Thursday was the 74th annual Liberation Day in South Korea, commemorating the end of Japanese occupation after World War Two, featured demonstrations denouncing both Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and South Korean President Moon Jae-in at a time of heightened tensions between the two countries.
Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has not visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine since 2013, but he paid for a ritual offering on Thursday, which was enough to ruffle feathers across Asia. The shrine is seen in Japan as a memorial to peace, and by many other Asian nations as a nostalgic celebration of Japan’s militaristic era.
The United Nations is investigating at least 35 cyberattacks thought to have been perpetrated by North Korean hackers against targets in 17 countries, with the goal of stealing or extorting enough money to finance the rogue Communist nation’s nuclear missile program.
South Korea announced on Monday that it had stripped Japan of its status as a “trusted trading partner” in response to Tokyo’s decision to place export restrictions on its East Asian neighbor.
South Korea’s National Assembly held a hearing on Thursday to discuss the possibility of replacing the national anthem, “Aegukga,” on the grounds that it was written by a composer who supported Japan during its occupation of Korea in the first half of the 20th Century.
North Korea’s state newspaper Rodong Sinmun published images Wednesday verifying that communist dictator Kim Jong-un had overseen the launch of “new-type tactical guided missiles” the day before, weapons he said were an “adequate warning” to America and South Korea not to attack the country.
The communist regime of North Korea launched two short-range projectiles Tuesday after its Foreign Ministry published a scathing statement warning South Korea and the United States that Pyongyang will continue to “develop, test, and deploy” weapons against them.
Thousands filled the streets of Seoul on Saturday night, carrying candles and signs of protest against Japan’s tighter trade restrictions on South Korea. More marches and rallies are planned every weekend as Liberation Day, the holiday commemorating the end of Japanese occupation in 1945, approaches on August 15.
A mysterious heat source the South Korean military detected floating down the Imjin River on the North Korean border late Thursday night turned to be a man seeking freedom.
Japan fired the latest salvo in its rapidly-escalating feud with South Korea on Friday by approving a proposal to remove South Korea from its list of trusted trading partners.
The rogue Communist government of North Korea fired two missiles east into the Sea of Japan early Wednesday local time, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed. The missile launch was the second this week following missile launches last Thursday.
Kim Kyu-jong, a member of the Korean boy band SS501, apologized profusely this week after revealing that he is dating a Japanese woman, outraging South Koreans currently engaging in a boycott campaign against Japan for placing export controls on materials necessary for high-tech manufacturing, the Korea Times reported on Monday.
South Korea may contribute troops to a U.S.-led maritime security initiative to help protect oil tankers and other commercial vessels from Iranian aggression in the Strait of Hormuz, the Korea Times reported over the weekend.
Thousands of South Koreans rallied in Seoul on Saturday night, carrying banners that read “No Abe!” and “Apologize for forced labor!”
North Korea’s government newspaper confirmed the launch of a “new-type tactical guided weapon” occurring on Thursday, describing it as necessary given the “annoying situation” with South Korea and warning Seoul to stop committing “suicidal acts” such as maintaining its military.
North Korea’s military fired two projectiles believed to be short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan, or East Sea, on Thursday that authorities believe may be a new model of weapon.
South Korea’s “Boycott Japan” movement is really taking off, according to reports that South Korean consumers are shunning everything from imported Japanese beer and snacks to vacations, cartoons, and pop stars.
North Korean authorities detained 15 Russians and two South Korean citizens onboard a fishing vessel last week and are yet to release them, the two countries confirmed on Wednesday.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that a Russian aircraft violated South Korean airspace in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
A report published Friday by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), an organization funded by the government of South Korea, showed that North Korea’s trade volume was cut in half during 2018, evidently as a result of sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council.
National Security Adviser John Bolton is scheduled to visit Japan and South Korea next week, a trip seen in both countries as President Donald Trump’s effort to mediate the escalating feud between the two vital U.S. allies as nuclear diplomacy with North Korea resumes.
South Korea’s feud with Japan continued escalating on Wednesday with reports that two Japanese military attaches have been deported for allegedly stealing confidential information about North Korea. Meanwhile, South Korean retail outlets are beginning to boycott Japanese goods and shoppers are turning away from Japanese imports.
The Foreign Ministry of North Korea threatened to cut communication with the United States on Tuesday in response to a scheduled joint military drill with South Korea, which Pyongyang claimed President Donald Trump promised to cancel in pursuit of peace negotiations with the rogue regime.
A nasty diplomatic dispute between South Korea and Japan grew even more intense on Thursday as a South Korean lawmaker accused the Japanese of shipping banned materials to North Korea on 30 different occasions over the past 20 years, in some cases shipping items that were useful in the production of nuclear weapons.
The U.S. State Department denied a report on Thursday in South Korean media that claimed the Trump administration is considering sanctions relief for North Korea, calling it “completely false.”
The South Korean news agency Yonhap reported Thursday that President Donald Trump’s negotiation team is mulling a short term plan to relieve sanctions on North Korea if Pyongyang agrees to dismantle the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center, it’s main nuclear enrichment site.
A South Korean soldier committed suicide, officials confirmed Tuesday, less than a month after his unit failed to detect a North Korean ship navigating territorial waters, leaving a suicide note berating himself for his incompetence.
Singer/rapper T.O.P of the internationally successful K-pop group Big Bang ended his mandatory military service this weekend, posting a lament on Instagram stating he was “not proud” of the controversies that occurred during his service and vowing to “repay” fans for their loyalty, Australian broadcaster SBS reported Monday.
South Korean authorities are investigating a man who served in the country’s army on charges of stealing a device used in military explosives to potentially carry out an Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) terrorist attack, the defense ministry announced on Friday.
North Korea turned sour on America again in a tirade at the United Nations on Wednesday; it condemned Washington for being “hell-bent on the hostile acts” against the nation after the United States cosigned a letter in support of sanctions against the regime.
