South Korea

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S. Korean Leader Accepts Responsibility for Strange Scandal

Park Geun-hye says 'sad thoughts trouble my sleep'

(Newser) - South Korea's president bowed as she arrived at the podium and shook as she spoke. For nine minutes, she apologized, she expressed remorse, and she reached out for sympathy. In the face of nearly universal outrage among South Koreans, Park Geun-hye accepted full responsibility for an increasingly bizarre political...

Cult Leader's Daughter Arrested Amid Korea Crisis

Officials fear she might flee the country or destroy evidence

(Newser) - Choi Soon-sil, the cult leader's daughter at the heart of the political scandal engulfing South Korea, said Monday that she "deserves death." She was arrested instead. Reuters reports that Choi, who is accused of using her close ties to President Park Geun-hye to profit from influencing government...

Woman at Center of Korea Scandal: 'I Deserve Death'

Cult leader's daughter mobbed outside Seoul court

(Newser) - Telling reporters Monday that she "deserves death," the woman at the center of a scandal roiling South Korea met prosecutors examining whether she used her close ties to President Park Geun-hye to pull government strings from the shadows and amass an illicit fortune, the AP reports. "Please,...

S. Korean Leader Embroiled in Crazy, Mystical Scandal

President Park Geun-hye linked to adviser who is like a shaman

(Newser) - South Korea is embroiled in a complex political scandal that threatens to bring down President Park Geun-hye. Park has been caught seeking input on key speeches from Soon-sil, a personal friend with no official government position. Quartz describes Soon-sil as a cult-like figure, a "Rasputin-like mystery woman" who exerts...

Man Adopted in US 37 Years Ago Being Deported to Strange Country

Adam Crapser's adoptive parents never got him US citizenship

(Newser) - A South Korean man flown to the US 37 years ago and adopted by an American couple at age 3 has been ordered deported back to a country that is completely alien to him, the AP reports. Adam Crapser is currently confined in an immigration detention center in Washington state...

US Condemns Failed N. Korean Missile Test

Reiterates 'ironclad' commitment to South Korea's security

(Newser) - US defense agencies detected an attempted missile launch in western North Korea late Friday, near the city of Kusong, Reuters reports. The object—believed to be a Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile—failed immediately after launch, per South Korea's military. American and South Korean defense agencies declined to provide any...

Kim Jong Un Reportedly Hit By More Defections

Gov't says asylum seekers haven't contacted Japan

(Newser) - One or two officials may have followed the lead of a diplomat in London and defected from North Korea. A Health Ministry official stationed at North Korea's embassy in Beijing—tasked with sourcing medical supplies for a clinic visited by Kim Jong Un and his family—has reportedly sought...

N. Korea Soldier Walks Across DMZ to Defect

He made it across 2.5 heavily fortified miles

(Newser) - South Korea's military said Thursday that a North Korean soldier had crossed the border between the rivals to defect. South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff said military officials were investigating the North Korean soldier, who defected across the central-east portion of the military demarcation line, which is inside...

S. Korea: We're Willing to Kill Kim Jong Un

Defense minister delivers blunt comments in parliament

(Newser) - This should calm tensions on the Korean peninsula. Asked in parliament on Wednesday whether South Korea had a plan in place to take out North Korean leader Kim Jong Un should the need arise, the country's defense minister didn't beat around the bush. "Yes, we do have...

Quake Was North Korea's Biggest Nuclear Test Yet

Pyongyang says it has reached 'higher level'

(Newser) - In what Seoul called an act of "fanatic recklessness," North Korea carried out its biggest nuclear test yet early Friday, angering allies and enemies alike. The test registered as a 5.3-magnitude quake; Middlebury Institute expert Jeffrey Lewis tells Reuters that signals a blast of up to 30...

