Free Republic

Full operational control of South Korean troops should not be handed over to Seoul in haste and out of political considerations, a U.S. academic says. Michael O'Hanlon, a fellow at the conservative Brookings Institution, made the recommendation in an article titled "Don't Rush the U.S.-Korea Command Change" on Tuesday. "In Korea, our preeminent concerns need to be unity of command and effectiveness of our combined deterrent against a still very potent North Korean threat," he said. "Ensuring fair burden-sharing is not the principal prism through which this issue should be viewed." The original decision was a political one, because then-President...

Some 3-thousand citizens, cultural leaders. and Prime Minister Chung Hong-won gathered in central Seoul for a national ceremony, marking the 567th anniversary of the invention and proclamation of Hangul, the Korean alphabet. "Hangul is the world's only writing system that has been proclaimed with a clear purpose and created with scientific principles. Its scientific superiority is globally acknowledged and it is a piece of world heritage for humankind." At the ceremony, six individuals and two groups were given national awards of merit for their contributions to research and promotion of the Korean language, followed by performances celebrating the event. This...

South Korea seeks stealth jet edge while North's MiGs age (Reuters) - South Korea's decision to reject a bid by Boeing (BA.N) to supply 60 warplanes and to re-issue a tender was made in the interests of stealth technology but may not be justified given North Korea's weak air capabilities, experts said. Lockheed Martin's (LMT.N) F-35A, previously considered too expensive, has shot to the front of the race for a multi-billion dollar deal after the Defence Ministry singled out a fifth-generation fighter as the preferred option. Boeing's F-15 Silent Eagle, the only bid within budget, had been poised to win...

ANALYSIS: Seoul’s F-X III backdown raises thorny questions about competition Seoul’s decision to re-tender the F-X III competition for 60 fighters raises questions about the viability of a revised process, and greatly enhances the Lockheed Martin F-35’s chances of securing the deal. After announcing its decision not to move forward with an F-15 Silent Eagle acquisition, Seoul’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has yet to clarify how it plans to replace the South Korean air force’s McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantoms and Northrop F-5s. In an email to Flightglobal, Boeing was quick to register its dismay at Seoul’s announcement. “Boeing is...

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's military shot and killed a man who undertook a rare attempt to enter North Korea on Monday by floating across a river that runs near the heavily militarized border, an official in Seoul said. It was not clear whether the man was a South Korean, the official said on condition of anonymity. The military was still trying to recover the body and investigating the incident, he said. South Korea's Yonhap news agency said South Korean guards had called out to the man to return. But he ignored the instructions, jumped into the Imjin River and...

Much has been made recently of the unique and ascendant role Turkey is playing in international relations. As a member of NATO, a diplomatic power broker in the Middle East and a rising international economic player, Turkey has become a novelty even in an era of unprecedented global cooperation and political interdependence. But this is actually nothing new. For more than half a century, Turkey has played this unique role, symbolized so succinctly by the bridge over the Bosporus River that links Asia to Europe, East to West. For the United States, the bridge to Turkey spans more than two...

When a US delegate once confronted a Chinese diplomat about Beijing's uncompromising support for Pakistan, the Chinese reportedly responded with a heavily-loaded sarcastic remark: "Pakistan is our Israel". But judging by China's unrelenting support for some of its allies, including North Korea, Burma, Zimbabwe and Sudan, its protective arm around these countries is no different from the US and Western political embrace of Israel - right or wrong. ..."China is trying to reassert its political clout at the United Nations as a counterweight to its defensive stand on currency and trade issues." The New York Times newspaper said on Tuesday...

S. Korea's ex-air force chiefs slam Boeing choice in fighter deal SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's 15 former air force chiefs have signed a petition opposing the selection of Boeing Co's F-15 Silent Eagle for the country's 8.3 trillion won ($7.64 billion) fighter jet program, one former chief said on Thursday, saying the plane lacked the cutting-edge stealth capabilities of more modern fighters. The petition comes after Boeing's F-15SE became the only bid eligible to be chosen in South Korea's biggest-ever arms procurement program, ahead of Lockheed Martin's costlier F-35 stealth fighter and the Eurofighter consortium's Typhoon. Lockheed and the...

(Reuters) - South Korea faces possible power blackouts this winter and next summer, as cable safety issues and protests that are holding up completion of an ultra-high-voltage power line threaten to keep more nuclear reactors offline. Asia's fourth-largest economy generates a third of its electricity using nuclear power, primarily to replace oil and gas, for which South Korea relies almost entirely on imports. But six of its 23 reactors are offline, including three shut since May to replace cables supplied with forged safety certificates. In addition, another reactor will soon be closed to check the welding on a steam generator....

SEOUL, Sept. 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea ranked 117th in terms economic growth last year, data showed Wednesday, apparently as the protracted slump in the global economy dealt a harsh blow to the export-reliant country. South Korea's real gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2 percent in 2012, with its ranking falling 60 notches from two years earlier, according to the World Fact Book released by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Asia's fourth-largest economy grew 6.3 percent to rank 57th among 189 countries in 2010, but it slowed to reach 3.6 percent in 2011 to rank 102nd. South Korea's economic-growth ranking...

