Free Republic

Last week, President Vladimir Putin made an official state visit to the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea (DPRK) – North Korea, his first for almost a quarter of a century. As part of that visit Putin and Kim Jong Un signed a so-called defense pact in the North Korean capital on June 19. The military treaty states: “In the event that any one of the two sides is put in a state of war by an armed invasion from an individual state or several states, the other side shall provide military and other assistance with all means in its possession...

A Korean Air Boeing 737 Max 8 experienced a sudden emergency shortly after taking off from Incheon International Airport, plummeting 26,900 feet before making multiple erratic loops before stabilizing. The plane, which departed from Incheon International Airport at 4:45 p.m. local time on Saturday, suffered issues with its pressurization system while flying over South Korea’s southern resort island of Jeju. According to data from Flight Radar, the plane began descending sharply, dropping nearly five miles in 15 minutes. Commercial jet airliners typically cruise at altitudes ranging from 30,000 to 40,000 feet. So, assuming the aircraft was flying at the upper...

....50 minutes into the flight, the B737 MAX experienced a sudden uncontrolled decompression. According to FL360aero, the message “pressure s ystem (pressure control function of the aircraft) abnormality” was displayed while flying over Jeju Island. As per standard procedure during a sudden loss of cabin pressurization, the flight crew made an emergency descent. According to data from the flight tracking website Flightradar24, the aircraft dropped about 26,900 feet in around 15 minutes. The aircraft, carrying 125 passengers, was able to return to ICN Airport at approximately 19:40 local time. One of the passengers onboard the flight captured footage inside the...

Blaze at South Korea lithium battery plant kills 22 workers By Daewoung Kim, Hongji Kim and Hyunsu Yim June 24, 2024 Victims likely succumbed within seconds Most of the victims foreign workers Fatal industrial accidents persist despite new law HWASEONG, South Korea, June 24 (Reuters) - A lithium battery factory in South Korea was set on fire after multiple batteries exploded on Monday, killing 22 workers, most of them Chinese nationals, fire officials said. The fire and a series of explosions ripped through the factory run by primary battery manufacturer Aricell in Hwaseong, an industrial cluster southwest of the capital...

South Korea is reconsidering its policy on providing lethal weapons to Ukraine in response to a recent defense pact between Russia and North Korea. This shift comes after South Korea condemned the agreement between Russia and North Korea, which pledged mutual defense assistance in the event of war. Previously, South Korea had only provided non-lethal aid to Ukraine, but the new development could see South Korea supplying artillery shells and possibly other lethal weapons to support Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.

Major weapons exporter South Korea will "reconsider" a longstanding policy that bars it from supplying arms directly to Ukraine, a presidential official said Thursday, after North Korea and Russia signed a defense deal. Russia's President Vladimir Putin was in Pyongyang Wednesday for a high-profile state visit that underscored his growing ties with leader Kim Jong Un, as the two signed a "breakthrough" agreement that included a pledge to come to each other's aid if attacked. Hours later, Seoul said it was "planning to reconsider the issue of providing weapons support to Ukraine," a presidential official told reporters. Seoul has a...

MOSCOW, June 19 (Reuters) - A strategic partnership pact signed by the leaders of Russia and North Korea on Wednesday includes a mutual defence clause under which each country agrees to help the other repel external aggression, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. "The comprehensive partnership agreement signed today provides, among other things, for mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the parties to this agreement," Putin said.

A UN Security Council meeting tomorrow on the Memorial Day Weekend attack by Israel in the southern Gaza city... In Israel's largest city Tel Aviv tonight a clash between Eritreans who support and oppose the country's government... US Central Command says a drone launched from Yemen was destroyed... An alert over Israel's southern port city of Eilat tonight... Canada's Immigration Minister saying five thousand people from Gaza will be allowed to enter Canada... In the British election campaign the Conservative Party suspending MP Lucy Allan. Allan endorsed a Reform UK... In Amsterdam riot police stopping an effort by Pro-Palestinian demonstrators...

Explosion seen in the sky after Japan issued J-alert due to projectile launch from North Korea Video was shot by NHK in Liaoning Province, northeastern China. The North Korean missile had a malfunction and exploded, according to current media reports

Conservative South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered his officials to begin a “complete review” of all federal policies to encourage Koreans to have children on Friday, following his announcement of the future establishment of a “low birthrate response planning ministry.” Yoon announced the planned creation of a new ministry to address the nation’s birth rate collapse on May 9 during an extended press conference filled with newsworthy moments, including an apology offered for a corruption scandal involving First Lady Kim Keon-hee. The scandal, in which Kim was reportedly caught accepting a $2,200 Dior handbag as an illicit gift, peaked right...

