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☆ Mixing old and new, Gucci hosts show in 14th century Seoul palace
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Ju-Min Park | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, May 16 (Reuters) - With sparkling lights and beating drums, Italian luxury label Gucci took over a 14th century Seoul Palace on Tuesday to showcase its cruise collection, blending Korean heritage and modern fashion. The show, featuring the soundtrack of Oscar-winning South Korean movie "Parasite" during its finale, was the first of its kind to take place within the palace's courtyard. The Gucci cruise show follows a Louis Vuitton pre-fall fashion show on a Seoul bridge in April. Built in 1395, the Gyeongbokgung palace served as the main royal palace of Korea's Joseon dynasty. The South Korean national treasure became the latest iconic landmark chosen by Gucci to showcase its collection.

☆ North Korea blasts U.S.-South Korea summit deal for escalating tension
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, May 1 (Reuters) - North Korea criticised a recent U.S-South Korea agreement to bolster the deployment of American strategic assets in the region for escalating tension to the "brink of a nuclear war," state media KCNA said on Monday. Both leaders agreed to strengthen South Korea's defences and regularly deploy U.S. strategic assets. As part of the efforts, a U.S. Navy nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine will visit South Korea for the first time since the 1980s. KCNA said the agreement stipulated the allies' willingness to take "the most hostile and aggressive action" against North Korea, citing Choe Ju Hyon, whom it described as an international security analyst. Pyongyang has reacted angrily to the Yoon-Biden summit, saying it consolidated its conviction to perfect its "nuclear war deterrent."

☆ Chess-China's Ding Liren defies odds to become world champion
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Alessandro Parodi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 30 (Reuters) - China's Ding Liren was crowned on Sunday as the 17th world chess champion in a tense match against Russian-born Ian Nepomniachtchi in Astana, Kazakhstan, in the last chapter of an odds-defying sequence of events. "One Ding to rule em all," fellow grandmaster Anish Giri wrote on Twitter in honour of the new champion. Ding's triumph means China holds both the men's and women's world titles, with current women's champion Ju Wenjun set to defend her title against compatriot Lei Tingjie in July. "The moment Ian resigned the game was a very emotional moment, I cannot control my feelings," the new world champion said in a press conference. Carlsen said he was not motivated to play shortly after Nepomniachtchi won the Candidates tournament, the prestigious qualifier to the match.

☆ Analysis: Calls for South Korean nuclear arsenal unlikely to fade despite US deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"Domestic politics could distort the incentives South Korean leaders face when it comes to limiting their nuclear options over the long run." Nuclear expert Siegfried Hecker warned in January there could be disastrous downsides to Seoul acquiring its own nuclear weapons. The United States once stationed hundreds of tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea and has made other agreements to reassure Seoul. Choi Il, a retired South Korean submarine captain, told Reuters that South Korea's fundamental answer to the growing North Korean threat remains unchanged. "If you strike us with nuclear weapons, then we will strike back with our own."

SEOUL, April 27 (Reuters) - For the first time since the 1980s a U.S. Navy nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) will visit South Korea to help demonstrate Washington's resolve to protect the country from a North Korean attack. The visit was announced in a joint declaration during a summit between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington on Wednesday. "That could be a huge pressure on North Korea, because usually they don’t share where those submarines are," said Moon Keun-sik, a retired South Korean submarine captain and squadron leader. The United States has pledged to deploy more so-called "strategic assets" such as aircraft carriers, submarines, and long-range bombers to South Korea to deter North Korea, which has developed increasingly powerful missiles that can hit targets from South Korea to the mainland United States. The submarine visit is also seen as a way to reassure South Korea and quell talk in Seoul of developing homegrown nuclear weapons.

☆ Explainer: South Korea's nuclear dilemma: Would U.S. trade Seattle for Seoul?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( David Brunnstrom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

WHY IS SOUTH KOREA WORRIED? U.S. "extended deterrence" protection for South Korea rests on a simple, if grim, assumption: if North Korea were to attack South Korea with nuclear weapons, it would face devastating U.S. retaliatory strikes. Yoon vowed in his election campaign to seek redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea and possibly "nuclear sharing," meaning joint command over U.S. weapons. But his comments have driven a growing debate that one former senior U.S. defense official said threatens to normalize a once unthinkable concept of a South Korean nuclear arsenal. WHAT WOULD BE THE IMPLICATIONS OF A NUCLEAR SOUTH KOREA?

