SouthKorea

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  Cheong Wa Dae urges N. Korea to stop firing projectiles, calls for upgrade of inter-Korean ties: Yonhap SEOUL -- South Korea called on North Korea on Friday to stop test-launching projectiles and criticizing President Moon Jae-in, saying such an attitude runs counter to the spirit of last year's inter-Korean summit agreements. In general, however, Moon's office maintained a strategy of not overreacting but responding calmly to Pyongyang's continued military provocations and warning messages. Cheong Wa Dae views them as aimed mainly at demonstrating its ang 2019-08-16
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  Experts gather at "2019 One Korea International Forum" to discuss peace on Korean peninsula (This article is an English translation of an original news article written by Aju News reporter Kim Do-hyung) SEOUL -- About 400 experts including North Korean experts and civic society representatives from home and abroad have participated at an international forum held in Seoul to discuss issues regarding the Korean peninsula. Experts who participated in "2019 One Korea International Forum", held under the agenda of "Historic 2019-08-16
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  S. Korea removes Japan from list of countries for preferential treatment SEOUL -- In an apparent tit-for-tat strategy to match Japan's trade restrictions, South Korea removed Japan from its own list of trusted trading partners, tightening procedural regulations on exports of strategic goods. Revised rules will be enforced in September. The South's trade ministry said Monday that it has changed a "white" list of 29 trading partners for preferential treatment as members of the world's top four export contr 2019-08-12
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  Microchip design expert nominated as science minister in cabinet shake-up SEOUL -- Choi Ki-young, a scholar known for his expertise in microchip design, prioritized his work to guarding South Korea against Japan's export restrictions after he was nominated to lead the Ministry of Science and ICT in a partial cabinet shake-up that affected five miniserial posts. "We will make the current difficulties an opportunity to strengthen our national competitiveness by preparing fundamental measures such as 2019-08-09
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  President Moon reshuffles cabinet to inject fresh momentum in his leadership: Yonhap SEOUL -- President Moon Jae-in carried out his first Cabinet shake-up in five months Friday amid a host of troubles in state affairs, from North Korea's resumed rocket launches to a trade fight with Japan. He also picked Lee Soo-hyuck, a diplomat-turned-lawmaker, as new ambassador to the United States, as Seoul has come under growing pressure to increase its financial support for the U.S. Forces Korea and play a bigger role in r 2019-08-09
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  Biotech firms mull preemptive measures to contain fallout from trade war with Japan SEOUL -- Anxiety over Japan's export restrictions lead South Korean biotech firms to take preemptive measures aimed at blocking supply uncertainty. The Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization (KoreaBio) is conducting a survey of items that could be affected by a trade dispute between Seoul and Tokyo. Items, which can be subject to Japan's export control include microbial toxins and biological equipment such as incubators, centrifuges, cross-flow fi 2019-08-09
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  S. Korea strengthens customs clearance for Japanese coal waste for cement plants SEOUL -- As part of retaliatory steps, South Korea will strengthen customs clearance for Japanese coal waste, citing fears of radioactive and heavy metal contamination. Domestic cement plants have imported cinder discharged from Japanese thermal power plants for use as raw materials. The Environment Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that it would strengthen environmental safety management procedures for imports of Japanese coal waste. Ministry data showed th 2019-08-08
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  President Moon visits promising small company to offer words of encouragement SEOUL -- President Moon Jae-in made a spot inspection to spur a promising small company on the development of technologies to reduce its dependence on Japanese parts as Tokyo promulgated a revised bill to exclude South Korea from a list of trusted trading partners. Moon offered words of encouragement during his trip to the factory of SBB TECH in Gimpo west of Seoul, which produces precision decelerators for robots, ceramic bearing and balls, and automation robot driv 2019-08-07
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  Asiana Airlines decides to suspend flights between Busan and Okinawa SEOUL -- South Korea's second-largest carrier, Asiana Airlines, decided to suspend flights between the southern port city of Busan and the Okinawa Islands as the number of travelers to Japan saw a sharp decrease because of a boycott campaign caused by a trade war that has affected broad exchanges between the two neighboring countries. Asiana said Wednesday that it would shut down the Busan-Okinawa route from August 23. The airline has deployed 160- 2019-08-07
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  Survey reveals split opinion over whether to abrogate military pact between Seoul and Tokyo SEOUL -- Debate over whether to ditch a pact on sharing sensitive military information has divided South Korea with negative answers coming dominantly from supporters of a conservative main opposition party and conservatives who are more concerned about North Korean military threats that a trade war between Seoul and Tokyo. The conservative government of South Korea's jailed ex-president Park Geun-hye endorsed the military accord in November 2016 at the h 2019-08-07
