semiconductor division, according to the union. The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) said that its 31,000 members — representing a nearly quarter of the company’s total workforce in the country — would launch an indefinite strike from July 10 — the largest labor action in the smartphone and chipmaking giant’s 55-year history. Samsung Electronics said last week that it estimates a more than 15-fold rise in its second-quarter operating profit, as compared to the same time previous year. Jung Yeon-je/AFP/Getty ImagesThe workers want this optimism reflected in their pay.

Persons: Jung Yeon, Son Woomok, chipmaker, ”, Woomok Organizations: New Delhi CNN, Samsung Electronics, National Samsung Electronics Union, Getty, CNN Locations: Seoul, New Delhi, South Korea

☆ 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

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

☆ Fire at lithium battery factory kills at least 22 in South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-24 | by ( Gawon Bae | Yoonjung Seo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —A fire at a lithium battery factory in South Korea Monday killed at least 22 people, most of them foreign nationals, local officials said. It was extinguished around 3:10 p.m, and firefighters were able to enter the factory, said Hwaseong Fire Department official Kim Jin-young in a briefing. Rescue workers recovered a number of burned bodies, Kim said, and one person died due to cardiac arrest. Emergency personnel carry the body of a person killed in a fire at a lithium battery factory owned by South Korean battery maker Aricell on June 24, 2024. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered the Interior and Safety Ministry and the head of the fire department to “make all-out efforts” to rescue people by “mobilizing all available personnel and equipment.”Parts of the lithium battery factory were burned following a fire in Hwaseong, South Korea on June 24, 2024.

Persons: Kim Jin, Kim, Kim Hong, Yoon Suk Yeol Organizations: South Korea CNN, Fire Department, South, Reuters, Interior, Safety Ministry Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, South Korean

Chang emphasized the need to strengthen the extended deterrence power of the South Korea-US alliance and the South Korea-US-Japan security cooperation system to address North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missiles. Currently, South Korea’s policy is not to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine. Nikoletta Stoyanova/Getty ImagesReports from earlier in the war say South Korea may have provided 155mm artillery shells to the United States to replace 155mm rounds sent to Ukraine. “Public reports suggest South Korea has around 3.4 million 105mm artillery shells,” the CSIS report said. Earlier on Thursday, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi also expressed strong concern about the agreement signed by Russia and North Korea.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, “, ” Putin, Kim, Chang Ho, ”, ” Chang, Chang, Putin, Nikoletta Stoyanova, Yoshimasa Hayashi, Putin “, ” Hayashi Organizations: CNN, Democratic People’s, DPRK, UN Security Council, CNN South, National Security, Korean, 57th Motorized Brigade, Getty, Center for Strategic, International Studies, “, CSIS, UN, Japan’s Locations: Korea, Ukraine, Seoul, Russia, North Korea, DPRK, Democratic People’s Republic, Republic of Korea, South, South Korea, Japan, Vovchansk, Kharkiv Region, United States, Kyiv, Vietnam, Ukrainian

☆ Want to train like a K-pop star in South Korea? A new visa will make it easier
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | Yoonjung Seo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —South Korea will soon launch a new visa for foreign nationals who dream of training like a K-pop idol, in a bid to boost its tourism industry back to pre-pandemic levels. The “K-Culture Training Visa” will be open to foreigners who want to train in K-pop dancing, choreography and modeling, the finance ministry announced on Monday. K-pop is already the most-cited reason for visiting the country, according to the MCST, with particularly strong interest from overseas fans from Southeast Asia, Europe and the US. Tourists visit the statue of Sejong the Great of the Joseon Dynasty at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, South Korea on February 21, 2024. South Korea has also made it easier for digital nomads to stay and work in the country, implementing its “workation” visa at the start of this year.

Persons: –, Lee Jung, jae, Sejong the, Kim Jae Organizations: CNN, Ministry of Culture, Tourism, Korean, Tourists, Getty Locations: South Korea, Seoul, Southeast Asia, Thailand, Philippines, Korean, Europe, Korea

☆ Land mine blasts inflicted casualties on North Korean troops in DMZ in recent months, South says
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —North Korean troops have suffered “multiple casualties” from land mine explosions while laying explosives along the country’s heavily armed border with the South in recent months, the South Korean military said Tuesday. A number of the North Korean soldiers were killed or wounded by land mine explosions, the JCS said in a statement, without providing more details on the casualties. The South Korean military is closely monitoring the North’s military activities on the border, it added. It said the measures are also an effort by North Korea to strengthen internal controls, such as blocking North Korean residents and troops from defecting to South Korea. Separately, South Korean troops fired warning shots after North Korean soldiers working in the DMZ briefly crossed into the South on Tuesday in the second such incident in less than two weeks, the JCS said.