☆ Factbox: What's on the agenda at the South Korea-US summit?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Ju-Min Park | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Yoon has been pushing to increase South Korea's say in operating "extended deterrence" while calls are growing in South Korea for it to develop its own nuclear weapons. At the summit, Biden will pledge "substantial" steps to underscore the U.S. commitment to deter a North Korean nuclear attack, a senior U.S. official said. South Korea's defence ministry said the allies have been exploring ways to support Ukraine but declined to confirm specific discussions. His comments prompted an angry exchange of words between Beijing and Seoul with South Korea summoning the Chinese ambassador. South Korea's comment on Taiwan was "the worst" since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea in 1992, China's state-run Global Times said on Sunday.

☆ South Koreans tap cash-giving apps to help offset rising living costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

As many as three in four adults earn cash through such applications, showed a recent survey by job portal Incruit. Retiree Han Sun-jae, 77, said he had made some 50,000 won ($37.91) so far through the Toss app. The trend shows people are going the extra mile to help overcome an increasingly dire economic situation, experts said. "While the effort to make pocket money is commendable, it could also leave people vulnerable to personal data use," said Lee Eun-hee, a consumer studies professor at Inha University. ($1 = 1,318.79 won)Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Additional reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ North Korean spy satellite: Japan prepared to shoot down rocket if necessary, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Junko Ogura | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Toyko CNN —Japan says it is prepared to shoot down a North Korean spy satellite rocket if it needs to. In a statement released by the Ministry of Defense, Hamada did not rule out shooting down the rocket used to launch the satellite. The Japanese military will deploy ground-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptor missiles and Aegis-equipped destroyer warships carrying sea-based Standard Missile-3 interceptor projectiles, the statement added. North Korean state media KCNA reported on Wednesday that its leader Kim Jong Un had ordered officials to prepare to launch the country’s first military reconnaissance satellite. North Korea claimed as early as last December that it had conducted an “important final stage test” for the development of a spy satellite.

☆ North Korea's next nuke test a matter of 'when,' not 'if,' US Army general says, warning its on the way to a key nuclear capability
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A top US Army general warned that North Korea is on its way to developing a key nuclear capability. Gen. Paul LaCamera also said this week that Pyongyang's next nuclear test is only a matter of time. LaCamera also said North Korea is slated to carry out a seventh nuclear test at some point in the future. North Korea conducted six nuclear tests between 2006 and 2017, and each underground test produced explosive yields progressively larger than the one before it. Ju Ae has become a regular figure at North Korea's military-oriented events in recent months after spending years cloaked in mystery.

☆ S.Korea summons Chinese ambassador over reaction to Yoon's Taiwan remarks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The move came after China and South Korea exchanged harsh words over Yoon's comments in a recent interview with Reuters. "The Taiwan issue is not simply an issue between China and Taiwan but, like the issue of North Korea, it is a global issue." Asked about Yoon's comments, the Chinese foreign ministry denounced Yoon and called on South Korea to "prudently handle matters" related to Taiwan. Hours later, South Korea's foreign ministry hit back and said comments by the Chinese foreign ministry were "unspeakable". A vice foreign minister called in Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming and strongly protested what South Korea called "diplomatic discourtesy", the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement.

☆ North Korea Set to Launch Military Spy Satellite
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Dasl Yoon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo: Stringer/AFP/Getty ImagesSEOUL—North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country’s first military reconnaissance satellite is complete, hailing it a technological advance that will provide real-time information about the military movements of the U.S. and its allies. Mr. Kim ordered the country’s space agency to launch the satellite on an unspecified date, North Korean state media said Wednesday. Mr. Kim visited the space agency on Tuesday accompanied by one of his children, daughter Kim Ju Ae, state media photos showed.

It was the first time that Seoul suggested a willingness to provide weapons to Ukraine, more than a year after ruling out the possibility of lethal aid. During the summit, Yoon said he will seek "tangible outcomes" on the allies' efforts to improve responses to evolving threats from North Korea, which has ramped up military tests, and launched its first solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile last week. In February, South Korea and the U.S. staged table-top exercises simulating a North Korea nuclear attack as part of Seoul's efforts to play a bigger role in Washington's nuclear policy over the North. "I think there's no big problem if Japan is joining, but since there's been much progress between the U.S. and South Korea, it would be more efficient to create this system ourselves first." "The Taiwan issue is not simply an issue between China and Taiwan but, like the issue of North Korea, it is a global issue."