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  Washington hopes to maintain military pact between Seoul and Tokyo: presidential aide SEOUL -- As part of its global strategy to set up a security network in Northeast Asia, the United States wants Seoul and Tokyo to maintain a pact on sharing sensitive military information despite their trade conflict, but senior aides to South Korean President Moon Jae-in vowed to seriously consider whether it is politically and militarily effective. Noh Young-min, chief of staff at the presidential secretariat, told a National 2019-08-06
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  S. Korean national beauties boycott Miss International to be held in Japan Seven finalists of Miss Korea, South Korea's national beauty pageant. SEOUL -- South Korea national beauties will not participate boycott Miss International, a Japanese-based international beauty pageant to be held in October this year, as a nationwide boycott campaign gained force to affect social and other areas beyond selected brands. The operators of Miss Korea, a national beauty pageant, said Monday that they would not send any delegat 2019-08-05
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  Seoul can catch up with Tokyo through inter-Korean economic cooperation: President Moon SEOUL -- Based on its moral superiority and mature democracy, South Korea can catch up with Japan "at once" through economic cooperation with North Korea, President Moon Jae-in said, presenting a critical outlook that Tokyo cannot establish "a leadership position" in the world with its economic power alone. "Japan can never stop our economy from taking off," Moon told a meeting of senior aides at his of 2019-08-05
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  S. Korea pledges special treatment for 100 strategic items to secure stable supply chain SEOUL -- In an effort to speed up localization, South Korea pledged special treatment for 100 strategic items, including those vulnerable to Japan's export restrictions, to secure a stable supply chain within five years in the fields of semiconductors, displays, automobiles, electric electronics, basic chemicals and machinery and metal. Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo said Monday after a meeting of economy-related ministers that the government would 2019-08-05
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  President Moon vows to strike back at Japan's 'reckless' trade retaliation Through a TV at a railway station in Seoul on August 2, citizens listen to President Moon Jae-in who vowed to strike back at Japan's trade retaliation. SEOUL -- In a determined manner, President Moon Jae-in expressed deep regrets and vowed to strike back step by step at Japan's "reckless" trade retaliation aimed at hurting South Korea's economy and future growth, saying he would make a history of victory again with public support. "As 2019-08-02
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  Boycott of Japanese goods to intensify as Tokyo expands export curbs: Yonhap A file picture shows a shopping mall displaying a sign of boycotting Japanese goods. SEOUL -- Calls for a boycott of Japan-made goods in South Korea are expected to come to a boil as Tokyo went ahead with its threat to widen controls over exports of materials by removing Seoul from a list of trusted trade partners despite repeated calls to scrap the move. A boycott of Japanese goods has spread across Korea since Tokyo tightened controls on exports of three high- 2019-08-02
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  S. Korea drawn into trade with Japan at risk of cracking in security cooperation A file picture shows the torching of a Japanese imperial flag and the portrait of Japan's prime minister during an anti-Japanese rally in Seoul. SEOUL -- South Korea was drawn into an unavoidable trade war with its former colonial ruler after Japan disregarded a proposed diplomatic solution and took fresh retaliatory steps to restrict exports in a move that could have a crippling impact on broad relations between the two key allies of the United States. Pres 2019-08-02
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  S. Korean and Japanese foreign ministers fail to narrow differences over trade row: Yonhap SEOUL -- The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan failed to narrow differences in a rancorous trade row during their highly charged talks in Thailand on Thursday, the eve of Tokyo's possible decision on whether to strip Seoul of a preferential trade status. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, met in Bangkok on the margins of annual multilateral talks involving the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 2019-08-01
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  S. Korea's top security body warns of 'stern action' against Japan Local government officials demand a boycott of Japanese goods at a rally in Seoul on July 30. SEOUL -- South Korea's highest security body warned of "stern action" if Japan disregards a diplomatic solution and aggravates trade relations further without retracting restrictions on exports of key materials used for the production of microchips and displays. The warning coincided with an agreement to open dialogue between South Korean and Japanese foreign m 2019-07-31
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  Police find gangster-concept online streamers run by actual mobster SEOUL -- Online streamers who broadcast gangster-concept video content over social media were found to be real gangsters. They sought fame and money by operating a YouTube channel depicting a "thug life." Police said Monday that three people were investigated for assaulting a 37-year-old man while shooting video content on the streets of the southern port city of Busan in April. The actual scene was not broadcast. The gangsters' YouTube channel s 2019-07-29