Free Republic

Beijing instructed South Korea to halt rare material products such as transformers, EVs, aerospace and medical equipment.. Beijing has asked South Korean companies to cease exporting products containing Chinese-originated heavy rare earth metals to U.S. defense firms, warning that Seoul could face sanctions. China’s Ministry of Commerce sent official notices to at least two South Korean companies recently, the Korea Economic Daily reported on Tuesday, citing sources in the South Korean transformer industry. The outlet said the letters did not specify what type of penalties South Korean companies could face if the industry continues to export equipment to the U.S....

Top leadership of the US National Security Agency removed... in South Korea the Constitutional Court...impeachment of President Yoon Suk-Yeol is valid... In Sidon, Lebanon late tonight an Israeli air attack... 15 Democrat US Senators supporting resolutions offered by US Senator Bernie Sanders... US air attacks on numerous targets in Yemen... Russian air defenses downing a Ukrainian drone headed for Moscow... Special Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev speaking of 'three steps forward' following two days of talks in Washington... At least six dead in Bolivia others missing... In Canada guilty verdicts in the trial of Freedom Convoy leaders... Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin...

Authorities in South Korea are battling wildfires that have doubled in size in a day in the country’s worst ever natural fire disaster. At least 27 people have died and hundreds of buildings destroyed in the south-eastern province of North Gyeongsang, with the country’s disaster chief saying the fires had exposed the “harsh reality” of global heating. Pointing to ultra-dry conditions and strong winds that have worsened the damage, Lee Han-kyung, disaster and safety division chief, said: “This wildfire has once again exposed the harsh reality of a climate crisis unlike anything we’ve experienced before.” The affected areas have seen...

Grok: Expressed in billions of dollars list the five countries and five corporations that will benefit most from the U.S. military activity to eliminate shipping disruptions caused by the Houthi near the Red Sea. China is 1st. 🇺🇸 isn’t in the top 5... ...

An Air Force fighter jet on Thursday misdropped eight bombs outside a training range during live-fire drills, injuring civilians in the area, officials said. The KF-16 fighter jet taking part in a live-fire exercise 'abnormally' released eight MK-82 bombs outside the training range in Pocheon, 42 kilometers northeast of Seoul at 10:04 a.m....

On Saturday, acting President of South Korea Choi Sang-mok emphasized the escalating "geopolitical risks" worldwide and expressed optimism for a renewed partnership with Japan.

This week a US State Department spokesperson echoing the message of impeached South Korean... The new FBI Director Kash Patel out tonight... defending... US Secretary of State Marco Rubio telling CNN European countries want to keep the Ukraine War going...Rubio also saying...Zelensky needs to apologize... "Zelensky cannot make peace with Moscow he would be removed within days...opinion of British journalist... A group of nations will meet in London on Sunday...Zelensky will be there... Ukraine, The Washington Post reports the US may stop shipments of military... The FBI returning property seized from President Trump... In New Mexico the Santa Fe County...

In Canada's most populous province Ontario today an election...Ford's Progressive Conservatives the projected winners... Israel's military out with an internal report concerning the Hamas attack of October 7th... North Korea says it conducted cruise missile tests off its west coast this week... The US Justice Department releasing files related to...Jeffrey Epstein...called the 'first phase'...more material still in the hands of the FBI... "everything was calculated, everything was planned" Those words from Calin Georgescu Romanian populist presidential candidate...taken into custody yesterday...six charges announced against him... At the White House and exchange between Vice-President JD Vance and visiting British Prime Minister... US...

Yoon Suk-yeol wanted to say goodbye to Joe Biden, but the American president passed by him as if he were not there. Good to know that all of Seoul got to see what we all here in the great USA witness daily.

North Korean troops sent to fight alongside Russia in its war against Ukraine have not been seen in battle for several weeks, raising speculation that they have been withdrawn after suffering heavy losses, according to South Korea’s spy agency. The National Intelligence Service in Seoul this week confirmed media reports that North Korean troops had been pulled from the frontline around the middle of January. North Korea began sending an estimated 11,000 troops to the Russian Kursk region in late 2024, soon after the North’s ruler, Kim Jong-un, and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, agreed a mutual defence pact designed...

