Free Republic

Army Rapid Capabilities Office looks to solve challenges on Korean Peninsula By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The Army’s Rapid Capabilities Office is honing in on how to address major challenges on the Korean Peninsula following a recent trip to the region, the RCO’s director said. “We were over in Korea about five weeks ago and there is a massive effort within the Army to start addressing some of the gaps that U.S. Forces Korea and 8th Army have identified,” Doug Wiltsie told Defense News in an Oct. 5 interview leading up to the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual convention....

Financial authorities review countermeasures against N. Korean EMP attack Published : Oct 9, 2017 - 09:24 Updated : Oct 9, 2017 - 09:24 South Korea's financial authorities have been reviewing countermeasures against the threat of an electromagnetic pulse attack by North Korea that could paralyze a nation's financial system, according to officials Monday. EMP bombs can jam and damage high-tech defense systems and wreck havoc on communications networks and electrical grids. With tension escalating over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile ambitions, North Korean watchers here have said the increasingly isolated country has the capability to use such devices to devastating effect....

A US military assault on North Korea could prompt a last gasp retaliatory nuclear attack by Pyongyang on Seoul and Japan killing as many as 3.8 million people, according to a new analysis of the destructive potential of Kim Jong-un arsenal. Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that all options remain on the table – including the use of force – in dealing with the North Korean threat. However, analysts say the US is hamstrung by Pyongyang’s growing weapons stockpile and the fact that major population centres lie well within its range. A detailed analysis by 38 North, a programme at...

Luxurious Seoul tower prepares for inter-Korean war By Ko Dong-hwan With North Korea's military provocations increasing the possibility of war on the Korean Peninsula, a luxurious residential-commercial complex in Seoul recently held an emergency session for residents on what to do if war actually breaks out. The managing office of Tower Palace in Dogok-dong, Gangnam-gu, held the session on Sep. 18, where participants were given practical tips on what to do when the complex, one of Seoul's wealthiest communities, issues various warning alarms. Residents learned what to do when they hear an air raid alarm, a poisonous gas alarm or...

The U.S. military said on Saturday it has opened an investigation into fake mobile phone alerts and social media messages advising U.S. military personnel and their families to evacuate the Korean Peninsula. The phony messages, which were spread on Thursday, came at a sensitive time, with tensions high after North Korea conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test on Sept. 3. The test and a series of missile launches have triggered a war of words between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un.

France, Germany and Austria all threaten to stay away from the South Korean 2018 Winter Olympics over security fears sparked by Kim Jong-un Three countries revealed they could avoid games if security situation worsened Absence of the leading winter sports powers would be hammer blow to games Pyeongchang Olympics will take place just 50 miles from North-South border By Rory Tingle For Mailonline PUBLISHED: 19:27 BST, 22 September 2017 | UPDATED: 20:06 BST, 22 September 2017 Austria, Germany and France have threatened to stay away from the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea amid security fears over the nuclear-armed North....

Olympics: France to skip 2018 Winter Games if security risk too great PARIS (Reuters) - France’s Winter Olympics team will not travel to the 2018 Games in South Korea if its security cannot be guaranteed, French Sports Minister Laura Flessel said on Thursday, raising the first major doubts by a participating country over the event. Tensions in the region have escalated since reclusive North Korea conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test on Sept. 3, prompting global condemnation. U.S. President Donald Trump is locked in a stand-off with Pyongyang and has threatened to “totally destroy” the country of 26 million...

'Prepper' emerging as catchword amid N. Korea threat Seen in this photo is a collection of emergency items. They include combat rations, a self-powered radio and a first-aid kit. / Korea Times file By Lee Min-hyung "Prepper," or a person who believes a catastrophic disaster will come in the near future, is emerging as a catchword in South Korea, amid growing military uncertainties over North Korea's missile and nuclear threats. The number of doomsday pessimists is rapidly growing here, as is shown from the number of relevant YouTube videos and their views. In particular, Kang Yoo-mi, a famous female comedian,...

North Korea weapons tests spur the South, US to agree to revise missile treaty Trump agreed with South Korean President Moon to revise a joint treaty capping the South's ballistic-missile development, Moon's office said on Saturday Trump also gave "conceptual" approval to the South buying billions of dollars of U.S. military hardware, the White House said Published 3:24 AM ET Sat, 2 Sept 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump agreed with South Korean President Moon Jae-in to revise a joint treaty capping the development of the South's ballistic missiles, Moon's office said on Saturday, amid a standoff over North Korea's missile...

