S. Korea tightens export, import controls for strategic materials to and from Japan 2019-09-18 07:02:11 KST
News Keywords Nat'l/Politics North Korea Economy IT/Science Foreign Policy World Life/Culture Sports Weather Seoul runs 'car-free week' through Sunday 2019-09-18 Advanced tech used to boost military training for preparation of real 2019-09-18 S. Korea's ruling party, Justice Ministry to discuss ways to reform pr 2019-09-18 One year since Pyeongyang Declaration, denuclearization talks see litt 2019-09-18 N. Korea believed to have 30 to 40 nuclear warheads: SIPRI 2019-09-17 Japanese delegation makes rare visit to North Korea 2019-09-16 Life & Info: Cafes turn into botanical gardens, art galleries to attra 2019-09-18 NY Fed concludes first repo in 11 years amid liquidity concerns 2019-09-18 Wall Street rises as oil fears recede, market awaits Fed 2019-09-18 S. Korea delays launch of lunar orbiter until July 2022 2019-09-11 Scientists behind first blackhole photograph win $3 mil Breakthrough p 2019-09-06 Samsung, LG lead flexible electronics trend at IFA Berlin 2019 2019-09-06 South Korea urges action over radioactive Fukushima water 2019-09-17 S. Korea, U.S. gear up to begin negotiations on defense cost-sharing p 2019-09-16 Brexit uncertainties and impact on global economy 2019-09-10 Two suicide bombings kill at least 48 people; Taliban claims responsib 2019-09-18 Trump says he will not meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at U 2019-09-18 Trump lists five possible replacements for John Bolton as U.S. nationa 2019-09-18 Researchers face difficulties producing vaccine for African Swine Feve 2019-09-18 First official case of African swine fever reported in South Korea 2019-09-18 Unnie News takes a look at the top trending stories 2019-09-17 Hwang Hee-chan becomes second youngest S. Korean to score in UEFA Cham 2019-09-18 S. Korea defeats Japan 3-1 for their first win of 2019 Women's Volleyb 2019-09-17 Son Heung-min scores two goals before interval, helping Tottenham Hots 2019-09-15 Autumn weather sets in 2019-09-18 Autumn chill set to move in this afternoon 2019-09-18 Clear autumn sky tomorrow, wide temperature fluctuations 2019-09-17
Issue Now S. Korea-Japan Trade Row Abe's new cabinet and Seoul-Tokyo relations 2019-09-17 South Korea urges action over radioactive Fukushima water 2019-09-17 Japan pushed out of the list of top ten beer exporting countries to Korea 2019-09-16 Most Japanese people support decision to remove S. Korea from trade whitelist: Mainichi Sh... 2019-09-16 National Assembly sub-committee to discuss Seoul's response to Tokyo's latest trade curbs 2019-09-16 Seoul to drop Tokyo from whitelist this week 2019-09-16 N. Korea & U.S. N. Korea says it tested a 'super-large multiple rocket launcher' 2019-09-11 N. Korean media reports N. Korea's launch of projectiles on Tuesday 2019-09-11 N. Korea fires projectiles only several hours after proposing talks to U.S. 2019-09-11 N. Korea fires 2 unidentified projectiles toward the East Sea 2019-09-10 CSIS report reveals information on N. Korean missile operations facility 2019-09-07 Biegun urges N. Korea to halt development of WMDs, return to talks 2019-09-07
Most Popular Oil prices spike after Saudi attack disrupts global supply Oil prices soared nearly 20 percent when markets reopened after Saturday's drone attacks on Saudi Arabia's main oil processing plants, which had supplied some 5 percent of the world's oil. As markets opened Monday in Asia, the Singapore Exchange saw Brent crude trading at more than 71 U.S. dollars per barrel on the oil futures markets, up 19 percent from Friday's close. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude opened at 63 dollars, also rising more than 15 percent from the previous close. The surge came as Saudi Arabia's state-run oil company, Saudi Aramco, temporarily closed facilities accounting for more than half its production. Saudi Arabia's energy minister Abdulaziz bin Salman says the strikes will cut the kingdom's oil output by 5.7 million barrels a day. Many countries are bracing for impact, especially South Korea, Japan and China who all import large quantities of oil from Saudi Arabia. In the U.S., President Trump said he has authorized the release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. On Twitter Sunday, Trump said Washington is prepared to tap into its emergency fuel reserves to stabilize global supplies, but added that the amount is yet to be determined. Right after the attacks on Saturday, the U.S. blamed Iran for the drone strikes, but Iran denied any involvement, calling the accusation "blind and futile." Iraq, another country accused of involvement in the attacks by the media, also denied any link, stressing that it is constitutionally committed to preventing any use of its soil for attacks on its neighbors. Kim Mok-yeon, Arirang news. 2019-09-16 Working-level talks with U.S. could take place within few weeks: N. Korea's Foreign Ministry North Korea's foreign ministry says it expects working-level talks between Pyeongyang and Washington to take place within the next few weeks. However, a Monday statement issued by the ministry's official in charge of U.S. affairs stressed that North Korea's position is clear and immovable. The official said the North's denuclearization can only start after threats to Pyeongyang's security and obstacles to its development have been completely removed. Reiterating that North Korea-U.S. dialogue poses two options - danger and opportunity - the statement said it's up to Washington to determine the outcome and the future of the talks. It added that it's fortunate that Washington has repeatedly affirmed its position to resolve matters through talks and negotiations. Meanwhile, South Korea has confirmed the reported delivery of a personal letter from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to U.S. President Donald Trump. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs cannot verify the report independently. But, we were briefed in detail about the letter and its delivery some time ago from the U.S." At a parliamentary session, Seoul's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha added that the ministry is not in a position to discuss the content of the letter or when it was handed over. Earlier on Monday, Joongang Ilbo, a local South Korean newspaper, reported that Kim sent a letter to Trump calling for a third summit and inviting the U.S. leader to Pyeongyang. Citing anonymous diplomatic sources, however, the report said it's not clear whether Kim proposed the idea of holding an official summit in Pyeongyang or if he had simply invited Trump for a personal visit. Kan Hyeong-woo, Arirang News. 2019-09-16 Trump says he is not ready to visit N. Korea yet U.S. President Donald Trump says he's not yet ready to visit North Korea to hold summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Speaking at the White House on Monday,Trump said it's not yet the right time to visit Pyeongyang. "Probably not. I don't think it's ready, I don't think we are ready for that. I would do it sometime, at sometime at a later future, and depending on what happens I'm sure he'll love coming to the United States also. But no, I don't think it's ready for that. I think we've got ways to go yet." His remarks come as Kim reportedly invited Trump to visit Pyeongyang in a letter sent in August. Citing an unidentified source, Reuters explained that in his letter, Kim spoke of his desire for a third summit, while extending an invitation for Trump to visit North Korea. On a related note, the U.S. State Department said Monday that it's ready to resume denuclearization talks with Pyeongyang. This was in response to a statement issued by North Korea's foreign ministry that called on Washington to remove all threats and hurdles to resuming working-level talks. The statement came after an offer by the North's First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui to resume talks at the end of September. A State Department spokesperson told South Korea's Yonhap News Agency that Washington welcomes Pyeongyang's commitment to resume talks, adding the U.S. is ready to sit down at a time and place to be agreed. During a phone call with Japan's new foreign minister on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterated their shared goal of achieving North Korea's final and fully verified denuclearization. Pompeo also emphasized Washington's determination to cooperate with Tokyo on a wide range of regional and global issues. Kim Hyo-sun, Arirang News. 2019-09-17 First official case of African swine fever reported in South Korea Following the government's confirmation of the first case of African swine fever in South Korea on Tuesday morning, detected at a farm in Paju near the inter-Korean border, a different pig farm located in Yeoncheon county, near the border with North Korea and about 48 kilometers away from Paju, reported a suspected case of the highly contagious disease. Inspections are currently underway, and the results are expected to be out as early as Wednesday. The agriculture ministry previously gave a press briefing at 9 AM to announce that a 48-hour lockdown has been imposed on all pig farms across the nation. (Korean ) "Immediately after the confirmation of African swine fever, the ministry upgraded the warning to the highest level of severity. As of 6:30 AM Tuesday, the ministry has placed a 48-hour lockdown on all pig farms in the entire country, and blocked cars from entering the affected area." While it is speculated that the disease spread from North Korea, authorities are currently working to discover the exact cause of the outbreak. Almost 4 thousand pigs--including around 2,five hundred pigs from the farm where the fever was detected-- were culled to prevent the virus from spreading. President Moon Jae-in ordered the thorough management of the situation to prevent the spread of the disease, and Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon also held an emergency meeting at 11AM on Tuesday with related ministers, and gave specific countermeasures to related departments to tackle the issue. The case comes only four months after North Korea revealed its own outbreak of African swine fever in late May. African swine fever is a disease highly fatal to pigs, with a near 100 percent mortality rate. The incubation period in nature is 4 to 19 days, but symptoms generally appear within 7 days. It's highly contagious in pigs and no vaccine currently exists, but it's important to stress that the disease is harmless to humans. (Korean ) "African swine fever is known to be harmless to all animals except for pigs and wild boars." Experts say people can consume the infected meat without it causing any problems. But the disease has already had an effect on pork prices. According to Korea Institute for Animal Products Quality Evaluation, the average auction price of pork traded at 14 major wholesale markets across the nation had increased by nearly 33 percent at 3 pm Tuesday, compared to the day before. When African swine fever broke out in China, wiping out a third of the country's pigs, pork prices soared. Prices in China last month were almost 47 percent higher than they were in August 2018 when the first cases of African swine fever were detected in the country. Kim Jae-hee, Arirang news. 2019-09-18
