Free Republic

Trump hails GM's decision to shut South Korea plant WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday hailed General Motors Co.'s decision to shut down a plant in South Korea, saying the carmaker will now "move back" to Detroit. GM announced the same day that it will close one of its four car assembly plants in South Korea by the end of May due to lower demand for its vehicles. The move came as part of the Detroit-based automaker's broad restructuring program across the world. "GM Korea company announced today that it will cease production and close its Gunsan plant...

North Korea's Kim Jong-un invites South Korean president to Pyongyang summit during landmark talks 10 FEBRUARY 2018 Kim Jong -un has invited the South's President Moon Jae-in for a summit in Pyongyang, Seoul said on Saturday. The invitation, delivered by the North Korean leader's visiting sister Kim Yo-jong, said Mr Kim was willing to meet the South's leader "at the earliest date possible", said a spokesman for the presidential Blue House. The announcement came after the South's president ate kimchi and drank soju liquor with Kim Yo-jong and the North's ceremonial head of state - even as the US warned...

US Asks S. Korean Banks to Investigate Cryptocurrency Exchange Transactions Seoul, Korea 29 January 2018 - 9:30am Yoon Yung Sil The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) asked six South Korean banks and their New York branches to report on the current conditions of digital currency transactions in South Korea and their measures to prevent money laundering. It is very rare for the U.S. to make a request for business in South Korean branches. The U.S. seems to be concerned that virtual currency can be a loophole in financial sanctions on North Korea. According to investment banking (IB)...

North Korea calls for unification of Korean Peninsula By Ryan Gaydos | Fox News North Korea on Thursday called for “all Koreans at home and abroad” to take steps toward unification without the help of any other countries. The message urged all Koreans to “promote contact, travel, cooperation between North and South Korea,” while assuring that Pyongyang would get over any hurdles in its way toward reunifying the peninsula, Reuters reported, citing North Korean state media. North Korea also said military exercises with “outside forces” hindered the development of relations between North and South Korea. Pyongyang also called on Seoul...

Graham: I 'fully believe that if North Korea goes to the Winter Olympics, we do not' Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Monday said if North Korea goes to the Winter Olympics, the U.S. should not attend. "Allowing Kim Jong Un’s North Korea to participate in #WinterOlympics would give legitimacy to the most illegitimate regime on the planet," Graham tweeted. "I’m confident South Korea will reject this absurd overture and fully believe that if North Korea goes to the Winter Olympics, we do not." Lindsey Graham ✔ @LindseyGrahamSC Allowing Kim Jong Un’s North Korea to participate in #WinterOlympics would give legitimacy...

Korea Doesn't Need Chinese Tourists December 22, 2017 13:24 China's National Tourism Administration summoned travel agents from Shandong Province this week and informed them that it has again banned package tours to Korea effective January next year. The same seems to be happening in Beijing. China imposed the ban on cut-price group tours to Korea in March this year in retaliation against the U.S. deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense battery here, but it partially eased the ban for Shandong Province and Beijing on Nov. 28 after the two countries agreed to normalize ties. Now, just six days after...

SEOUL, April 3 (Yonhap) -- A fishing boat has vanished and is feared to have sunk after searching for sailors missing from last week's naval disaster, maritime police said Saturday. Police said they lost contact with the 99-ton boat, carrying nine people aboard, after receiving a distress signal at around 8:30 p.m. Friday in the area off the western sea border with North Korea, where the patrol ship Cheonan ship sank on March 26.

American nabbed while trying to enter N. Korea 2017/11/13 15:36 UIJEONGBU, South Korea, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. citizen was arrested by South Korean police Monday for crossing the Civilian Control Line (CCL) near the inter-Korean border without a permit in an alleged attempt to enter North Korea, authorities concerned said. The CCL was drawn just below the Demilitarized Zone bisecting the two Koreas from the west to the east in 1954 to strictly protect the security of military facilities and operations there. The 58-year-old American, only identified as "A," was seized at 9:55 a.m. as he trespassed on...

'Abe, Trump to Discuss Evacuation Plan for their Citizens in S. Korea' Write : 2017-11-05 12:13:20 Update : 2017-11-05 13:19:00 United States President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will reportedly discuss how to evacuate their citizens in South Korea in the event of a war on the Korean Peninsula. Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun daily reported on Sunday that the two leaders will discuss the matter during their summit talks on Monday in Tokyo. The paper said that Trump is not excluding military options against North Korea, noting that roughly 60-thousand Japanese citizens and more than 200-thousand Americans currently...

Trump hints at ‘surprise’ visit to DMZ By Choi He-suk Published : Oct 26, 2017 - 16:31 Updated : Oct 26, 2017 - 16:45 Speculation is rising that US President Donald Trump may visit the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas during his visit to the South next month. On Wednesday, Trump hinted that he would visit the DMZ, saying “Well, I’d rather not say but you’ll be surprised” when asked whether the tense inter-Korean border would be in his itinerary. Since US President Ronald Ragan, all but one US president visiting South Korea went to the DMZ. The only...