Persons: Kim Jong, Kim’s, Kim Yo Jong Organizations: South Korea CNN — North, South Korean, South Korea’s, Chiefs of Staff, North, South, United Nations Command, Korean Locations: Seoul, South Korea, South, Pyongyang, Korean, North Korea, China

☆ Putin arrives in North Korea for first visit in 24 years as anti-West alignment deepens
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | Anna Chernova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Following his visit to North Korea, Putin is scheduled to travel to Hanoi in a display of Communist-governed Vietnam’s ties to Russia that is likely to rankle the United States. Putin’s trip to North Korea will have a “very eventful” agenda, his aide Yuri Ushakov said during a press conference Monday. One image was of a grandstand being constructed on the eastern side of Kim Il Sung Square, the site where all major parades in North Korea are held. Putin arrives in North Korea on Tuesday, June 18. But Russia’s apparent increasing reliance on North Korea and rising frictions with the West appear to have shifted that dynamic.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Putin, Kim, Yuri Ushakov, Ushakov, Kim Il, John Kirby, Biden, wasn’t “, ’ Kim, ” Kim, ”, Volodymyr Zelensky, Putin’s, Defense Lloyd Austin, “, ” Putin, Kim Jong Il, Xi Jinping, Michael Mitsanas, Katharina Krebs, Mariya Knight, Yoonjung Seo, Betsy Klein, Paul P, Murphy Organizations: CNN, TASS, Putin, Planet Labs, Maxar Technologies, US, North Korean, North, South Korea’s, Chiefs of Staff, West, Ukrainian, Kyiv, NATO, Ukraine, Defense, Kremlin, United Nations Security, UN Locations: North Korea, Pyongyang, Ukraine, Korean, Korea, Hanoi, Russia, United States, Asia, Moscow, North, Zarubinreporter, South Korea, South, Russia’s, Eurasia, Italy, Kyiv, Russian, Vietnam, Beijing, China, Iran, South Africa, Brazil

Seoul, South Korea CNN —The oldest member of the K-pop phenomenon BTS is spending his day hugging 1,000 fans, after finishing his mandatory military service in South Korea on Wednesday. Jin made his first public appearance at Seoul’s Jamsil Sports Complex this afternoon, where he is performing and meeting fans. Some BTS superfans – known as ARMY (Adorable Representative MC for Youth) – have journeyed from overseas to attend the BTS Festa event. “I wish to tell Jin if he comes to Thailand, can he hold a concert for seven days, because I love BTS so much,” Cheenchanya said. “BTS themselves pour out so much love – they put love into their music, into their personalities, their fans,” said Stoudnour.

Persons: Jin, –, Jin –, ” Cheenchanya, Holly Campbell, Ashley Stoudnour, ” Campbell, V, ”, ” Stoudnor, Anthony Wallace, Kim Yoon, jeong, Michelle Pedraza, They’ve, Louis Vuitton, Dior Organizations: South Korea CNN, Mim, CNN, BTS, Getty, Billboard Music Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Thailand, Melbourne, Australia, Florida, AFP, California

☆ South Korea fired warning shots after North’s troops accidentally crossed border, Seoul says
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —South Korean forces fired warning shots on Sunday after North Korean troops accidentally crossed their shared border, Seoul’s military said, as tensions simmer on the Korean Peninsula following a series of tit-for-tat exchanges between the two sides. “There were no unusual movements other than the North Korean army immediately moving north after our warning shots,” said Col. Lee Sung-jun, spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. Video Ad Feedback How South Korea is retaliating against North Korea’s trash balloons 02:48 - Source: CNNThe 160-mile demilitarized zone (DMZ) dividing North and South Korea is one of the world’s most heavily armed borders. The South Korean military said about 20 North Korean troops were involved but could not determine how many actually crossed the MDL. They did not disclose the number of warning shots fired.

Persons: ”, Lee Sung, Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un, Lee Organizations: South Korea CNN — South, North, South Korean, North Korean, Korean, South Korea’s, Chiefs, Staff, South, Sunday, CNN, Joint Chiefs Locations: Seoul, South Korea, South, Korea, North

Balloons possibly sent from North Korea seen off the coast of Incheon, South Korea on June 9, 2024. Yonhap News Agency/ReutersThe broadcasts inform North Korean soldiers and residents of the “reality of North Korea,” and the development of South Korea, and Korean culture, according to the JCS. As of Monday morning, the South Korean military has found “around 50 balloons” that fell into its territory overnight Sunday. Many of the other balloons are believed to have flown back into North Korea due to the wind, the JCS spokesman added. But the situation in North Korea deteriorated in the following years and diplomatic talks fell apart – prompting strict rules to snap back into place in the North.

