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☆ A US tourist crossed the border into North Korea, UN says. South Korean media reports he's a US soldier.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A US national crossed the border from South Korea into North Korea on Tuesday, the UN said. South Korean media is reporting that he was a US soldier. South Korean media has described it as a defection, though it is currently unclear if this is the case. Cases of Americans or South Koreans defecting to North Korea are extremely rare, while North Koreans crossing into South Korea are more common. More than 30,000 North Koreans have fled south since the 1950-1953 Korean War, according to the Associated Press.

Persons: Travis King Organizations: UN, Service, United Nations, The United Nations Command, Security Area, — United Nations Command, The Korea Herald, Ilbo, US Army, South, US Department of State, Associated Press Locations: South Korea, North Korea, US, North, Wall, Silicon, Seoul, South Korea's

Seoul, South Korea CNN —North Korea has fired what appears to be a long-range ballistic missile from the Pyongyang area to waters off its east coast, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Wednesday, marking a potential new round of confrontation with Seoul and Washington. The flight time, if confirmed, would be similar to those of North Korean missiles tested in March and April of this year. Kim Yo Jong, a senior North Korean official and sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accused a US spy plane of entering the North’s exclusive economic zone at least eight times on Monday, according to a statement Tuesday from North Korea’s state news agency KCNA. But North Korea has shown no signs that it is willing to engage in negotiations with Washington or Seoul. Meanwhile, South Korea, the US and Japan have been holding joint and trilateral military exercises aimed at deterring any North Korean military threat.

Persons: Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un, ” Kim, “ Kim Yo, ”, Leif, Eric Easley, Rodong Sinmun Chun, ” Chun Organizations: South Korea CNN, South Korea’s, Chiefs, Staff, Japan’s Coast Guard, Ministry of Defense, Korean, North Korean, CNN, NATO, United Nations, Ewha Womans University, South Korean Army Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Korea, Pyongyang, South, Washington, Japan, United States, East, North Korea’s, Lithuania, North Korea, Republic of Korea, “ Pyongyang, North

REUTERS/Kim... Read moreLONDON/WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) - When it comes to taking stock of global emissions, there's an elephant in the room: the world's armed forces. NATO, the 31-country Western security alliance, for example, told Reuters it has created a methodology for its members to report their military emissions. And Washington sent U.S. Army and Navy representatives to the COP27 climate summit in Egypt last year, the first time a Pentagon delegation has attended the global climate summit. Ukraine's environment ministry spokesperson said it supports the efforts and would seek backing from governments at COP28 for more transparent military emissions reporting. In the meantime, global military emissions will remain poorly understood, said Stuart Parkinson, executive director of the group Scientists for Global Responsibility.

Persons: Kim, Queen Mary, Axel Michaelowa, Meredith Berger, Neta Crawford, Deborah Burton, Lennard, Klerk, James Appathurai, Markus Ruelke, Stuart Parkinson, Sarah McFarlane, Valerie Volcovici, Sabine Siebold, Richard Valdmanis, David Clarke Organizations: REUTERS, Observatory, United Arab Emirates, UNFCCC, COP28, NATO, Reuters, Washington, U.S . Army, Pentagon, U.S . Navy, The, U.S . Defence Logistics Agency, U.S . Department of Defense, Oxford University, Oxford, Queen Mary University of London, Scientists, Global, Thomson Locations: South Korea, U.S, Pocheon, WASHINGTON, Kyoto, Paris, Lancaster, Oxford, Dubai, UAE, Zealand, Britain, Germany, Egypt, The U.S, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, Singapore, Switzerland, Syria, COP28, Berlin

☆ Top US general predicts troops will have to always be on the move and be 'nearly invisible' to survive on future battlefields
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Gen. Mark Milley painted a terrifying picture of what future battlefields will look like in a new podcast interview. Soldiers will have to be almost invisible to survive on battlefields that are far more lethal, he warned. Breakthroughs in this space include the development of long-range precision munitions, the emergence of hypersonic weapons, an increased ability to sense and track environments, and integration of unmanned robotic systems. "What are some of the attributes of a future force? But speed, size, and being nearly invisible will be fundamental to survival on a future battlefield."

☆ Kim Jong Un's daughter was a mystery for years, but now she's showing up at North Korea's biggest missile tests
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

For years, Kim Jong Un's daughter — Kim Ju Ae — was a mystery to the world. But in late 2022 state media began showing photos of her at North Korean military events. Photographs released by state media after the launch appear to show the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, watching with a girl who has been identified by analysts and experts as his daughter, Kim Ju Ae. This photo provided on Nov. 19, 2022, by the North Korean government shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, and his daughter inspecting a missile at Pyongyang International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with his daughter, inspects what it says is an artillery drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea, Thursday, March 9, 2023.

☆ North Korea shows off design for new, more dangerous missile while rolling out enough ICBMs to possibly overwhelm US defenses
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

North Korea boasted its progress on a new and dangerous solid-fueled missile at a military parade. In recent years, North Korea has indicated that its missile program is pivoting toward the use of solid fuel, Ian Williams, deputy director of the Missile Defense Project at the CSIS, told Insider. North Korea has displayed large canisters before, but the ones displayed on Wednesday appear to be more legitimate than those in the past, Williams said. This is because the defense system's interceptors would not have the capacity to engage all credible threats. Furthermore, missile defense should be thought of as one part of a larger "missile defeat complex," he added.

