Seoul

Kia's new flagship three-row electric SUV has been fully revealed, bringing fresh styling and innovative technology to the company's electric vehicle (EV) lineup. It's a combination of what is expected from a family-friendly sport utility vehicle (SUV), and a new show of what Kia is capable of, from luxe appointments and an energy-efficient powertrain to sustainable materials and spaciousness. "The Kia EV9 transcends all aspects of traditional SUV thinking and represents the pinnacle of Kia's design and engineering capabilities," Ho Sung Song, Kia's president and CEO, said. "Created to meet the needs of all family members, the EV9 also spearheads Kia's rapid transition to a sustainable mobility solutions provider, not just by its advanced EV architecture, but also through the numerous recycled and sustainable materials used in its creation." As the market stands now, the EV9 has few direct competitors in the American market. However, that is expected to change drastically over … [Read more...] about New Kia EV9 electric SUV is a funky, fresh take on family hauling

Health officials sit at an empty government-run Covid-19 screening clinic in Jung District, central Seoul, on Wednesday. [YONHAP] Anyone who tests positive for Covid-19 will have to quarantine for five days, not seven, from early May. The mandate could be entirely lifted in July, meaning that people won't have to isolate even if they come down with the virus. Under the current system, patients must report their infection to local health authorities and quarantine for a week. If they refuse to isolate, they face up to a year in prison or 10 million won ($7,700) in fines. The mask mandate for high-risk facilities could also be lifted in July. Since March 20, the Korean government has allowed people to unmask on public transportation, but masks are still required at hospitals, pharmacies, nursing homes, welfare centers for the disabled and mental health centers. Visitors to pharmacies in large supermarkets or subway stations, however, do not have to wear masks. If the … [Read more...] about Mandatory quarantine to be cut to five days from May

Chun Woo-won speaks to reportrers after being released from police custody at the Seoul Mapo Police Station on Wednesday. [YONHAP] Chun Woo-won, grandson of former president Chun Doo Hwan, immediately left for Gwangju on his release from police custody on Wednesday. He said he will continue to apologize to the people of Gwangju regarding the atrocity committed by his grandfather during the pro-democracy uprising in 1980. “There is a low possibility that my family will cooperate,” Chun said regarding his family member confessing to the various crimes that he had accused recently through his Instagram and YouTube videos. “They will try to hide whatever crime that they had committed,” Chun said in front of the Seoul Mapo Police Station surrounded by reporters. “And I will apology for my family. “I thank the citizens of Gwangju for accepting this sinner.” He said he decided to expose the dark secrets of his family and close friends including the hidden wealth, drug abuses and … [Read more...] about Chun Doo Hwan grandson heads straight to Gwangju after release

BEIJING — South Korea is desperately trying to manage the diplomatic crisis between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in order to avert threatened American military action against North Korea. Trump's announcement Thursday that he was calling off the Singapore summit was followed by a flurry of reversed decisions and policy re-statements, rhetorical declarations both hostile and conciliatory, shuttle diplomacy by minor officials around the globe, high-profile meetings and low-key discussions. We have put a great team together for our talks with North Korea. Meetings are currently taking place concerning Summit, and more. Kim Young Chol, the Vice Chairman of North Korea, heading now to New York. Solid response to my letter, thank you! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2018 The leadership in Seoul has been working around-the-clock to keep peace talks on track. On Saturday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong Un held a “surprise summit” … [Read more...] about South Korea works to prevent war between U.S., North Korea

Not many people know how to wage nuclear war. I’m one of them. As a young U.S. Air Force fighter pilot in the late 1970s, I was trained to carry out nuclear strikes in a rigorous process designed to ensure that no contingencies — mechanical or ethical — deter your mission. Certain things remain burned into my memory: maps and photos of my target and the realization of the Armageddon I would leave in my wake. Training culminated with a sworn pledge to vaporize that target without hesitation. Much of my 33-year career was spent as a nuclear warrior — I later oversaw the U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile fleet and served as deputy commander of American military forces in the Pacific — experience that informs my deep alarm over the growing risk of nuclear conflict with North Korea. The United States has tried for decades to prevent the country from becoming a nuclear threat, veering from diplomacy to pressure to patience. None of these approaches have worked. Here’s something … [Read more...] about I Know How Nuclear War Is Waged, So I’m Calling for Peace With North Korea