Tonight's Nelson Report (a reputable newsletter on NE Asia): Removing personal assets from #ROK now advisable, say sr. admin. officials. 6:53 PM - 20 Oct 2017 from Washington, DC

Army Rapid Capabilities Office looks to solve challenges on Korean Peninsula By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The Army’s Rapid Capabilities Office is honing in on how to address major challenges on the Korean Peninsula following a recent trip to the region, the RCO’s director said. “We were over in Korea about five weeks ago and there is a massive effort within the Army to start addressing some of the gaps that U.S. Forces Korea and 8th Army have identified,” Doug Wiltsie told Defense News in an Oct. 5 interview leading up to the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual convention....

Financial authorities review countermeasures against N. Korean EMP attack Published : Oct 9, 2017 - 09:24 Updated : Oct 9, 2017 - 09:24 South Korea's financial authorities have been reviewing countermeasures against the threat of an electromagnetic pulse attack by North Korea that could paralyze a nation's financial system, according to officials Monday. EMP bombs can jam and damage high-tech defense systems and wreck havoc on communications networks and electrical grids. With tension escalating over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile ambitions, North Korean watchers here have said the increasingly isolated country has the capability to use such devices to devastating effect....

A US military assault on North Korea could prompt a last gasp retaliatory nuclear attack by Pyongyang on Seoul and Japan killing as many as 3.8 million people, according to a new analysis of the destructive potential of Kim Jong-un arsenal. Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that all options remain on the table – including the use of force – in dealing with the North Korean threat. However, analysts say the US is hamstrung by Pyongyang’s growing weapons stockpile and the fact that major population centres lie well within its range. A detailed analysis by 38 North, a programme at...

Luxurious Seoul tower prepares for inter-Korean war By Ko Dong-hwan With North Korea's military provocations increasing the possibility of war on the Korean Peninsula, a luxurious residential-commercial complex in Seoul recently held an emergency session for residents on what to do if war actually breaks out. The managing office of Tower Palace in Dogok-dong, Gangnam-gu, held the session on Sep. 18, where participants were given practical tips on what to do when the complex, one of Seoul's wealthiest communities, issues various warning alarms. Residents learned what to do when they hear an air raid alarm, a poisonous gas alarm or...

The U.S. military said on Saturday it has opened an investigation into fake mobile phone alerts and social media messages advising U.S. military personnel and their families to evacuate the Korean Peninsula. The phony messages, which were spread on Thursday, came at a sensitive time, with tensions high after North Korea conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test on Sept. 3. The test and a series of missile launches have triggered a war of words between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un.

France, Germany and Austria all threaten to stay away from the South Korean 2018 Winter Olympics over security fears sparked by Kim Jong-un Three countries revealed they could avoid games if security situation worsened Absence of the leading winter sports powers would be hammer blow to games Pyeongchang Olympics will take place just 50 miles from North-South border By Rory Tingle For Mailonline PUBLISHED: 19:27 BST, 22 September 2017 | UPDATED: 20:06 BST, 22 September 2017 Austria, Germany and France have threatened to stay away from the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea amid security fears over the nuclear-armed North....

Olympics: France to skip 2018 Winter Games if security risk too great PARIS (Reuters) - France’s Winter Olympics team will not travel to the 2018 Games in South Korea if its security cannot be guaranteed, French Sports Minister Laura Flessel said on Thursday, raising the first major doubts by a participating country over the event. Tensions in the region have escalated since reclusive North Korea conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test on Sept. 3, prompting global condemnation. U.S. President Donald Trump is locked in a stand-off with Pyongyang and has threatened to “totally destroy” the country of 26 million...

'Prepper' emerging as catchword amid N. Korea threat Seen in this photo is a collection of emergency items. They include combat rations, a self-powered radio and a first-aid kit. / Korea Times file By Lee Min-hyung "Prepper," or a person who believes a catastrophic disaster will come in the near future, is emerging as a catchword in South Korea, amid growing military uncertainties over North Korea's missile and nuclear threats. The number of doomsday pessimists is rapidly growing here, as is shown from the number of relevant YouTube videos and their views. In particular, Kang Yoo-mi, a famous female comedian,...

North Korea weapons tests spur the South, US to agree to revise missile treaty Trump agreed with South Korean President Moon to revise a joint treaty capping the South's ballistic-missile development, Moon's office said on Saturday Trump also gave "conceptual" approval to the South buying billions of dollars of U.S. military hardware, the White House said Published 3:24 AM ET Sat, 2 Sept 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump agreed with South Korean President Moon Jae-in to revise a joint treaty capping the development of the South's ballistic missiles, Moon's office said on Saturday, amid a standoff over North Korea's missile...