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☆ South Korean actor Song Jae-lim dead at 39
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-12 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —South Korean actor Song Jae-lim, a former model who rose to prominence in K-dramas, was found dead in Seoul on Tuesday. A police official told CNN that no evidence of foul play was found at the scene, and a note was discovered in the apartment. “Our initial investigation so far, has revealed no signs of criminal activity,” police told CNN. South Korean stars paid tribute to Song following the news of his death. How to get help Help is available if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters.

Persons: Song Jae, lim, Song, ”, Rose De Versailles, … Jae, lim …, Park Ho, san, Hong Seok, cheon, “, Moon bin, Sulli, SHINee’s Kim Jong, hyun Organizations: South Korea CNN — South, Seoul Seongdong police, CNN, “, ” Police, International Association for Suicide Prevention, Befrienders, Entertainment Locations: Seoul, South Korea, ”, South

☆ South Korean president takes up golf again to prepare for Trump’s second term
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-12 | by ( Jessie Yeung | Yoonjung Seo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —As countries around the globe prepare for a second Trump presidency, one world leader is teeing up a carefully calibrated diplomatic strategy. In South Korea, President Yoon Suk Yeol “recently began practicing golf again for the first time in eight years, in preparation for ‘golf diplomacy’ with President-elect Trump,” the presidential office told CNN on Tuesday. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a speech in Seongnam, South Korea, on October 1, 2024. Another potential headache for Yoon once Trump is in office is the future of the 28,500 US troops in South Korea. The troops serve as both a means to deter any potential attack from North Korea and to counter China’s aggression.

Persons: Yoon Suk, “, Trump, Yoon, Donald Trump, scrutinizing, Japan’s, Shinzo Abe, Kim Hong, Moon Jae, Kim Jong, ”, –, Kim Organizations: South Korea CNN, Trump, CNN, Reuters, South, North Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Trump, Florida , New Jersey, Virginia, Manhattan, Florida, Japan, Seongnam, Korea, North Korea, Russia, Pyongyang, Moscow, Ukraine

The United States, Ukraine and South Korea say that North Korean troops were dispatched to Russia for training with the aim of being deployed to Ukraine. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russia's President Vladimir Putin after signing a comprehensive strategic partnership in Pyongyang, North Korea on June 19, 2024. “We are developing scenarios to understand the potential impacts North Korea and Russia’s actions could have on us,” the government official said. The arrangement could also help North Korea gain real-world intelligence on the functioning of its weaponry. Soldiers march in a parade for the 70th anniversary of North Korea's founding day in Pyongyang, North Korea, on September 9, 2018.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Zelensky, Inna Varenytsia, Kim Jong, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, ”, François Walschaerts, Foreign Affairs Kim Hong, Kim Tae, Defense Lloyd Austin, ” Austin, John Kirby, “, Carl Schuster, Ng Han Guan, Kim, Chun, ” Chun Organizations: South Korea CNN, Ukraine, NATO, Korean, CNN, National Intelligence Service, North, Maxar Technologies, Maxar, UN, Foreign Ministry, Getty, Korean First, Foreign Affairs, National Security Office, South, Moscow, Defense, National Security, Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Korea, Ukraine, Europe, United States, Russia, North Korea, Moscow, Pyongyang, Kyiv, Washington, Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region, Koreans, South, Russia’s Far, China, Sergeevka, Russian, Brussels, AFP, South Korean, ” South Korea

Seoul, South Korea CNN —North Korea blew up parts of two major roads connected to the southern part of the peninsula on Tuesday, South Korean authorities said, after Pyongyang warned it would take steps to completely cut off its territory from the South. South Korea's Defense MinistryOn Monday, South Korea said it had detected signs that North Korea was preparing to demolish roads that connect the two countries, warning that the explosions could occur imminently. The blasts come a few days after North Korea accused South Korea of flying propaganda-filled drones over its capital Pyongyang and threatened “retaliation,” in the latest tit-for-tat exchange following months of Pyongyang sending trash-laden balloons to the South. North and South Korea have been separated since the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice agreement. Since January, Pyongyang has fortified its border defenses, laying land mines, building anti-tank traps and removing railway infrastructure, according to the South Korean military.