Shipping Line Goes Bankrupt, Causes Global Chaos

Hanjin bankruptcy could affect Xmas sales

(Newser) - The bankruptcy of the Hanjin shipping line has thrown ports and retailers around the world into confusion, with giant container ships marooned and merchants worrying whether tons of goods will reach their shelves. The South Korean giant filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday and stopped accepting new cargo. With its...

On Day 3 of War Games, North Korea Acts Out

Seoul says missile flew 310 miles, a record for the country

(Newser) - North Korea on Wednesday fired a ballistic missile from a submarine into the sea in an apparent protest against Monday's start of annual South Korea-US military drills . The missile fired from a submarine off the eastern coastal town of Sinpo flew about 310 miles, the longest flight of a...

As War Games Begin, N. Korea Threatens to Turn DC to 'Ashes'

Cue the military rhetoric amid tensions over defection of top diplomat

(Newser) - South Korea and the United States began annual military drills Monday despite North Korea's threat of nuclear strikes in response to the exercises that it calls an invasion rehearsal. Such fiery rhetoric by Pyongyang is not unusual, but the latest warning comes at a time of more tension following...

This T-Shirt Got a Video Game Actress Fired

South Korea dealing with its own GamerGate

(Newser) - A South Korean actress' voice won't be heard in two video games after people complained about a T-shirt she wore bearing an offensive slogan: "Girls do not need a prince." Not offended? Neither is the feminist network Megalia. Splinter group Megalia4 sold the shirts to fund lawsuits...

North Korea Suffers 'Highest-Ranking' Defection

Thae Yong Ho has defected to South Korea

(Newser) - A North Korean diplomat stationed in London vanished in mid-July, and Seoul is now explaining why: Thae Yong Ho has defected to South Korea, in what the BBC reports could be the "highest-ranking" defection North Korea has experienced. The New York Times calls Thae the "No. 2" official...

North, South Korean Gymnasts Unite for Selfie
 North, South Korean Gymnasts Unite for Selfie
OLYMPICS
Aug 9, 2016 12:33 AM CDT

North, South Korean Gymnasts Unite for Selfie

Moment hailed as triumph of Olympic spirit

(Newser) - "This is why we do the Olympics," tweeted political scientist Ian Bremmer after an iconic moment in Rio. Gymnasts Lee Eun-ju of South Korea and Hong Un-Jong of North Korea posed for a selfie during training, where they were seen chatting happily despite the tension between their nations,...

How Korea Bought Its Way Into American Stomachs

 How Korea 
 Bought Its 
 Way Into 
 American 
 Stomachs 
in case you missed it
Jul 31, 2016 3:23 PM CDT

How Korea Bought Its Way Into American Stomachs

Hey, it worked for Thai food

(Newser) - While some worry about Russia influencing the US election, other countries are surreptitiously having a massive impact on our meals. Priceonomics takes a look at the practice of "gastro-diplomacy," through which governments spend millions of dollars buying access to our mouths. "The latest food trend that you'...

Weird New Propaganda War: North Korea Lapel Pins

Meanwhile, Pyongyang says it's being attacked by snakes

(Newser) - North Korea has apparently kicked off a new propaganda war ahead of planned war games between the US and South Korea next month. South Korea says its military found hundreds of propaganda leaflets floating down a river near the border last week, boasting that the North won the Korean War...

N. Korea: Missile Launch a Dry Run for Blowing Up South's Airports

And US targets

(Newser) - Three ballistic missiles launched by North Korea Tuesday into the Sea of Japan off of South Korea's eastern coast wasn't just an arbitrary exercise, the Washington Post reports. The apparent intent of the Kim Jong Un-approved launch: A dry run at "preemptive strikes at ports and airfields...

Strange North Korean Radio Broadcasts Raise Old Fears

'On page 459, question number 35, on page 913, question number 55...'

(Newser) - Mysterious radio broadcasts out of North Korea are raising Cold War concerns in South Korea, the AP reports. A woman read a string of meaningless numbers on North Korean state radio for two minutes on June 24. It happened again last Friday; this time for 14 minutes. Popular Mechanics gives...

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