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WASHINGTON, May 1 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday urged House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy to take the potential for an unprecedented U.S. debt default off the table, warning that it would result in skyrocketing credit card and mortgage rates. We have never, ever failed to meet the debt," Biden told a small business event at the White House. He said the threat of default by some Republicans in Congress was "totally irresponsible" and that it was essential to take that threat "off the table." "It would lead to higher interest rates, higher credit card rates, mortgage rates would skyrocket," Biden said. A 2011 standoff led to a downgrade of the government's credit rating, which pushed borrowing costs higher and hammered investments.

☆ Japan PM Kishida to visit South Korea for summit with Yoon - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, April 29 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to visit South Korea in coming weeks and meet with President Yoon Suk Yeol, officials said, reciprocating a Tokyo visit by the South Korean leader last month. Japan's Kyodo news agency said on Saturday the two will meet around May 7 or 8, citing multiple unnamed Japanese and South Korean diplomatic sources. Asked about reports of the bilateral summit, Kishida said in remarks broadcast by public network NHK that nothing concrete had been decided. The two sides agreed to revive shuttle diplomacy when Yoon met with Kishida in Tokyo in March, the first Japan visit by a South Korean president in 12 years. The last visit by a Japanese prime minister to South Korea was made by Shinzo Abe in 2018, according to NHK.

☆ North Korea says U.S.-South Korea agreement will worsen insecurity
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Joyce Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, April 29 (Reuters) - North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said a U.S.-South Korea agreement this week about the need to shore up South Korean security will worsen the situation, according to state media KCNA on Saturday. North Korea is convinced it must further perfect a "nuclear war deterrent" as a result, Kim said. Kim's statement is North Korea's first comment on the meeting, and suggests its cycle of military shows of force and weapons development will continue. U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met this week, with the United States pledging to give South Korea more insight into its nuclear planning over any conflict with North Korea amid anxiety over Pyongyang's growing arsenal of missiles and bombs. A U.S. Navy nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) will also 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.

☆ Trump accuses France's Macron of pandering to China
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoWASHINGTON, April 12 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump accused Emmanuel Macron of pandering to China leader Xi Jinping during the French president's recent closely watched visit to Beijing. "You got this crazy world is blowing up and the United States has absolutely no say. And Macron, who's a friend of mine, is over with China kissing his ass," Trump said in an interview with Fox News late on Tuesday. As president, Trump upended some tenets of America’s post-World War Two foreign policy by questioning the NATO alliance, alienating European partners and indulging autocrats. Trump himself was accused of pandering to world leaders, autocrats in particular, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong-Un.

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

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

☆ Scheffler gets late Masters tee time, LIV Golf players separated
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Frank Pingue | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

World number one Scheffler, bidding to become the fourth player to repeat as Masters champion, will go out in the third-last group at 1:36 p.m. Australian Smith, one of 18 players from the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit in the field at Augusta National, will set off at 10:54 a.m. ET in the company of 2021 Masters winner Matsuyama on Japan and South Korea's Im Sung-jae. Among other notable LIV Golf players at the year's first major, three-times Masters champion Phil Mickelson will play alongside fellow American Tom Hoge and South Korea's Kim Si-woo. Dustin Johnson, who won the 2020 Masters before making the move to LIV Golf last year, will tee off with Canada's Corey Conners and England's Justin Rose.