☆ North Korea wants to turn around its dismal space launch record, saying its first military spy satellite is ready for liftoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

North Korea said on Wednesday that it's ready to launch its first military spy satellite this month. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and his daughter visit the National Aerospace Development Administration in North Korea Tuesday. If successful, this launch would be the first officially conducted by North Korea for military purposes. North Korea first tried launching a satellite in 1998, but the rocket failed to reach orbit and burned up in the atmosphere. But just eight months later, North Korea finally pulled off a successful launch, sending the "Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3" into space.

☆ North Korea claims it’s ready to launch first spy satellite: state media
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Yoonjung Seo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Seoul CNN —North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has ordered officials to prepare to launch the country’s first military reconnaissance satellite, North Korean state media KCNA reported on Wednesday. During his visit to the National Aerospace Development Administration on Tuesday, Kim Jong Un said the country’s military reconnaissance satellite production has been completed and ordered the dispatching of “several reconnaissance satellites,” KCNA reported. Last December, North Korea claimed it had conducted an “important final stage test” for the development of a spy satellite. The country’s space development agency announced that it would finish preparations for the first military reconnaissance satellite by April 2023. On Tuesday, Kim stressed the role of military satellites as to protect national safety and territorial stability in the midst of escalating military threats and challenges by the US and South Korea.

☆ Explainer: What is solid-fuel technology, and why is North Korea eager to develop it?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SEOUL, April 14 (Reuters) - North Korea says it has tested a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), its first known use of the propellant in a longer-range projectile, as it seeks the capability to launch with little preparation. Here are some characteristics of solid-fuel technology, and how it can help the North improve its missile systems. North Korea claims to have tested a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Hwasong-18WHO HAS THAT TECHNOLOGY? South Korea said on Friday it had already secured "efficient and advanced" solid-propellant ballistic missile technology. North Korea said the development of its new solid-fuel ICBM, the Hwasong-18, would "radically promote" its nuclear counterattack capability.

☆ Fact Check-Altered video shows North Korean military chorus singing Queen’s ‘I want to break free’
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A video showing a North Korean military chorus performing Queen’s “I want to break free” to leader Kim Jong Un was created by a comedy YouTube channel. A Facebook reel with the edited footage has been played close to one million times as of this article’s writing (here). Examples of segments used in the edited video are viewable in the following timestamps: (youtu.be/jYvcdhCbzJw?t=1), (youtu.be/9sdT10f3AFM?t=26), (youtu.be/jYvcdhCbzJw?t=166), (youtu.be/9sdT10f3AFM?t=4368), (youtu.be/jYvcdhCbzJw?t=147) (youtu.be/9sdT10f3AFM?t=3490). Their outfits match those viewable in undated photographs released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Feb. 17, 2021, as reported by Reuters (here). This video was created by a comedy YouTube channel by combining clips from two different concerts in North Korea and by superimposing audio of a cover of Queen’s “I want to break free.”This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team.

☆ South Korea to discuss 'issues raised' from leaked documents with US
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, April 9 (Reuters) - South Korea is aware of news reports about a leak of several classified U.S. military documents and it plans to discuss "issues raised" as a result of the leak with the United States, a South Korean presidential official said on Sunday. But internally, top South Korean officials were worried that the United States would divert them to Ukraine. The South Korean presidential official, speaking to reporters, declined to respond to questions about U.S. spying or to confirm any details from the leaked documents. South Korea has signed major deals providing hundreds of tanks, aircraft and other weapons to NATO member Poland since Russia invaded Ukraine. The South Korean official said there was no change to South Korea's policy.

☆ Chess-In Carlsen's shadow, chess awaits a new world champion
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Hritika Sharma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

April 8 (Reuters) - Chess will crown a new world champion when Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren begin their battle on Sunday in the shadow of incumbent Magnus Carlsen, who voluntarily relinquished the title he held since 2013. Neither has held the world title before - a first for the championship. "I can write my name in history," Ding, the first Chinese player to contest the men's world title, told reporters on Saturday. "For me, this world championship match should include the strongest player on the planet, and this match doesn't. Current women's champion Ju Wenjun is scheduled to play a title match against compatriot Lei Tingjie in July.