Persons: Kim Jong, Kim Yo Jong, Kim, “, ” Kim, Kim Jong Un Organizations: CNN, North, Korea’s, Chiefs of Staff, Yonhap News Agency, Reuters, South, South Korean Locations: Korea, Seoul, South Korea, North Korean, Korean, North Korea, “, Incheon, South Korean, China

☆ Americans tired of sky-high borrowing costs will be disappointed this week
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —Another month, another hot jobs report that has Wall Street wondering when the Federal Reserve will finally cut interest rates. On the other, it puts long-awaited interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve on the back burner. Before the Bell: Do you think the Fed could lower its projection for three quarter-point rate cuts this year? Is it concerning that the European Central Bank and Bank of Canada have begun cutting rates before the Fed? A Samsung spokesperson told CNN that, “there is no impact on production and management activities” as a result of the one-day walkout.

Persons: Bell, Nate Thooft, I’m, that’s, Yoonjung Seo, —, Son Woomok, Matt Egan, Lina Khan, Beam, Robinson Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Federal Reserve, Manulife Investment Management, Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of Canada, European Central Bank and Bank of Canada, Workers, Samsung Electronics, Nationwide Samsung Electronics Union, CNN, Reuters, Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron Technology, Federal Trade Commission, Southern, Biden, FTC, Politico Locations: New York, South Korea, Miami, United States

☆ North Korea sends another wave of trash balloons into South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-09 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | Mike Valerio | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

About 330 balloons carrying bags of trash had been sent by North Korea since Saturday night, of which about 80 have landed in South Korea, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said on Sunday. South Korea’s National Security Council held an emergency meeting Sunday to discuss responses to the latest wave of balloons. Trash from a balloon presumably sent by North Korea lies on scattered the ground in Seoul, South Korea on June 9, 2024. South Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff/APIn May, North Korea responded by sending its own giant balloons south – containing trash, soil, pieces of paper and plastic, and what South Korean authorities described as “filth.”Kim said the balloons were “strictly a responsive act” to South Korea’s years-long practice of sending balloons with anti-North Korea leaflets the other way. South Korea’s JCS said Saturday night that North Korea was “boosting its presumed trash balloons,” and warned that the wind direction may lead to balloons moving south.

Persons: Kim Kang Il, ” Kim, “, Kim Jong Un Organizations: Seoul CNN —, South, Seoul’s, Chiefs of Staff, CNN, South Korea’s National Security Council, North Korea’s, Fighters, South Korea Joint Chiefs, Staff, Thursday South Korean Locations: Seoul, Korea, North Korea, South Korea, South, Pyongyang

☆ Samsung Electronics’ workers in South Korea go on strike for the first time ever
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | Diksha Madhok | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Seoul CNN —A labor union at Samsung Electronics in South Korea said many workers went on strike Friday, marking the first such walkout in the smartphone and chipmaking giant’s 55-year history. The Nationwide Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) said last week that its 28,000 members — just under a quarter of the company’s total workforce in the country — would stage a one-day strike on June 7, following failed negotiations over pay and bonus arrangements. A Samsung spokesperson told CNN that, “there is no impact on production and management activities” as a result of the one-day walkout. The vast majority of the world’s advanced microchips are made in just two places: Taiwan and South Korea. Taiwan’s industry is larger and more dominant, something South Korea is keen to challenge.

Persons: —, Son Woomok, Anthony Wallace, chipmaker Organizations: Seoul CNN, Samsung Electronics, Nationwide Samsung Electronics Union, CNN, Reuters, Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron Technology, Getty, Intel Locations: Seoul, South Korea, AFP, Taiwan

☆ North Korea sent trash balloons to South Korea. Activists are sending balloons back with K-pop and K-dramas
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —South Korean activists sent balloons carrying K-pop and K-dramas on USB sticks to their northern neighbor on Thursday, days after North Korean balloons of trash and “filth” floated in the opposite direction. In May, North Korea responded by sending its own giant balloons back south – containing trash, soil, pieces of paper and plastic, and what South Korean authorities described as “filth.”A balloon believed to have been sent by North Korea, carrying what appeared to be trash, seen in Incheon, South Korea, on June 2, 2024. South Korean activists say they will continue to send the balloons north – even though doing so was banned by the government years ago. Trash spills from a broken balloon, believed to be sent by North Korea, in Incheon, South Korea, on June 2, 2024. “South Korea is not an American colony or a wasteland of humanity like I learned in North Korea,” he told CNN on Wednesday.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Kim Kang Il, Park, “, ”, Kim, Kim Jong Nam Organizations: South Korea CNN — South, Fighters, North, South, Yonhap, Agency, Reuters, North Korea’s, South Korean, CNN, South Korea Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, Incheon, Reuters Pyongyang, North Korean, China, American, Yongin, South