☆ North Korea accuses Ukraine of having nuclear ambitions
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Kim said this kind of petition could be a political plot by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office, but did not provide any evidence for the assertion. Following Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement last week that Moscow plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, a public petition was filed to the Ukrainian presidential office's website on Thursday, calling for Ukraine to host nuclear weapons on Ukrainian territory, or for it to be armed with its own nuclear weapons. By Saturday afternoon, the petition had gained only 611 signatures, far short of the 25,000 needed for a response from Zelenskiy. North Korea is forging closer ties with Kremlin amid shared isolation by the West and it supported Moscow's position after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, including its later proclaimed annexation of parts of Ukraine that most U.N. members condemned as illegal. Reporting by Hyunsu Yim in Seoul and Max Hunder in Kyiv Editing by Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ North Korea accuses Ukraine of having nuclear ambitions - KCNA
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, April 1 (Reuters) - North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, accused Ukraine of calling for nuclear weapons, state media KCNA reported on Saturday, basing her assertion on an online petition in that country that has drawn under 1,000 signatures so far. Kim said this kind of petition could be a political plot by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office, but did not provide any evidence for the assertion. Following Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement last week that Moscow plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, a public petition was filed to the Ukrainian presidential office's website on Thursday, calling for Ukraine to host nuclear weapons on Ukrainian territory, or for it to be armed with its own nuclear weapons. By Saturday afternoon, the petition had gained only 611 signatures, far short of the 25,000 needed for a response from Zelenskiy. Reporting by Hyunsu Yim in Seoul and Max Hunder in Kyiv Editing by Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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

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

☆ North Korea's Kim calls for nuclear preparedness against U.S., South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches fire assault drill, at an undisclosed location in North Korea March 10, 2023 in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERSSEOUL, March 20 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country should be ready to conduct nuclear attacks at any time to deter war, accusing the U.S. and South Korea of expanding joint military drills involving American nuclear assets, state media KCNA said on Monday. Kim's remarks came as the isolated country conducted what KCNA called nuclear tactical exercises meant to send strong warnings against the allies. In the exercises, a ballistic missile flew 800 km (497 miles) before hitting target at the altitude of 800 m (0.5 mile) under the scenario of a tactical nuclear attack, KCNA said. Reporting by Hyonhee Shin and Josh Smith in Seoul Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ North Korean leader Kim calls for intensified drills in case of 'real war'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A general view of fire assault drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea March 10, 2023 in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile off its west coast on Thursday, South Korea's military said, adding it was analysing possibilities the North may have launched multiple missiles simultaneously from the same area. North Korea has long bristled at the allies' drills as a rehearsal for invasion. North Korean leader Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong, said earlier this week any move to shoot down one of its test missiles would be considered a declaration of war and blamed the joint military exercises for growing tensions. Yang Uk, a research fellow and defence expert at Seoul's Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said North Korea has been increasingly claiming that its smaller missiles are nuclear-capable, in apparent threats to South Korea.

☆ North Korea's Kim demands more farmland to boost food production
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the 7th enlarged plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang, North Korea, March 1, 2023 in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERS/File PhotoSEOUL, March 2 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered improvements to infrastructure and expansion of farmland to ramp up food production, state media said on Thursday, amid warnings of an impending food crisis. South Korea has warned of an exacerbating food crisis in the isolated North, including a recent surge in deaths from hunger in some regions. North Korea's economy has been battered by floods and typhoons, sanctions over its nuclear and missile programmes, and a sharp decline in trade with China amid border closures and COVID-19 lockdowns. The Central Committee also discussed ways to improve the country's financial management, KCNA said, without elaborating.

☆ North Korea's Kim orders 'fundamental transformation' of agriculture amid food shortages
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Feb 28 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for a "fundamental transformation" in agricultural production, state media reported on Tuesday, amid fears that the country's food shortage is worsening. The report did not elaborate on what measures North Korea would take, but Kim said the changes need to happen in the next few years. His remark comes amid reports of growing food shortage woes in the country. Earlier this month, South Korea's Unification Ministry said the food situation in the North "seemed to have deteriorated." North Korea is under strict international sanctions over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.