Jeong Jae-hong The author is an international, diplomatic and security news editor for the JoongAng Ilbo. In a recent meeting, I met a man who had sent his teenage son to the United States alone to study. He sighed over the burden of sending more than $46,000 a year to support him but nevertheless was proud he was doing well at an American school. He wished his son would graduate from a U.S. university, find a job, and settle there. Another man whose son was still in elementary school also hoped his son could work in America, as he projected job situation in Korea will get worse after a decade. “Korea has no future,” he cynically said. Their pessimism about the country’s future is well-grounded. Korea’s fertility rate last year was 0.78, the lowest in the world. The trend will likely get worse as more and more do not see the need to get married and have kids. Aging is also the fastest. The share of people aged 65 or older that took up 17.5 percent of the South Korean population … [Read more...] about [Column] A fatal exodus for Korea

Kim Byung-yeon The author is a professor of economics and head of the Institute for Future Strategy at Seoul National University. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un dreamed of changing the country into a normal state. The 39-year-old leader wanted to become a head of state in a normal country by wiping out the image of North Korea as a rogue state. To take the novel path, he abandoned his father’s “Military First” policy and attempted to run the country through the normal governance system based on the Workers’ Party and the Cabinet. That’s not all. Kim defined himself as head of the State Affairs Commission, not the chairman of the National Defence Commission his father was. In a bold move to turn the off-track country into a normal state, Kim brought his wife to various events at home and abroad like other heads of state. He instructed his subordinates to include education on climate change in training programs and even submitted a report on the sustainable development of the … [Read more...] about [Column] Kim Jong-un’s dream to be ruined by nukes

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un blamed South Korea on Friday for increased mistrust in a New Year speech after a year of heightened tension between the rival countries. The speech was Kim's fourth since becoming leader in 2011 when his father, Kim Jong Il, died, sparking a long and turbulent succession process marked by several bloody purges in the isolated country. "South Korea has made a unilateral case for unification and increased mistrust and conflict between us," Kim said during a 30-minute long address, broadcast on North Korean television, highlighting its suspicion of the South's unification policies. Kim said in last year's speech he would be open to a summit with Seoul but tension surged in August after a landmine blast on their border wounded two South Korean soldiers. The South blamed the North, which denied responsibility. The two sides met for talks in August after a sustained military stand-off and agreed to reduce tension and hold further talks at … [Read more...] about Kim Jong Un Blames South Korea for Mistrust

North Korea announced that its main nuclear site is fully operational on Tuesday, and that it is improving its nuclear weapons "in quality and quantity", according to state news agency KCNA. The propaganda arm of the North Korean regime also said that the country is ready to stand up to U.S. aggression in the region with nuclear weapons "at any time." The Yongbyon nuclear complex was closed in 2007 and North Korea had previously threatened to reopen it, particularly in 2013 after the country's third nuclear test. The director of North Korea's Atomic Energy Institute, unnamed in comments quoted by KCNA and reported by Sky News, said that its scientists had "made innovations day by day" in order to "guarantee the reliability of the nuclear deterrent...as required by the prevailing situation." "In the meantime, the U.S. anachronistic hostile policy toward the DPRK that forced it to have access to the nuclear weapons has remained utterly unchanged and instead it has become all the more … [Read more...] about North Korea Warns Main Nuclear Site is Fully

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has ordered his frontline troops to prepare for war after an exchange of fire with South Korea on Thursday, according to the country's state news agency. Kim declared what Pyongyang's official KCNA news agency on Friday called a "semi-state of war" at an emergency meeting of the Central Military Commission late Thursday. KCNA added that Kim had ordered the troops to be "fully ready for any military operations at any time" from 1700 local time (0830 GMT) Friday and be "fully battle ready to launch surprise operations." The battle-readiness order was issued after Seoul fired dozens of shells across the fortified border with North Korea in retaliation for the pariah state firing two rockets into South Korean territory, the South Korean Defense Ministry said. No casualties were reported in either incident. North Korea says it fired the rockets in retaliation for South Korea playing propaganda loudspeakers at the border, which it called a "direct … [Read more...] about North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un Orders Military to Ready