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. (WATE) — A scheme designed to let foreigners do information technology work as if they were actually in the United States has been unraveled by federal investigators. The investigation claimed that Jefferson City was home to one of several “laptop farms” that helped make the scheme possible.According to court documents, the schemes involved defrauding over 300 U.S. companies using U.S. payment platforms, online job site accounts and proxy computers located in the United States. The Justice Department shared that two people have been arrested and search warrants were executed in Jefferson City, Washington, D.C. and other jurisdictions.Federal...

An American soldier was detained on charges of criminal misconduct in the Russian Far East city of Vladivostok last week while on leave after finishing his tour of duty in South Korea, officials said Monday. US Army spokesperson Cynthia Smith said that the soldier, whose name was withheld, was detained Thursday, and that the US Army notified his family of his detention. The soldier was on leave in Russia following the completion of his tour of service in South Korea, a US official told Yonhap News Agency. He was in the process of returning to the United States for his...

Korean Muslim YouTuber Daud Kim’s plans to build a mosque in the western port city of Incheon has come to a grinding halt after it received backlash from local residents. Following the backlash, the land purchase contract he signed has been cancelled upon the request of the landowner, according to a report by the Korea Times. YouTuber Daud Kim, or Kim Jae-han then agreed to cancel the contract with the property owner. The property owners wanted the contract cancelled and said that he did not know about Kim’s plans to build a mosque. Kim posts about living as a Korean...

Washington -- Ex-Japanese prime minister Taro Aso has met former president Donald Trump and both the leaders discussed the enduring importance of the US-Japan alliance to their physical and economic security in the strategic Indo-Pacific region. Aso, vice president of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, met Trump on Tuesday at the Trump Tower in Manhattan. Both the leaders discussed the enduring importance of the US-Japan alliance to both countries’ physical and economic security and stability in the Indo-Pacific, according to a statement issued by the Trump Campaign on the meeting with the 83-year-old visiting Japanese leader. “They also discussed challenges...

Multiple senior members of conservative President Yoon Suk-yeol’s administration and the head of his People Power Party (PPP) tendered their resignations on Thursday after vote counts confirmed that the left-wing Democratic Party decisively took over the National Assembly in Wednesday’s midterm election. The Democrats overcame a chaotic campaign season in which leader Lee Jae-myung survived a would-be assassin stabbing him in the neck. The day he was released from the hospital, three members of his party defected, protesting that Lee was running an authoritarian and corrupt “regime” within the party. Lee was in court on Tuesday for a hearing addressing...

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar warned on Friday that “one tiny mistake” could turn Cyprus into “a new Gaza”. Tatar, not recognized as a head of state by the international community, also suggested that Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan may soon recognize the north. Turkey is the only country that recognizes the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. in an interview with the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, said, “A mistake or a misunderstanding such as the shooting of a Turkish soldier on the Green Line… would provoke a bomb between the two populations.” “If you shoot one Turkish soldier, you...

Lee Dong-hwan, the pastor who was recently expelled by the Methodist Church of Korea for blessing same-sex couples, is now turning to the secular court in his continued battle for reinstatement. The 43-year-old is planning to file legal charges against the Methodist Church's decision after its tribunal confirmed his disfellowship last week. "I did not launch the fight for reinstatement so that I can regain my title as a Methodist pastor. I'm (going to the court) because I did not want to leave a bad precedent among the protestants," he said during a public event in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on Tuesday....

South Korean drivers are concerned that their future EVs could catch fire while charging or in a car crash ... In 2020 and 2021, several high-profile cases of EVs catching fire were reported in South Korea. Three years ago, an electric bus manufactured by Hyundai Motor caught fire while in use. A few months earlier, Hyundai Motor recalled more than 77,000 Kona EVs sold globally after 13 of the electric crossover vehicles caught fire. Hyundai and its battery supplier LG Chem were at odds over the reasons for the recall, with the battery cell maker saying it wasn’t its battery...

Actor William O’Connell, who played a “Star Trek” villain and a Clint Eastwood nemesis, is dead at the age of 94. According to Deadline, which said a family friend informed the outlet of his passing, he died Jan. 15 at his home in Sherman Oaks, California. No cause of death was revealed. O’Connell was a 1st lieutenant in the 45th Infantry during the Korean War. For his service, he was honored with the Bronze Star and other commendations. O'Connell appeared in multiple TV shows in the 1960s, including “Highway Patrol,” “Peter Gunn,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Dennis the Menace,” “Bonanza,” “Batman”...

SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's declaration that he is abandoning unification with South Korea, after more than 50 years of alternating progress and stagnation, hints at greater confidence in Pyongyang's military capabilities -- with apparent aid from Russia. South Korean media recently took note of a change in the North: Weather forecasts on Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central Television switched from a map that highlighted the entire Korean Peninsula to one that only marked the northern half. This was around the same time that Kim declared in a January speech that North Korea should "completely eliminate such concepts...