☆ North Korea's Kim convenes meeting to improve economy amid fears of food shortages
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KCNA via REUTERSSEOUL, Feb 27 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un kicked off a meeting of ruling party officials to discuss improving the country's economy and agricultural sector, state media reported on Monday, as fears of food shortages and a humanitarian crisis grow. International experts say food insecurity has worsened in the isolated nation amid sanctions and COVID-19 lockdowns. Kim oversaw the seventh enlarged plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea on Sunday as it reviewed rural development projects, state news agency KCNA reported. The North Korean food situation appears to have deteriorated, South Korea said this month, with officials in Seoul pointing to the meeting as a de facto acknowledgement of serious shortages. North Korea is under strict international sanctions over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes, and in recent years its limited border trade was virtually choked off by self-imposed lockdowns aimed at preventing COVID-19.

☆ Kim Jong Un may be prepping his daughter as his successor because he wants a woman in charge to modernize North Korea's image, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But it will likely have little impact on the lives of ordinary North Korean women. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his sister Kim Yo Jong attend a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on April 27, 2018. "Kim Jong Un is a feminist — at least if judged by the incredibly low standards of North Korea," Andrei Lankov, a North Korea expert recently wrote for NK News. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un talks with his daughter Kim Ju Ae at a banquet in Pyongyang, North Korea February 7, 2023. "Discrimination against women and girls in North Korea is widespread and is accepted as a natural part of everyday life in North Korea," said Joon.

☆ Trump defends Kim Jong Un after recent missile tests, and says he has a right to feel threatened by US military drills in South Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Donald Trump said North Korea's Kim Jong Un feels 'threatened' by military exercises. He went on to complain that South Korea "pays us very little to do these extremely expensive and provocative drills. A man watches a TV screen showing North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul. The tests were a warning to South Korea and the US over extensive military exercises planned over the next few weeks, North Korea said. In response, South Korea, Japan and the US staged joint air drills featuring a strategic bomber and stealth fighters.

☆ North Korea's Kim launches housing and greenhouse projects amid economic woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, Feb 16 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has broken ground on a large greenhouse project and the development of 10,000 apartments, state media reported on Thursday, highlighting the construction projects amid foreign suspicion of food shortages. Neighbouring South Korea said on Wednesday that a food crisis appeared to be worsening in the North, and the South's DongA Ibo newspaper reported that North Korea had cut rations to its soldiers for the first time in more than two decades. The housing development, meanwhile, would be "another luxurious street of socialism full of the people's happiness", KCNA said in a separate report. In recent months North Korea has reopened freight rail services with China and Russia, and on Thursday, Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported that trucks had also begun crossing between the Chinese city of Hunchun and North Korea's Rason. Reporting by Josh Smith; Additional reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Beijing; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ North Korea's Kim lauds army ahead of expected military parade
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, his wife Ri Sol Ju and their daughter Kim Ju Ae attend a banquet to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Korean People's Army the following day, in Pyongyang, North Korea February 7, 2023 in this photo released February 8, 2023 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERSSEOUL, Feb 8 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for strengthening the country's military, state media reported on Wednesday, as he paid tribute to soldiers and met with troops amid expectations for a major military parade showcasing the latest weapons. According to international analysts, commercial satellite imagery has for months shown North Korean troops practicing for a major military parade that is expected this week. Despite United Nations Security Council resolutions and sanctions, North Korea has forged ahead with banned nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development. South Korea and the United States have stepped up their own military drills to counter the North, drawing condemnation from Pyongyang.

☆ North Korea's Kim sacks No. 2 military official
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, Jan 2 (Reuters) - North Korea has sacked Pak Jong Chon, the second most powerful military official after leader Kim Jong Un, state media reported. The party's Central Military Commission, which is headed by Kim, is considered the country' most powerful military decision-making body, above the defence ministry. In late 2020, Pak was promoted to the politburo and earned the title of marshal, the highest military rank under Kim, and became a leading voice last November against joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises. Like most other top military aides who went through ups and downs repeatedly under Kim, Pak was briefly demoted in mid-2021 after Kim chided some officials for their handling of North Korea's anti-coronavirus policy, before being promoted again months later. Ri, Pak's successor, is also a senior military commander who held key positions including chief of the army's general staff and defence minister.