☆ North Korea tests another nuclear-capable underwater drone
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, April 8 (Reuters) - North Korea conducted another test of a nuclear-capable underwater attack drone, state media said on Saturday, the latest in a show of force against the U.S. and South Korea. The country tested another kind of a nuclear-capable unmanned underwater attack weapon called "Haeil-2", over a week after it disclosed a new underwater drone system dubbed "Haeil-1", which translates to tsunami in Korean, designed to make sneak attacks in enemy waters. During the underwater strategic weapon system test from April 4 to April 7, state media KCNA said that the drone cruised 1,000 km (621.37 miles)of underwater distance for 71 hours and 6 minutes and successfully hit a simulated target. "The test perfectly proved the reliability of the underwater strategic weapon system and its fatal attack ability," KCNA said. North Korea has ramped up its military activities in recent weeks, protesting that the United States and South Korea conduct joint military exercises.

☆ US, South Korea, Japan express concern over N.Korea's 'malicious' cyber activities - joint statement
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, April 7 (Reuters) - The United States, South Korea and Japan expressed deep concern over North Korea's "malicious" cyber activities to support its weapons programmes, in comments released in a joint statement on Friday. Crypto currency funds stolen by North Korean hackers have been a key source for financing the sanctions-stricken country's weapons programmes, officials and experts in the U.S. and its allies say. "We are also deeply concerned about how the DPRK supports these programmes by stealing and laundering funds as well as gathering information through malicious cyber activities," the statement said. South Korea's nuclear envoy held talks with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts in Seoul this week and condemned North Korea's weapons tests. read moreReporting by Soo-hyang Choi and Ju-min Park; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Kenneth MaxwellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ North Korea says U.S.-South Korea drills push tension to 'brink of nuclear war'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Yonhap via REUTERS/File PhotoSEOUL, April 6 (Reuters) - North Korea on Thursday accused the U.S. and South Korea of escalating tensions to the brink of nuclear war through their joint military drills, vowing to respond with "offensive action," state media KCNA reported. KCNA released a commentary by Choe Ju Hyon, whom it called an international security analyst, criticising the exercises as "a trigger for driving the situation on the Korean peninsula to the point of explosion." "Now the international community unanimously hopes that the dark clouds of a nuclear war hanging over the Korean peninsula will be removed as early as possible," it added. "The drills have turned the Korean peninsula into a huge powder magazine which can be detonated any moment," it added. North Korea has reacted furiously to the exercises, calling them a rehearsal for invasion.

☆ Top security aide for S.Korea's Yoon offers to resign
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, March 29 (Reuters) - A top security adviser for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Wednesday he had offered to step down. His resignation comes ahead of Yoon's summit with U.S. President Joe Biden next month. Media reports said earlier National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han could be replaced over planning issues related to Yoon's visit to Washington. He added that Yoon's upcoming trip to the United States was being well prepared so his successor could take over smoothly. Yoon nominated Cho Tae-yong, ambassador to the United States, as Kim's successor, Yonhap news agency reported following the announcement.

☆ North Korea unveils new nuclear warheads as Kim orders more weapons-grade materials
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SEOUL, March 28 (Reuters) - North Korea unveiled new, smaller nuclear warheads as leader Kim Jong Un called for scaling up the production of weapons-grade nuclear material to expand the country's arsenal, state media KCNA said on Tuesday. KCNA released photos of the warheads, dubbed Hwasan-31, during Kim's visit to the Nuclear Weapons Institute, where he inspected new tactical nuclear weapons and technology for mounting warheads on ballistic missiles, as well as nuclear counterattack operation plans. 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. "The frantic war drills in the puppet region are not just military drills but nuclear war drills for a preemptive strike ... pursuant to the U.S. political and military option to escalate confrontation with the DPRK and finally lead to a war," it said. DPRK is an abbreviation for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

☆ North Korea says it tested new nuclear underwater attack drone -KCNA
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, March 24 (Reuters) - North Korean state news agency KCNA said on Friday it tested a new nuclear underwater attack drone under leader Kim Jong Un's guidance this week, as a U.S. amphibious assault ship arrived in South Korea for joint drills. During the drill, the North Korean drone cruised underwater for over 59 hours and detonated in waters off its east coast on Thursday, the KCNA said. "This nuclear underwater attack drone can be deployed at any coast and port or towed by a surface ship for operation," the news agency said. In a separate firing drill, North Korea also confirmed it fired four cruise missiles on Wednesday to practice carrying out tactical nuclear attack missions. The South Korean military has said North Korea fired four cruise missiles off its east coast on Wednesday.

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