S. Korea's top diplomat for Asian affairs to meet his new Japanese counterpart for first time 2019-09-19 16:20:35 KST
News Keywords Nat'l/Politics North Korea Economy IT/Science Foreign Policy World Life/Culture Sports Weather NSC to help S. Korea-U.S. summit create concrete steps on strengthenin 2019-09-19 Police identify suspect in 1986-91 Hwaseong serial killing case 2019-09-19 S. Korea remains on high alert over African swine fever, but no new ca 2019-09-19 Inter-Korean Comprehensive Military Agreement: One year on 2019-09-19 Trump administration open to idea of war-separated family reunions: U. 2019-09-19 America's top diplomat for East Asia says he assumes N. Korea is still 2019-09-19 Samsung Electronics projected to have 47% of global DRAM market in Q3: 2019-09-19 South Korean boycott of Japanese goods rumbles on 2019-09-19 In-depth: Global market wrap-up 2019-09-19 Advanced non-memory chips will help Korea embrace AI: Science minister 2019-09-19 Samsung, LG launch into fierce competition in 8K TV market 2019-09-19 S. Korea, Saudi Arabia sign MOU to establish joint nuclear energy rese 2019-09-18 S. Korea, Bulgaria to hold summit in Seoul on Sept. 27th 2019-09-19 15 U.S. military installations within S. Korea ready to be returned: U 2019-09-19 S. Korea - U.S. to hold high-level defense talks next week 2019-09-19 Greta Thunberg to Congress: 'Don't listen to me. Listen to the scienti 2019-09-19 Trump names Robert O'Brien as new national security advisor 2019-09-19 Greta Thunberg to Congress: 'Don't listen to me. Listen to the scienti 2019-09-19 Enjoy autumn with art at the 2019 Korea Art Week 2019-09-19 Enjoy autumn days with art during 2019 Korea Art Week 2019-09-19 S. Korea's first organ competition will be held in September 2020 2019-09-19 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 Typhoon to bring rainstorm this weekend 2019-09-19 Wide temperature differences, typhoon this weekend 2019-09-19 Chilliest morning of season so far 2019-09-19
Issue Now S. Korea-Japan Trade Row Japan's exports and imports dropped y/y in August amid trade dispute with S. Korea 2019-09-19 South Korean boycott of Japanese goods rumbles on 2019-09-19 Sales of Japanese cars in S. Korea dropped by 56.9% y/y in August 2019-09-18 Tokyo expresses regret over S. Korea's decision to remove Japan from trade whitelist: NHK 2019-09-18 S. Korea tightens export, import controls for strategic materials to and from Japan 2019-09-18 Abe's new cabinet and Seoul-Tokyo relations 2019-09-17 N. Korea & U.S. Yeongbyeon nuclear reactor shut down for enough time for re-fuelling: IAEA 2019-09-18 74th session of UN General Assembly kicks off in New York 2019-09-18 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
Most Popular S. Korea tightens export, import controls for strategic materials to and from Japan South Korea's trade ministry has revised its export and import measures for strategic materials to better control exports to countries that violate global export control systems. The most prominent change in the recent revision is the classification change of export partners into group A1, group A2, and group B. Japan for instance has been placed in group A2, meaning that it will face tighter export controls like those in group B. This means that local companies shipping strategic materials to Japan or other countries listed in group A2 will have to submit five different documents instead of three for individual items. The approval process that used to take 5 days will now take 15 days in addition to a separate approval regarding every export. The revised measures can, however, affect around 100 local companies. To minimize the impact, the South Korean government promised to ensure transparent monitoring of exports and provide customized counseling for affected companies. Another concern is that adopting such export curbs could backfire on Seoul especially when it filed a complaint against Tokyo's trade restrictions to the World Trade Organization. But the ministry's Director General for International Trade Policy, Lee Ho-hyeon, says there is nothing to worry about. "Our revision was based on evaluations of export control systems that go against international export control agreements, but Tokyo's export curbs were politically motivated. We have enough evidence to prove that." So far, Japan hasn't made any requests for talks. But the South Korean government has emphasized that even after the revision of export and import measures for strategic materials, they are ready for talks with Japan to resolve the trade dispute between the two countries. Hong Yoo, Arirang News. 2019-09-18 