☆ Kim Jong Un showed off his rarely-seen daughter — a possible sign he's grooming her to be North Korea's next dictator
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's daughter is being prepared as his successor, analysts say. Kim Jong Un is believed to have three children, including a son who is older than Kim Ju Ae. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and daughter Kim Ju Ae at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea February 8, 2023. North Korea is a hereditary dictatorship, and Kim Jong Un was appointed successor to his father, Kim Jong Il, when he was 8, an expert told CBS News. In recent months, tensions between North Korea and US-ally South Korea have intensified amid a series of missile tests by North Korea.

☆ 55 years after sending a hit squad on a deadly raid in Seoul, North Korea has found new ways to threaten South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

In January 1968, North Korean commandos slipped across the border into South Korea. Infiltrations into South Korea, both across the DMZ and by sea, by North Korean agents and commandos were also increasing. After cooperating with South Korean authorities, Kim Shin-jo was released in 1970 and received South Korean citizenship, which led North Korean officials to execute his parents and siblings. In December, a North Korean drone flew into a no-fly zone around South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's office in Seoul. It was one of five North Korean drones that flew into South Korea, the first to do so in five years.

☆ BTS fandom tech firm Weverse reaches beyond K-Pop
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Joyce Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"We are a fandom business," Weverse President Joon Choi told Reuters. The app also currently has more than 80 teams of artists represented including BTS, and about 8-9 million monthly active users. However, Weverse users' 'superfan' qualities make engagement in those services turbo-charged, Choi said. Users are based in more than 200 countries and only about 10% of the app users speak Korean, Choi said. Top 5 countries Weverse users are from include Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, the United States and South Korea.

SEOUL, Dec 13 (Reuters) - South Korea's military got a new recruit on Tuesday: Jin, the oldest member of K-pop phenomenon BTS, began 18 months of mandatory national service, complete with newly shaven head. "I wish it was a warm day," Lee Jin, 24, told Reuters outside the camp, where about 300 military, police and fire officials maintained tight security. BTS announced plans in October to sign up for mandatory military service, starting with Jin, who turned 30 on Dec. 4, after having postponed his service for the maximum time allowed. On Tuesday, Yonhap news agency said another BTS member, Suga, has been judged unfit for active duty and would do community service instead. South Korea's defence minister has said BTS would be able to perform overseas while in the military.

☆ North Korea fires more artillery shells into sea in response to South Korea drills
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said on Tuesday it had ordered military units to fire more artillery shells into the sea, the North’s official KCNA news agency reported, in response to South Korea’s ongoing drills across the border. The firing comes a day after North Korea said it fired more than 130 shells into the sea off its east and west coasts, some of which landed in a buffer zone near the sea border between the two Koreas. South Korean and U.S. troops have been conducting live-fire drills near the border since Monday. “The enemy must immediately cease provocative military actions in the zone near the front lines,” a spokesperson for the North Korean army said, according to KCNA. In addition to the artillery fire, the North Korean army issued a combat emergency alert to units at all levels and troops were ordered to step up surveillance, the spokesperson said.

☆ BTS singer Jin set to begin South Korea military service, source says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —K-pop superstar Jin will begin his mandatory military service next month, a source with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed Friday, after the BTS singer appealed to the supergroup’s devoted fans to stay away from his South Korean army training center. The source said the 29-year-old star, BTS’ oldest member, will enter service December 13 at Yeoncheon army base in the northern Gyeonggi province. Military service is compulsory in South Korea, where almost all able-bodied men are required to serve in the army for 18 months by the time they are 28 years old. “Reports have come out against my will, but our ARMYs (BTS fans), should not come to the training center,” he wrote. With their military service looming, BTS said in June it would press pause to pursue solo projects.

☆ U.S., S.Korean troops stage river-crossing drills as North Korea protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A South Korean soldier guides the tanks taking part in a joint river crossing operation drill between South Korean and U.S. troops, in Yeoju, South Korea, October 19, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiYEOJU, South Korea, Oct 19 (Reuters) - South Korean and American troops practiced building floating bridges to ferry tanks and other armoured vehicles across rivers on Wednesday, part of a larger joint military exercise that has angered North Korea. South Korea and the United States say the drills are defensive, and necessary for deterring the North. South Korea uses an older version of U.S.-made bridging equipment, and one span was assembled using elements from each side, allowing troops to practice combining the different systems. Despite the tensions with North Korea, U.S. soldiers said they rarely had time to ponder geopolitics during the drills.

Earlier, South Korea's military said it scrambled fighter jets when a group of about 10 North Korean military aircraft flew close to the border dividing the two countries, amid heightened tensions over repeated North Korean missiles tests. North Korea's official KCNA news agency quoted the North Korean military as saying it took "strong military countermeasures" after South Korean artillery-fire drills on Thursday. It was at least the 41st ballistic missile launch by North Korea this year. Japan's coast guard also reported that North Korea had fired what could have been a ballistic missile and that it had already fallen. South Korea scrambled fighter jets a week ago after North Korean warplanes staged an apparent bombing drill as allied warships held missile defense drills in response to North Korean missile tests.

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