Even though the Communist Party of China is officially atheist, and the central government was once wary of religion, subtle signs and increasing activities show there is a changing attitude towards religion in order to unite China and its neighbors. In March last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping stood in the offices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, and extolled the profound impact Buddhism has had on China. "Buddhism originated in ancient India," said Xi, the leader of the officially atheist Communist Party of China. "After it was introduced into China, the religion went...

Summary South Korean authorities have arrested President Yoon Suk Yeol, who faces charges of insurrection following an attempt to impose martial law Yoon is now at the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) - he said he agreed to the interrogation "even though it is an illegal investigation, in order to prevent any unsavoury bloodshed" Authorities served the warrant after an hours-long standoff with his security staff and supporters, which saw investigators using ladders and wirecutters to enter Yoon's residence Yoon had been holed up for weeks - investigators tried to arrest him earlier this month but failed This marks the first...

THE black box on the Jeju Air jet that crashed in South Korea stopped recording data just minutes before the disaster, officials said. The crash at Muan International Airport on December 29 killed 179 people on board after the plane hit a wall at the end of the runway after an emergency landing and exploded into a fireball. As authorities investigate the worst airline disaster on South Korean soil, the transport ministry revealed that flight data and cockpit voice recorders stopped processing data four minutes before the crash. The ministry is now investigating how the aircraft's black boxes - which...

The aircraft's flight data recorder (FDR) was found to be partially damaged, making data extraction impossible on-site. Officials plan to send the FDR to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board in Washington for analysis on Monday. Separately, authorities have begun the process of returning victims' personal vehicles to their families, with applications being accepted from relatives. Digital forensic analysis is also being conducted on 107 mobile phones recovered from the crash site under the consent of the families. Investigators are hoping the analysis might yield critical information that might shed light on the in-cabin situation just before the crash.

South Korean police called off an attempt to arrest suspended president Yoon Suk Yeol after a six-hour standoff with his security team. Yoon is under investigation for abusing his power and inciting an insurrection when he tried to impose martial law in early December. The move, although short-lived, led to a political crisis as Yoon was impeached by an opposition-led parliament and suspended from office... The operation started with a 20-strong team, but quickly multiplied to some 150 people. Even then, they were outnumbered. The military and security officers formed a human wall and used vehicles to block the arrest...

Summary Police officers in South Korea have arrived at President Yoon Suk Yeol's home in a bid to arrest him over his short-lived declaration of martial law in early December About 20 officers marched to the presidential residence at about 08:00 local time (23:00 GMT) with that number reinforced to about 80 an hour later, say BBC reporters at the scene Yoon's lawyer says they will challenge the "unlawful" arrest warrant and his presidential security forces are reportedly blocking the attempt to take him into custody A court issued the warrant earlier this week against Yoon after he refused to...

An aviation expert said that a bird strike alone would not sufficiently explain why a South Korean airline jet skidded off a runway and crashed, killing nearly every passenger on board. On Sunday, Jeju Air Flight 2216 was landing at Muan International Airport about 180 miles south of Seoul when the incident occurred, according to the Wall Street Journal. The crash killed 179 of the 181 passengers and crew members onboard. WARNING: The following post contains video of the crash, which may be disturbing for some readers. VIDEO AT LINK................. “There are a million backups on this airplane. It’s extremely...

<p>The story of one of the most effective and brutal spymasters in U.S. history & beginning of an infamous love affair with napalm.</p><p>It was long past time for Donald Nichols to go home. He had been spying in Korea for five years, rarely taking a day off, never returning stateside to see his family. His bosses in the U.S. Air Force had not seen an agent work so hard for so long. They called him a “one man war” & the “best intelligence operator” in the Far East. He “performed the impossible,” his commanding general said. Still, air force rules were clear: He must rotate back to United States.</p>

n eyewitness of a South Korean jet plane crash has described the horrifying moment they knew a jet engine had exploded. Just two people - both crew members, one male and one female - are believed to have survived among the 181 people on board the Jeju Air flight, a Boeing 737-800. Government officials have confirmed an official death toll of 179. Kim Yong-cheol, 70, told Yonhap News that he was staying by the airport and noticed something was wrong. 'I saw the plane descending and thought it was about to land when I noticed a flash of light,' Cho...

Smoke rising after Jeju Air Flight 2216 crashes in South Korea Jeju Air Flight 2216. The Boeing 737-800 was flying from Bangkok to Muan