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 Pyeongyang Declaration, one year-on Tomorrow, September 19th marks exactly one year since South Korean leader Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met in Pyeongyang. for their third encounter since President Moon took office. The two signed the Pyeongyang Joint Declaration in which they agreed on ways to ease inter-Korean military tensions and boost economic cooperation between the two Koreas. On today's in-depth, we take a look back at the past one year since the Pyeongyang Declaration and the future of the peace process on the Korean Peninsula. For that Dr. Go Myong-hyun, of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies joins me in the studio. 1. One year ago, President Moon delivered a speech to the people of North Korea, and visited Mt. Baekdu along with Kim Jong-un. Those events were historic and unprecedented to say the least but a year later today, things haven't changed dramatically. How do you assess the past one year since the Pyeongyang summit? 2. The Pyeongyang Declaration included ways to boost inter-Korean economic cooperation but we're not hearing much progress there either. Constructing railways and roads to connect the two Koreas were one of the two leaders' ambitious plans but that too, have been stalled since officials held a groundbreaking ceremony last December. How do you evaluate the progress on economic cooperation so far? 3. The September 19 inter-Korean military agreement, many believe, has contributed greatly to easing military tensions on the Peninsula. Your take? 4. The Pyeongyang Declaration hit a major snag when the North Korea-U.S. summit collapsed in Hanoi early this year. The North continues to slam the South Korean government while continuing with its missile launches. What are North Korea's political motives now? 5. The highly-anticipated Pyeongyang-Washington working-level talks are yet to happen and much attention will be drawn to the Moon-Trump summit on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York at the end of this month. Expected outcome? 6. President Moon has called on North Korea and the international community to make efforts for complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. What kind of message do you expect from him this time at the UN General Assembly? 7. Speculations are brewing that Pyeongyang-Washington talks will take place within this year. The big remaining question is how many concessions North Korea and the U.S. are willing to make to meet halfway for denuclearization. What kind of cards do you expect the two sides to play? 8. U.S. President Trump has recently stated that now is not yet the right time to visit Pyeongyang. How do you interpret this remark? 2019-09-18 Researchers face difficulties producing vaccine for African Swine Fever African swine fever, now confirmed to be in South Korea despite the best efforts of local authorities, causes hemorrhagic fever, and kills almost every pig that contracts it. There have been cases of pigs dying as quickly as one week after becoming infected, but despite the devastating nature of the disease, there is no known treatment or vaccine on the market. But given the technology available to modern science, why is that the case? Well, experts say compared to other viruses, the African Swine Fever virus is large in structure. Viruses like ASF contain several genotypes,.. which means there are numerous types of proteins that the virus can produce in the animal's body. These proteins act as a defensive shield for the virus, which makes it extremely complex to fight. "ASF doesn't mutate often. However, because the DNA structure of the virus is so complex, it produces a variety of antigens. It is difficult for the animals' immunity systems to fight back." Compared to foot-and-mouth disease which can produce more than ten types of proteins, African swine fever can produce more than 200. Also, aside from the recent outbreaks in Europe and in China, the virus mainly affected the African continent in the past, which could explain why well-funded research institutes in the West and Asia have focused their efforts elsewhere. Currently, work on a vaccine is being expedited in the U.S., China and Europe, but experts warn that, even if a vaccine can be formulated, it will take some time for it to be approved and go into mass production. Researchers also caution that, because African Swine Fever is capable of destroying immune cells, any vaccine that could be developed might not be 100 percent effective. Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News. 2019-09-18
