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Japanese PM calls N. Korean nuclear test 'absolutely unacceptable'

By Park Si-sooJapanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday called North Korea's latest nuclear test "absolutely unacceptable.""North Korea's carrying out of a nuclear test is absolutely unacceptable for Japan," Abe said, after Pyongyang conducted its fifth nuclear test, believed to be its most powerful to date. He said the test "could not be tolerated and Japan would protest strongly to Pyongyang if confirmed.”A 5.3-magnitude seismic tremor was recorded on Friday morning near the North’s nuclear test site and it was suspected to be the fifth nuclear test by the North.Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that he has set up and is running an emergency team dedicated to monitoring related developments.He also said that a nuclear test by the North would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions and agreements reached through the long-stalled six-party denuclearization talks involving the two Koreas, Japan, the United States, Russia and China.China, the North's closest ally and the host of the six-party talks, has yet to express its official stance on Py

Sep 9, 2016
Japanese PM calls N. Korean nuclear test 'absolutely unacceptable'

S. Korea ups 2017 defense budget by 4 percent

South Korea has increased its defense budget for next year by 4 percent as it moves to beef up missile defense capabilities amid growing threats from North Korea, the defense ministry said Tuesday.The government has allocated a total of 40.335 trillion won ($36.5 billion) to bolstering the country's defensive capabilities in 2017, up from 38.799 trillion won set for this year, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement."To counter the North's asymmetrical threats coming from its weapons of mass destruction, the country badly needs to build a Korea Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system and 'kill chain' to detect, identify and intercept incoming missiles in the shortest possible time," a ministry official said.Of the total budget, 12.159 trillion won will be spent to improve the country's existing aircraft and anti-missile capabilities and the remaining 28.176 trillion won will be injected as operating costs for troops and armaments, the statement said.Starting with its fourth underground nuclear test in January, North Korea has escalated its saber-rattling this year by firin

Sep 6, 2016

역사상 가장 많은 인간을 죽인 무기 TOP 16

세계 역사상 가장 많은 생명을 앗아간 무기는 무엇일까?인기 유튜브 채널 “티비스토리”는 지난 8월 “역사상 가장 많은 인간을 죽인 무기 TOP 16”이라는 제목으로 한 영상을 게재했다.영상은 로마 글라디우스 양날 검이 사람을 가장 많이 죽인 무기이며 약 1억 명 이상이 이 칼에 의해 희생되었다고 전했다.이어서 2위는 당나라 당파창 (7천만 명 이상), 3위는 중국의 연노궁 (5천만 명 이상)이 차지했다. 반면 제2차 세계대전을 상징하는 무기인 원자폭탄은 16위를 차지했으며 총 30~40만 명이 원자폭탄에 의해 사망했다고 기록되었다.디지털뉴스부@ 

Sep 5, 2016
역사상 가장 많은 인간을 죽인 무기 TOP 16

Chinese leader makes clear his opposition to THAAD deployment in South Korea

President Park Geun-hye shakes hands with her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping before a summit in Hangzhou, Monday. /Yonhap Chinese President Xi Jinping made it clear his opposition to the U.S. deployment of THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea during a summit with President Park Geun-hye in Hangzhou, Monday."Mishandling the issue is not conducive to strategic stability in the region, and could intensify disputes," Xi said during his summit with President Park on the sidelines of the summit of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies in China's eastern lakeside city of Hangzhou.Xi reaffirmed China's commitment to realizing denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, safeguarding peace and stability of the peninsula, and solving relevant issues through dialogue and consultation.The Chinese leader urged adhering to the six-party talks platform, considering the concern of various parties in a comprehensive and balanced way, addressing both symptoms and root, and realizing long-term peace and stability in the Peninsula. During the summit, President Pa

Sep 5, 2016
Chinese leader makes clear his opposition to THAAD deployment in South Korea

S. Korea, US boost readiness through joint drill

South Korea and the United States have beefed up their fighting readiness against North Korea's growing threats, with their latest joint drill set to end Friday, military officials said. The Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) exercise, which began on Aug. 22, focused on dealing with a potential inter-Korean conflict, with 25,000 American forces and 50,000 Korean soldiers participating in the annual drill, the defense ministry said."The two-week exercise helped strengthen the allies' crisis management abilities and joint readiness posture. They are more prepared to fight tonight in case North Korea makes any provocative moves," a ministry official said.In a media roundtable held on Aug. 24, Gen. Robert B. Brown, commander of the U.S. Army Pacific Command, said, "The more exercises we can do together, the better prepared we will be should North Korea do something stupid and try to attack South Korea."The UFG drill is usually a computerized command post exercise (CPX) with less emphasis on field maneuvers."But this time, the drill reportedly included a training drill that outlines possib