☆ North Korean trash balloons are dumping ‘filth’ on South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Jessie Yeung | Yoonjung Seo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —North Korea has adopted a new strategy to contend with its southern neighbor: sending floating bags of trash containing “filth” across the border, carried by massive balloons. South Korean authorities said the balloons, which landed in several locations, were filled with "filth and garbage." “All responsibility arising from the North Korean balloons lies entirely with North Korea, and we sternly warn North Korea to immediately stop its inhumane and low-level actions.”Local governments also sent messages to residents in the northern Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces to warn of the “unidentified objects,” and advised against outdoor activities. Earlier this year a South Korean research group has released rare footage that it claimed showed North Korean teenagers sentenced to hard labor for watching and distributing K-dramas. But the situation in North Korea deteriorated in the following years and diplomatic talks fell apart – prompting strict rules to snap back into place in the North.

Persons: ”, Kim Kang Il, KCNA, Staff “, ” Kim, Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong Organizations: South Korea CNN, South Korean, country’s, Chiefs of Staff, United Nations Command, Korea’s, Chiefs, Staff, North Korea’s, National Defense, South, South Korea’s, Reuters, North, Fighters Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Korea, North Korea, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Korean, South, China

☆ Samsung union calls first ever strike after pay negotiations stall
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | Juliana Liu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Seoul/Hong Kong CNN —A labor union representing tens of thousands of workers at Samsung Electronics in South Korea has called a one-day strike next week, in what would be the first such walkout at the smartphone and chipmaking giant. The Nationwide Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) said on Wednesday during a press conference streamed on its official Youtube channel that its 28,000 members — just under a quarter of the company’s total workforce in the country — would strike on June 7, following failed negotiations over pay and bonus arrangements. Son Woomok, leader of the Nationwide Samsung Electronics Union, speaks to CNN on May 29, 2024. The vast majority of the world’s advanced microchips are made in just two places: Taiwan and South Korea. Taiwan’s industry is larger and more dominant, something South Korea is keen to challenge.

Persons: —, ”, Woomok, Yoonjung Seo, chipmaker Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Samsung Electronics, Nationwide Samsung Electronics Union, CNN, Samsung, Wall Street, Intel Locations: Seoul, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan

☆ Former passenger jets bought by US firm tasked with creating next generation nuclear ‘Doomsday’ planes
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

At least one Doomsday plane is on alert 24/7 at a US military base somewhere in the world, the Air Force says. On Friday, a spokesperson for the Colorado-based Sierra Nevada confirmed the purchase of the Korean Air jets but would not give any further details. A Korean Air Boeing 747-800 landing at Rome Fiumicino airport. Earlier this week, Korean Air announced the $675 million sale of five of its aircraft to Sierra Nevada. Korean Air had nine 747-800 passenger jets in its fleet as of October 2023, according to its website.

Persons: Fabrizio Gandolfo, Yoonjung Seo Organizations: South Korea CNN, Boeing, South Korean, Korean, Sierra Nevada Corporation, US Air Force’s, Pentagon, Joint Chiefs, Air Force, US Department of Homeland Security, Korean Air, Korean Air Boeing, Sierra Nevada, Airborne Operations Center, Defense, Dayton International Airport Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Asia, United States, Colorado, Sierra Nevada, Rome Fiumicino, Ohio, Dayton

Seoul, South Korea CNN —South Korea’s leader on Thursday said he plans to create a new government ministry to tackle the “national emergency” of the country’s infamously low birth rate as it grapples with a deepening demographic crisis. In a televised address, President Yoon Suk Yeol said he would ask for parliament’s cooperation to establish the Ministry of Low Birth Rate Counter-planning. “We will mobilize all of the nation’s capabilities to overcome the low birth rate, which can be considered a national emergency,” he said. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at a press conference in Seoul, South Korea, on, May 9, 2024. Countries like South Korea, Japan and China, however, have shied away from mass immigration to tackle the decline in their working age populations.

Persons: Yoon Suk Yeol, Yoon, Yoon Suk, Kyung, Fumio Kishida Organizations: South Korea CNN, of, South, AP, Korea, Families Agency Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Korea, Japan, China

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