☆ North Korea's Kim orders 'exponential' expansion of nuke arsenal
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

During the six-day meeting meant to determine new state objectives, Kim called for "an exponential increase of the country's nuclear arsenal" to mass produce battlefield tactical nuclear weapons targeting South Korea. They still reaffirmed that the door to dialogue with North Korea remains open, according to the South Korean Foreign Ministry. Worries about North Korea's nuclear program have grown since the North last year approved a new law that authorized the preemptive use of nuclear weapons in a broad range of situations and openly threatened to use its nuclear weapons first. Earlier Sunday, South Korea's military detected a short-range ballistic missile launched from the North's capital region. North Korea test-fired more than 70 missiles last year, including three short-range ballistic missiles detected by South Korea on Saturday.

☆ North Korea's Kim unveils new military goals at key party meeting -KCNA
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the sixth enlarged meeting of the eighth Central Committee of the Workers' Party in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this undated photo released on December 27, 2022 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERSSEOUL, Dec 28 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un unveiled new goals for the country's military for 2023 at an ongoing meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, state media reported on Wednesday, hinting at another year of intensive weapons tests and tension. The third-generation leader set the direction for the "anti-enemy struggle" and goals for reinforcing defence power, it added. KCNA did not provide details on those goals, but Kim's remarks could indicate the isolated country will continue to accelerate its military buildup. North Korean leaders previously made speeches on New Year Day, but in recent years, Kim has called days-long party gatherings at the end of the year to announce major policy decisions.

☆ North Korea's Kim kicks off key party meeting ahead of New Year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the sixth enlarged meeting of the eighth Central Committee of the Workers' Party in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this undated photo released on December 26, 2022 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERSSEOUL, Dec 27 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has kicked off a key meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, state media reported on Tuesday, a venue he has often used to announce major policy decisions marking the New Year. The Sixth Enlarged Plenary Meeting of 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) was convened on Monday, the official KCNA news agency said. Kim also faces mounting economic challenges amid international sanctions over its weapons programmes, the fallout from an anti-coronavirus lockdown and natural disasters. North Korean state media previously released its leader's speech on New Year Day, but in recent years, Kim has called party gatherings at the end of the year to make major policy announcements.

☆ The US may have lost in the World Cup, but soccer is more popular than ever in America
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Harry Enten | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +36 min

The Atlas Lions made history as the first African team to reach a World Cup semifinal. They made history as the first all-female refereeing crew for a men's World Cup match. It was Morocco's first World Cup win since 1998 — and its third-ever at the tournament. Less spoken about is that they also rate better on television than the men do in the World Cup. We’ll just have to wait and see, though with the US, Canada and Mexico hosting the 2026 World Cup, soccer isn’t going away anytime soon.

☆ Croatia beats Japan on penalties to reach World Cup quarterfinals
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Ben Church | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +28 min

CNN —Goalkeeper Dominik Livaković made himself a national hero as Croatia beat Japan on penalties 1-1 (3-1) to reach the World Cup quarterfinals. Marko Djurica/ReutersJapan’s heartbreakDespite its defeat, Japan can look back at an impressive World Cup campaign. They made history Thursday as the first all-female refereeing crew for a men's World Cup match. Mbappé was one of the leading stars of the team's World Cup triumph four years ago. He also became just the third goalkeeper to save three penalties in a single World Cup shootout.

☆ Japan vs. Croatia: Samurai Blue aiming to reach World Cup quarterfinals for first time
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Aimee Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +31 min

CNN —In a World Cup of surprises, Japan has played a leading role in headline-making shock results. Croatia is a team undefeated in nine of its last 10 World Cup matches. They made history Thursday as the first all-female refereeing crew for a men's World Cup match. Frappert became the first woman to referee a men's World Cup match. It was Morocco's first World Cup win since 1998 — and its third-ever at the tournament.

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