Sep 2, 2016

Defense chief meets residents near THAAD candidate site

South Korea's defense chief on Thursday met several people from a rural city near a candidate site that could be picked to host an advanced antimissile system, the defense ministry said.Defense Minister Han Min-koo held talks at 12:30 p.m. with the mayor of the southeastern city of Gimcheon and seven civilian representatives for 30 minutes at his office in the ministry's headquarters in Seoul, a spokesman told reporters.The meeting is the latest in a series of moves by the government to ease lingering public health concerns over the planned deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, that the government wants deployed by late 2017 in Seongju County, which is adjacent to Gimcheon.Gimcheon is located just north of one of three alternative sites that could be selected to host the U.S. artillery unit. Seongju is located 296 kilometers southeast of Seoul.Han listened to worries expressed by residents of Gimcheon over the possible deployment of a THAAD battery at the Lotte Skyhill Country Club. He will also explain why a THAAD battery should be placed in Seongju due

Sep 1, 2016

Asia-Pacific defense officials, experts to meet in Seoul next month

South Korea's defense ministry on Tuesday said it will hold a regional security forum next month, with focus placed on North Korea's provocations and feasible countermeasures that can be taken.In the fifth Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD) to be held from Sept. 7-9, participants from the Asia-Pacific region will exchange their views on the North's evolving nuclear and missile threats, and joint efforts among regional countries to counter such security challenges, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement."Further military threats are likely on the Korean Peninsula following last week's test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile and a nuclear test in January," Vice Defense Minister Hwang In-moo said in a press briefing."The security dialogue is very timely and will offer defense officials and experts from 33 countries and five international organizations a good opportunity to share their views on outstanding security issues across the region."Participants include U.S. Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy David Shear; Douglas Paal, vice president for

Aug 30, 2016

Ruling party officially backs THAAD deployment plan

The ruling Saenuri Party on Tuesday adopted an official stance to support the planned deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system to South Korea, saying it is the "least" Seoul can do to counter Pyongyang's evolving nuclear and missile threats.The party lawmakers' unanimous backing for the plan to station a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery on the peninsula by end-2017 came as opposition politicians are largely opposed to the plan."Adopting the official stance despite political differences over the THAAD deployment is the Saenuri Party displaying its strong will to stand at the vanguard of the efforts to overcome security challenges facing the country," Saenuri floor leader Chung Jin-suk said during a general meeting of party lawmakers.The Saenuri leadership, consisting mostly of members loyal to President Park Geun-hye, has supported the deployment plan. But the party's adoption of the official stance would boost Park's push for the THAAD deployment.In recent weeks, the commander-in-chief has repeatedly made emphatic calls for the public and political circles to back

Aug 30, 2016

S. Korea to check alternate sites for THAAD

South Korea's military said Monday it will conduct detailed examinations into three sites in the rural county of Seongju to check if alternate locations can be found to deploy an advanced U.S. missile defense system.The move comes as Seongju residents strongly protested the government's decision to install the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system at the Seongsan artillery base which is not too far away from the county's main population center. The government announced on July 13 that it plans to have a THAAD battery in place in Seongju, 296 kilometers southeast of Seoul, by the end of 2017, to better counter growing threats from North Korea."We have picked three possible sites for THAAD after consultations with the provincial government. The joint team composed of Korean and U.S. officials will make field visits and carry out a review of the sites' availability for THAAD," Moon Sang-gyun, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, said in a press briefing.The three candidate sites are the area near Mt. Yeomsok in Geumsoo-myeon, Mt. Kkachi in Sooryoon-myeon and a

Aug 29, 2016

S. Korea excavates remains of 320 Korean War dead in H1

South Korea's defense ministry said Monday it excavated the remains of 320 soldiers killed during the Korean War in the first half, with six of them identified and returned home to their families.In the excavation that ended early this month, the government sent the remains of 36 Chinese soldiers back to their home country in March and sent the remains of two American soldiers back to the U.S. in exchange for the remains of 15 Korean soldiers in April, the ministry said in a statement."We are running out of time needed to identify the remains of war dead through genetic testing as their bereaved families are getting older," a ministry official said.To help identify the remains of war dead, the military secured genetic samples from 2,939 family members in June. It plans to wrap up the second-half excavation in November, the statement said.The military has excavated the remains of a total of 9,100 fallen soldiers in the 1950-53 war since 2000, with 115 of them identified and returned to their families so far, it said. (Yonhap)

Aug 29, 2016
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