South Korea

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N. Korea Attack on G20 Feared
 N. Korea Attack on G20 Feared 

N. Korea Attack on G20 Feared

Diplomats fear bizarre balloon assault from Pyongyang

(Newser) - As the G20 summit in South Korea enters its second day, British diplomats fear that North Korea is planning to grab the spotlight with military action or even an attack on the summit. The summit is taking place just 50 miles from the border, and diplomats worry that the North...

US-South Korea Trade Deal Hits the Rocks

But broader G20 pact near

(Newser) - After days of furious negotiating, the US has failed to strike a free trade deal with South Korea. President Obama still hopes that the deal can be reached within a few weeks, but probably not before Obama leaves Seoul, the LA Times reports—a Korean official said that Lee Myung-bak...

Obama Blasts North Korea in G20 Speech

Warns that the US 'will never waver' in defense of South

(Newser) - Barack Obama sent some pointed remarks North Korea’s way in his speech in Seoul today, saying that the difference between it and its less-oppressed Southern counterpart is “a contrast so stark you can see it from space, as the brilliant lights of Seoul give way to the utter...

North, South Korea Exchange Fire

No South Korean injuries reported

(Newser) - North Korea fired two rounds toward South Korea at their tense border and South Korean troops immediately fired back, an official said today. There were no South Korean injuries and it was unclear whether it was an accident or an intentional provocation, said an official at the Joint Chiefs of...

South Korea Sends Food to North

Government offers humanitarian aid for first time in years

(Newser) - For the first time since early 2008, the South Korean government today sent food aid to North Korea in what some see as a big step toward easing tensions between the two countries. Freighters carrying 5,000 tons of rice and 3 million cups of instant noodles are expected to...

What If North Korea Collapses?
 What If North Korea Collapses? 
in case you missed it

What If North Korea Collapses?

That's a 'black swan' we should be prepared for, writes Fareed Zakaria

(Newser) - It’s entirely possible—if not likely—that the North Korean regime could collapse in the near future, “and at that point, unless there is careful planning among South Korea, China and the United States, all hell will break loose,” writes Fareed Zakaria in the Washington Post . Kim...

G20 Nations Brush Off Goals by Geithner

He's proposing better guidelines on currency rates, deficits

(Newser) - G20 officials aren’t likely to accept US proposals to better monitor exchange rates along with trade deficits and surpluses, an insider tells Reuters . Timothy Geithner had hoped to set numerical targets for surpluses and deficits as well as "norms" on currency rate policy. "Right now, there is...

Kim Jong Un May Have Had Surgery to Look Like Gramps

In older images, he looked skinny, had different chin

(Newser) - Did Kim Jong Un, the son and anointed successor of Kim Jong Il, have plastic surgery to look like his grandfather? That’s what South Korean newspapers are speculating after North Korea released the first official shots of Kim Jong Un last week. In them, he looked like the spitting...

Thawing Relations: South Korea Sending Aid to North

5,000 tons of rice, cement to be shipped

(Newser) - South Korea will send $8.5 million in aid to flood-ravaged North Korea in a sign of warming relations, NPR reports. The 5,000-ton shipment of rice and cement represents the South’s first major aid shipment to its neighbor after an alleged torpedo attack from the North in March...

Twitter Fight! S. Korea Blocks North's Tweets

Seoul apparently worried about the propaganda

(Newser) - Don't they have this backward? After North Korea took a shine to Twitter , South Korea is censoring its tweets. The North began tweeting a week ago—propaganda, along the lines of 'we didn't sink that boat'—and the South has just blocked its residents from accessing the feed, the Guardian...

N. Korea Fighter Pilot Killed in an Apparent Defection

Plane went down in Chinese corn field

(Newser) - This much seems clear: A North Korean fighter jet crashed into a corn field in China. (See the Wall Street Journal for photos.) Beyond that lies a ton of speculation, but the wires generally agree on this storyline: It was a lone pilot who tried to defect from Kim...

China Beats Japan to Become 2nd-Largest Economy

Second-quarter output surpasses Asian rival

(Newser) - In an unprecedented feat for a still-developing country, China has become the world's second-largest economy after edging ahead of Japan. Second-quarter GDP figures show China's output at $1.339 trillion, well ahead of Japan's $1.288 trillion. Because China is already in the habit of outperforming Japan in the later...

S. Korea to North: Time for Reunification?

Seoul broaches the idea of reunification tax

(Newser) - Given North Korea's penchant of late for threatening nuclear destruction and seizing fishing boats, the South had a strange message today: Let's get together. In a speech marking the Koreas' liberation from Japan, President Lee Myung-bak today called for a special tax that would pave the way for Seoul to...

North Seizes S. Korean Fishing Boat

Tensions high over sunken destroyer, war games

(Newser) - North Korean authorities seized a South Korean fishing boat and its crew today in waters off the divided peninsula's eastern coast, the South's coast guard said, with tensions already high over the sinking of a southern navy ship. Four South Korean and three Chinese fishermen were questioned for an alleged...

Korean Teacher Explains How to Swear in America

It's to better understand us

(Newser) - Jason Kottke has posted a seemingly legit video on his Kottke.org site with the only introduction possible: "You wouldn't think a Korean man teaching his class how to swear in English would be so funny." He also praises the instructor's mannerisms and ability to channel "Goodfellas-era...

As N. Korea Seethes, US Leads War Games

'We also have nuclear weapons,' claims Pyongyang editorial

(Newser) - The nuclear-powered USS George Washington led an armada of warships in exercises off the Korean peninsula today, in a show of solidarity with the South that North Korea warned could have "nuclear deterrence." The military drills, code-named "Invincible Spirit," are to run through Wednesday with about...

N. Korea to US, South Korea: We'll Nuke You

Backs up yesterday's threats over war games

(Newser) - North Korea is following up on yesterday's threat of a "physical response" to US-South Korean military drills, today promising "powerful nuclear deterrence" and a "retaliatory sacred war" in the face of what it calls an "unpardonable" provocation. North Korea routinely threatens war when South Korea and...

N. Korea Warns of 'Physical Response' to US Drills

Exercises will be seen as 'hostile'

(Newser) - North Korea has threatened a "physical response" if the US and South Korea go ahead with planned naval exercises this weekend. Such action would be regarded as "another expression of hostile policy," said North Korean spokesman Ri Tong Il, who warned that "there will be physical...

South Korea Border Robots Ready to Kill

With shrinking population, S. Korea manufactures soldiers

(Newser) - Two killer robots are patrolling the heavily fortified border between North and South Korea—and they belong to the South. The robots, produced at a cost of $330,000, are equipped with surveillance, tracking, firing, and voice recognition capabilities. South Korea is using them as a test run for a...

Surprisingly Spry Fidel Appears on Cuban TV

Former leader looks healthy, blasts US

(Newser) - Fidel Castro is back, and looking pretty spry for an 83-year-old. A relaxed, healthy-looking Castro appeared for an extended hour and 15-minute conversation on Cuba’s Mesa Redonda (“Round Table”) nightly talk show yesterday. He spent much of the time reading essays by other people, or having his...

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