Seven out of 10 children who were abused by their parents nonetheless return to their care, according to a study, and 10 percent end up being abused again. Lee Yeo-jin, a researcher with the National Assembly Research Service, analyzed data compiled by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and found that 83.1 percent of the 6,058 cases of child abuse in 2011 were committed by the child's parents, and 86.6 percent occurred at home. But 72.6 percent of the children who were abused by their parents had to stay at their homes, even though they often needed therapy and medical...

Korea recorded 40,000 new cases of tuberculosis (TB) infections last year, a government report showed Sunday, hinting the country still needs more attention on the disease usually found in developing countries. According to a report released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, a total of 49,532 people were reported as TB patients in 2012. Among them, 39,545 were cases of new infections. The number of male patients was some 30 percent higher than that of female patients. By age, 16,033 of the new TB patients were between 20 to 40 years, accounting for 40.5 percent of the entire new...

Credit card spending abroad hit an all-time high in the second quarter, before even the summer holidays took huge numbers of Koreans abroad. According to the Bank of Korea on Friday, credit card bills from overseas totaled US$2.53 billion in April-June, up 10.9 percent on-year. The previous quarterly record was $2.52 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012. "The total amount of money outbound travelers spent overseas fell because their numbers dropped, but credit card spending rose because that is becoming the preferred option." The total amount Korean travelers spent overseas in the second quarter was $4.96 billion, down slightly...

(Reuters) - South Korea's manufacturing sector activity contracted for the third consecutive month in August albeit at a slower pace than July, a private survey showed on Monday, showing that growth momentum in Asia's fourth-largest economy remains elusive. The HSBC/Markit purchasing managers' index (PMI) on South Korea's manufacturing sector edged up to a seasonally adjusted 47.5 in August from a 10-month low of 47.2 in July, Markit Economics said in a statement. The index has remained below the 50-point mark separating expansion from contraction in manufacturing activity since June. The sub-index on new export orders fell to a seasonally adjusted...

The transcript of a pro-North lawmaker and his aides allegedly discussing treason is sending a shock wave throughout the nation. Recorded on May 13 and made public by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) Friday, the transcript includes a plot to overthrow the government by attacking major infrastructure here in the event of an inter-Korean war. The people who appear in the transcript include Rep. Lee Seok-ki and other members of the minor opposition Unified Progressive Party (UPP), infamous for taking a pro-North Korea stance. They are also suspected of being part of a bigger organization that has connections with the...

(Reuters) - South Korea has launched a dispute at the World Trade Organization to complain about U.S. punitive tariffs on South Korean washing machines, the WTO said on Thursday. South Korea's complaint focuses on the way the United States measures "dumping" of imported goods, or selling at unfairly low prices. The United States has agreed to change its calculation methodology after a series of similar complaints from other trading partners.

Azerbaijan intends to purchase $3 billion modern weapons and military vehicles from South Korea Baku. Viktoria Dementyeva-APA. Azerbaijan intends to purchase modern weapons from South Korea, said a source in the South Korean parliament, APA reports quoting Hankook Ilbo publication. According to the source, the intention to purchase modern military vehicles was expressed during the visit of South Korean parliamentary delegation to Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani side has expressed wish to purchase from South Korea two submarine boats, mine vessel, transport ship, T-50 training planes, K-9 self-propelled artillery vehicle, drones worth $3 billion. These proposals have been given to the government...

K-pop presentation is still in a status where they are being tried out, like a pilot program, to see if this works with the market. On the Fourth of July near a pier in San Francisco, many people gathered to enjoy the crisp weather by the sea or find a good place to see the fireworks. To entertain them, street performers brought their gigs to the bay, with one of them dancing to Psy’s globally familiar tune, “Gangnam Style.” After the record-setting song, which became the first video to surpass 1 billion views on YouTube, celebrated its first birthday on...

Azerbaijan has reportedly expressed an interest in buying $3 billion worth of weaponry from South Korea, including several items for its nascent navy. That's according to a Korean newspaper report citing South Korean lawmakers and passed on by Azerbaijan news agency APA. Azerbaijan's shopping list reportedly includes two submarine boats, naval destroyers, transport ships, T-50 training planes, attack helicopters, K-9 self-propelled artillery vehicle, drones, and fire control systems. The Azerbaijanis reportedly made clear their intentions during a visit of South Korean parliamentarians to Baku in May. But the Korean story points out two reservations that Seoul has about such a...

The family of an American man stranded in a South Korean hospital is asking for donations to bring him home. Sean Jones, a young teacher from Oklahoma City, has been hospitalized since May with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, a rare autoimmune disease that causes swelling in the brain. Jones' family wants him transferred to an American hospital for continued treatment, but Yonsei University Severance Hospital in Seoul reportedly refuses to release him until his bill of nearly $40,000 is paid. Friends and family have set up a Facebook page and a Giveforward.com account to raise money for medical costs. So far...