(4th LD) Trump says to weigh withdrawal from S. Korea trade deal 2017/09/03 05:56 By Lee Haye-ah WASHINGTON, Sept. 2 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday he would meet with his advisers next week to weigh a possible withdrawal from the U.S. free trade agreement with South Korea. Trump made the remark to journalists during a trip to hurricane-hit Houston, Reuters said, shortly after the move was reported by the Washington Post. Citing multiple sources close to the process, the paper said Trump has instructed advisers to prepare for the withdrawal, but several White House officials are trying...

NORTH KOREA SENTENCES TWO SOUTH KOREAN JOURNALISTS TO DEATH OVER A BOOK REVIEW BY SOFIA LOTTO PERSIO ON 8/31/17 AT 11:42 AM North Korea’s Central Court has sentenced two South Korean journalists and two media executives to death for reviewing a book that outlines a sprawling undergound capitalist economy in the secretive Communist state. In an article on North Korean state media outlet KCNA, a spokesperson for the court said that the book—originally published in English and since translated into Korean—“insulted the dignity” of North Korea. It declared that journalists Son Hyo Rim and Yang Ji Ho—who work for South...

U.S. Media Showcases Doomsday Bunker in S.Korea By Yu Yong-weon, Cho Yi-jun August 31, 2017 12:30 NBC Nightly News on Tuesday took viewers on a tour of an underground U.S. military command bunker in South Korea as tensions soared to new heights on the peninsula. It did not say where exactly the bunker is but said it is "under a mountain on the outskirts of Seoul." Based on that description, it appears to be TANGO, which is the joint South Korea-U.S. command facility. The network's foreign correspondent Richard Engel was taken on a guided tour of the bunker, which he...

South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in says North Korean nuclear-tipped ICBM is a “red line” White House chief strategist Steve Bannon said he was pushing the U.S. administration to take a harder line on China trade and not put complaints against its trade practices in the backseat in hope that Beijing would help restrain leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea would be “crossing a red line” if it put a nuclear warhead on an intercontinental ballistic missile, South Korea’s president said on Thursday, but the United States had promised to seek Seoul’s approval before taking any military action. North Korea’s rapid...

With his public alarmed by President Trump’s recent threats to North Korea, President Moon Jae-in of South Korea issued an unusually blunt rebuke to the United States on Tuesday, warning that any unilateral military action against the North over its nuclear weapons program would be intolerable. “No one should be allowed to decide on a military action on the Korean Peninsula without South Korean agreement,” Mr. Moon said in a nationally televised speech. As a candidate for the presidency, Mr. Moon, a liberal who took office in May, said he would “say no to the Americans” if necessary. But he...

UK citizens ‘should be advised to leave Korean peninsula’ The Government should advise British nationals in the Korean peninsula to leave if the tensions over Kim Jong Un’s nuclear programme continue to ratchet up, a former head of the Royal Navy has warned. Admiral Lord West of Spithead said there was a “real risk” the current stand off between North Korea and the United States could escalate into an actual conflict, resulting in an exchange of nuclear weapons, with “catastrophic” consequences for the region. He said advising UK citizens to leave the peninsula and nearby Japan would send a message...

Sales of gold bars rising amid rising tension on peninsula Sales of gold bars, regarded as a safe haven for investors, are increasing in South Korea amid escalating tension with North Korea, industry sources said Saturday. The Korea Gold Exchange, a local trader, said the average daily sales of 100-gram gold bars reached 250 units since Wednesday, rising sharply from 50 units on average. Industry watchers said the demand for smaller gold bars is increasing as they are easier to carry compared to kilo-level products. A 10-gram gold bar is currently trading at around 550,000 won ($480), the trader added....

China’s weaponization of trade China has encouraged and then exploited other countries’ economic reliance on it to compel their support for its foreign-policy objectives Brahma Chellaney China denies mixing business with politics, yet it has long used trade to punish countries that refuse to toe its line. China’s recent heavy-handed economic sanctioning of South Korea, in response to that country’s decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system, was just the latest example of the Chinese authorities’ use of trade as a political weapon. China’s government has encouraged and then exploited states’ economic reliance on it...

(URGENT) N. Korea fires a ballistic missile: S. Korean military Headline only so far.

On its website, South Korean state news agency Yonhap cited South Korea's military as saying an unidentified ballistic missile launched from a location near the North's border with China at 9:40 a.m. local time. South Korean President Moon Jae-in ordered a National Security Council meeting after the launch, Yonhap reported, citing the Blue House — the South's equivalent of the White House.

Trump advisor Cohn asks South Korea's Moon to help with China's 'many predatory practices' •South Korean President Moon Jae-in met with the Trump administration Thursday and Friday. •The press was invited to view the start of the meeting between the South Korean leader and White House officials. •China has pressured South Korea economically for allowing the U.S. to deploy a missile defense system in South Korea. National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn asked South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday for help in working with China. "At some point we'd be interested to hear how you're dealing with the Chinese...