Persons: Lee Sung, joon, Kim Jong, Kim, ” KCNA, KCNA, ”, Leif, Eric Easley, “ Kim Jong Un Organizations: South Korea CNN, Seoul’s, Chiefs of Staff, South Korean Defense Ministry, South Korean, South Korea's Defense Ministry, Korea's Defense, Defense Ministry, North, Korean People’s Army, DPRK, Democratic People’s, US, South, Ewha Womans University Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, Pyongyang, West, East, Korean, Korea, North, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Russia

In April this year, she became the only South Korean shooter to qualify in two events for the Paris Olympics – 10-meter air pistol and 25-meter pistol – after finishing second in both events in the Korean national trials. Kim finished with 241.3 points, falling 1.9 points short of Oh, but she remembers it as “a very happy moment. Since Kim took up shooting, South Korea has seen several heroes in the sport, such as Jin Jong-oh, who won four golds and two silvers across five Olympics, and Kim Jang-mi, who won a gold at the 2012 London Olympics. At the Paris Olympics, South Korea won the most shooting medals at the Games in the country’s history with three golds and three silvers. “Just wait, mommy will win the gold,” Kim promised.

Persons: Kim Ye, ”, Kim, “, Charlie Miller, CNN Kim, Kwak Min, Kwak, He’s, Charles McQuillan, Oh Ye, It’s, refocusing, ” Kim, Louis Vuitton, Elon Musk, Alain Jocard, “ I’m, Jin Jong, Kim Jang, mommy Organizations: CNN, CNN Sport, Banners, South, Office, Paris Olympics, Korean, Paris, Games, Givenchy, Getty, South Korea Locations: North Jeolla Province, Seoul, Imsil, South Korean, Baku, Azerbaijan, Paris, South Korea, Asia, AFP, India

Seoul, South Korea CNN —North Korea’s army said it will take the “substantial military step” of completely cutting off its territory from South Korea on Wednesday, after months of fortifying its heavily armed border. Since January, Pyongyang has fortified its border defenses, laying land mines, building anti-tank traps and removing railway infrastructure, according to the South Korean military. Over the past year, a US aircraft carrier, amphibious assault ships, long-range bombers and submarines have visited South Korea, drawing angry rebukes from Pyongyang. “North Korea’s threats, both real and rhetorical, reflect the regime survival strategy of a hereditary dictatorship.”North and South Korea have been separated since the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice agreement. In January, Kim said North Korea would no longer seek reconciliation and reunification with South Korea, calling inter-Korean relations “a relationship between two hostile countries and two belligerents at war,” KCNA reported at the time.

Persons: Kim Jong, Kim, ”, Hong Min, ” Hong, Yoon Suk Yeol, Leif, Eric Easley, “ Kim Jong Un, ” Easley, ” KCNA Organizations: South Korea CNN, North, South, DPRK, Staff, Korean People’s Army, Democratic People’s, South Korean, General Staff, US, Korea’s, Chiefs, Korea Institute for National Unification, CNN, Inter, Korean, Armed Forces, Ewha Womans University, North Korean, United Nations Command Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Pyongyang, Hong, Russia, West

☆ North Korea’s Kim Jong Un threatens to destroy the South with nuclear weapons if provoked
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-04 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | Lex Harvey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatened to use nuclear weapons to destroy South Korea if attacked, state media reported Friday, after South Korea’s president warned that if the North used nuclear weapons it would “face the end of its regime.”The fiery rhetoric isn’t new, but comes at a time of tension on the Korean Peninsula and just weeks after North Korean state media released images of Kim visiting a uranium enrichment facility, which produces weapons-grade nuclear materials. “If such situation comes, the permanent existence of Seoul and the Republic of Korea would be impossible,” Kim added, using the proper name for South Korea. North Korea could revoke a key agreement which enshrines the potential for reunification of the Koreas as soon as Monday, when its legislature is expected to meet, Seoul’s Unification Ministry told CNN. Last month, North Korean state media released photos of Kim purportedly touring a nuclear facility in a rare glimpse of the nation’s closely guarded weapons program. On Tuesday, Yoon unveiled the Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile, which is reportedly capable of penetrating North Korean underground bunkers.

Persons: Kim Jong, Kim, ” Kim, Yoon Suk Yeol, Jung Yeon, Yoon, ” Yoon, KCNA Organizations: South Korea CNN — North, South, North, Korean Central News Agency, Armed Forces Day, Unification Ministry, CNN, Korea Armed Forces, Seoul Air Base, Getty, SK, US, Armed Forces Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korean, Pyongyang, Republic of Korea, Korea, Russia, West, Korean, Seongnam, North Korea, United States

☆ A North Korean defector who struggled in South Korea stole a bus and tried to drive across the border, police say
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-03 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Seoul CNN —A North Korean defector who escaped to the South more than a decade ago was detained after attempting to cross back into North Korea on a stolen bus, police said. Since moving to South Korea in 2011, the 35-year-old man had been working day-to-day jobs without a stable home. More than 34,000 North Korean defectors have arrived in South Korea since fighting ended in the Korean War in 1953, according to official data. Defectors and advocates say the fact that some North Korean defectors try to return home points to how difficult it can be for them to assimilate into South Korean society. The man had previously crossed the border into North Korea via China but was returned by North Korean authorities.

