It followed the first 20-minute phone call on Wednesday after North Korea launched long-range ballistic missile Hwansong-15, which was said to be able to reach the US mainland. In related news, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis pledged to stick to diplomatic solutions after North Korea’s latest inter-continental ballistic missile test. South Korea's Air Force said on Friday it has created a bigger airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance unit in response to growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. The new unit is tasked with monitoring the North's related activities around the clock in close coordination with the US. At Thursday’s meeting with the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said his country will reduce the number of its embassy’s staff in Pyongyang and request North Korea’s Embassy in Berlin to do the same. … [Read more...] about North Korea’s missile launch: South Korea, US back diplomatic solutions
Korea
Squeezed by sanctions, N. Korea firm hawks cancer cures
While the United States pushes for new sanctions on North Korea, one trading company from the hermit state has creatively reinvented itself to survive. Its latest offer: A $50 root to "cure" cancer. The Shinhung Trading Company has exported seafood, sold millions of dollars of iron ore to China's national railway and bypassed sanctions to import luxury goods from Japan. But as a series of United Nations sanctions have taken those big ticket items off the plate, the firm has resorted to selling "North Korean specialties". At an alcohol and sweets expo held recently in bustling Jinan, China, two North Korean women in purple gowns, with images of the North's departed dear leaders pinned to their lapels, manned Shinhung's booth. They sold North Korean herbal remedies, cigarettes, and a special type of ginseng "efficacious for prevention and curing all sorts of cancers," its label said. "We also sell tiger bone liquor," said one of Shinhung's representatives, declining to give her name. "It … [Read more...] about Squeezed by sanctions, N. Korea firm hawks cancer cures
New Tourism Ambassador expected to boost tourism ties with South Korea
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien met Ly Xuong Can, the new Tourism Ambassador of Viet Nam, in Ha Noi on November 30, voicing his hope that the ambassador will help develop Viet Nam’s tourism as well as tourism cooperation with the Republic of Korea (RoK). (Source: toquoc.vn) Thien noted that the RoK is a leading market of Viet Nam’s tourism sector. In 2016, Viet Nam welcomed more than 1.5 million RoK tourists, a surge of 38.7 percent year on year. Over 1.93 million RoK visitors traveled to Viet Nam in the first 10 months of 2017, up 53.9 percent over the same period of 2016. The figure is likely to reach 2 million in the whole year. RoK tourists are the second largest foreign visitor group in Viet Nam, only after Chinese. Can pledged that he will work hard to contribute to the promotion of Vietnamese tourism and forge stronger tourism partnership between Viet Nam and the RoK. Ly Xuong Can (Lee Chang Kun in Korean), is the 31st generation … [Read more...] about New Tourism Ambassador expected to boost tourism ties with South Korea
S. Korea, U.S. not discussing naval blockade against N. Korea: Cheong Wa Dae
The remarks came hours after President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump held their second telephone conversation in just two days to discuss ways to rein in North Korea's evolving missile technology."The issue of a naval blockade was never mentioned in the phone call with President Trump," the official told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.The possibility of a naval blockade surfaced immediately after North Korea launched what is believed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in the small hours of Wednesday, ending its 75-day hiatus in provocations. … [Read more...] about S. Korea, U.S. not discussing naval blockade against N. Korea: Cheong Wa Dae
Trump: China’s N.Korea diplomacy appears to have ‘no impact on Little Rocket Man’
U.S. President Donald Trump dismissed a Chinese diplomatic effort to rein in North Korea's weapons program as a failure on Thursday, while Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Beijing was doing a lot, but could do more to limit oil supplies to Pyongyang.In a tweet, Trump delivered another insulting barb against North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who he called "Little Rocket Man" and a "sick puppy" after North Korea test-fired its most advanced missile to date on Wednesday.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Washington's approach was dangerously provocative.Trump's tweets further inflamed tensions reignited this week after North Korea said it had successfully tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile in a "breakthrough" that put the U.S. mainland within range of its nuclear weapons whose warheads could withstand re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere."The Chinese envoy, who just returned from North Korea, seems to have had no impact on Little Rocket Man," Trump said on Twitter, … [Read more...] about Trump: China’s N.Korea diplomacy appears to have ‘no impact on Little Rocket Man’