Persons: “ He’s, ” Organizations: Seoul CNN, Korean, Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police, CNN, National Security, Joint, South Korean, North Locations: Seoul, North Korea, Gyeonggi, South Korea, South, Korean, North, China

☆ Same-sex marriage was on a roll in Asia. Not anymore
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-13 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The winning formulaMore than 30 jurisdictions worldwide now recognize same-sex marriage, according to the Pew Research Center. Since the first same-sex marriage law was passed in the Netherlands in 2001, progress has been made mostly in Europe, the Americas and Australasia. Gay couples cut a wedding cake in Amsterdam on April 1, 2001 after the first same-sex marriage law was passed in the Netherlands. But on the national level, Japan does not recognize same-sex marriage and local courts have returned conflicting verdicts on the issue. Up to 68% of Japan’s adults support same-sex marriage, the highest share in Asia, according to the Pew Research Center.

Persons: Pokpong Jitjaiyai, ”, Pokpong, Watit Benjamonkolchai, Suen, Nadia Rahman, Marcel Antonisse, Kangwan Fongkaew, ” Kangwan, Jennifer Lu, ” Lu, Taiwan’s, Tsai Ing, Sanjit, Chanakarn Laosarakham, Carl Court, Asia’s, Anish Gawande, Narendra Modi, Gawande, Kazuhiro Nogi, –, Hiroshima’s, Scuffles, Andrew Kim, Roslan Rahman, Shawna Tang, Hong Kong’s, Peter Newman, ” Suen, CNN’s Samra, Yoonjung Seo, Aishwarya Iyer Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Thailand’s Senate, CNN, Chinese University of Hong, Pew Research, Amnesty, Racial Justice, Refugees, Migrants, Getty, Burapha University, Presidential, List, Court, Japan, Seoul Queer Culture, Christian, Korea University’s College of International Studies, University of Sydney, Appeal, University of Toronto’s, Inwentash, Social Locations: Hong Kong, Bangkok’s, Siam, Thailand’s, Bangkok, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Nepal, Asia, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Netherlands, Europe, Americas, Australasia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Bangladesh, Indonesia’s ultraconservative, Aceh, United Kingdom, Amsterdam, China, Kathmandu, AFP, Taiwan's, Taipei, India, List India, India’s, Delhi, Tokyo, Japan, South Korea, Daegu, Seoul, Korea, Singapore, aren’t, –, Beijing, Indonesia

☆ South Korea was the world’s biggest ‘baby exporter.’ New evidence shows some mothers were forced to give up children
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Jessie Yeung | Yoonjung Seo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —South Korea has for decades been known as the world’s largest “baby exporter” – sending hundreds of thousands of children overseas after the country was ravaged by war and many mothers left destitute. Searching for their rootsMore than 200,000 South Korean children have been adopted overseas since the 1950s following World War II and the Korean War, according to authorities. While adoptions continue today, the trend has been declining since the 2010s after South Korea amended its adoption laws in an effort to address systematic issues and reduce the number of children adopted overseas. “It’s truly terrifying to hear how systemic these issues were, but I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily surprising,” said Susanné Seong-eun Bergsten, who was adopted from South Korea and grew up in Sweden. “There is still much about Korean adoption that has not been formally acknowledged.”

Persons: ”, adoptees, “, Susanné Seong, Mark Zastrow, Bergsten Organizations: South Korea CNN, Commission, CNN, Korean Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Korea, Korean, Daegu, Sejong, United States, Australia, Norway, Denmark, Europe, It’s, Sweden, adoptees

☆ North Korea releases images of Kim Jong Un visiting a uranium enrichment site
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | Lucas Lilieholm | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a uranium enrichment facility, which produces weapon-grade nuclear materials, in a photo published by North Korean state media on Friday, September 13, 2024. “By showing highly enriched uranium and production facilities, they are sending a message that the world must recognize North Korea as a nuclear state. By disclosing these facilities, Kim Jong Un is saying that denuclearization of North Korea is unrealistic,” he told CNN. The disclosure comes at a time of heightened tensions between North Korea and the West, with the US and its allies accusing North Korea of providing substantial military aid to Russia’s war effort in Ukraine. North Korea is believed to have several sites for enriching uranium.

Persons: Kim Jong, Kim, “ Kim, ”, Ankit Panda, Stanton, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, I’m, Martyn Williams, it’s Organizations: South Korea CNN, Korean Central News Agency, Carnegie Endowment, International, Korean, North, North Korean, Ewha Womans University, CNN, Stimson Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, Russia, West, North Korean, Korea, Ukraine, Moscow, Pyongyang, Korean, Russian

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ 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

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