South Korea and the United States wrapped up their annual large-scale military drills on Sunday but continued a separate joint naval exercise that has triggered the threat of nuclear war from North Korea. The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group arrived in waters near the Korean peninsula and began exercises with the South Korean navy … Read more
After President Trump set off a furor over who should pay for a U. S. missile defense system that’s being installed in South Korea, his national security chief said Washington will pick up the check. For the time being, at least. White House national security adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster told his South Korean counterpart … Read more
CIA director Mike Pompeo was in South Korea Monday for an “internal meeting”, the US embassy in Seoul confirmed, following reports of an unannounced visit as tensions mount over growing nuclear threats from the North. South Korea’s largest daily Chosun Ilbo reported Monday that Pompeo arrived in Seoul at the weekend and held back-to-back closed-door … Read more
South Korean media on Monday warned of a “Trump risk” threatening the alliance between Washington and Seoul amid high tensions over the North’s weapons ambitions. The two countries are bound by a defence pact and 28,500 US troops are stationed in the South. But the new US president has said in recent interviews that Seoul … Read more
South Korea and the United States wrapped up their annual large-scale military drills on Sunday, but continued a separate joint naval exercise that has triggered dire threats from nuclear-armed North Korea. Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been running sky-high for weeks, with signs that the North might be preparing a long-range missile launch or … Read more
Seoul on Friday brushed aside US President Donald Trump’s suggestion that it should pay for a $1 billion missile defence system the two allies are installing in South Korea to guard against threats from the North. The first parts of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system have already been delivered to a former … Read more
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday a major conflict with North Korea is possible in the standoff over its nuclear and missile programs, but he would prefer a diplomatic outcome to the dispute. ‘There is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea. Absolutely,’ Trump said ahead … Read more
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will chair a UN Security Council meeting on Friday to push for a tougher response to North Korea and pile pressure on China to rein in its Pyongyang ally. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will attend the meeting that follows weeks of warnings from the US administration that it … Read more
The US is to tighten sanctions on North Korea and step up diplomatic moves aimed at pressuring the country to end its nuclear and missile programmes. President Donald Trump’s strategy was announced after a special briefing for all 100 US senators. Earlier, the top US commander in the Pacific defended the deployment of an advanced … Read more
A top US admiral said Wednesday that America wants to bring North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to “his senses,” as senators attended an extraordinary briefing at the White House. Admiral Harry Harris, who heads the Pacific Command, welcomed recent efforts by Beijing to try to defuse soaring tensions between Pyongyang and Washington, and suggested a … Read more
The US military’s top commander in the Pacific has said an advanced missile defence system in South Korea aims bring North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “to his senses, not to his knees”. Adm Harry Harris, head of US Pacific Command, told Congress the US would be ready “with the best technology” to defeat any North … Read more
Trailers carrying US THAAD missile defence equipment entered a deployment site in South Korea early Wednesday with tensions high over North Korea’s intentions, Yonhap news agency reported. Arrival of the six trailers at the golf course location sparked clashes between locals and police, the agency said. Washington and Seoul are deploying the Terminal High Altitude … Read more
South Korea’s tourist industry has been hammered by China’s boycott over the deployment of US missile defence system, with visitor numbers from the Asian giant plummeting 40 percent in March, statistics showed. Beijing banned Chinese tour groups from visiting the South from March 15 in a spat over the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense … Read more
When South Korea fills a presidential vacuum next month, analysts say the first order of business for its new leader will be to tame Donald Trump’s aggressive approach towards the nuclear-armed North. The impeachment of former president Park Geun-Hye — who took a hard line on North Korea — forced her out of Seoul’s Blue … Read more
Mike Pence arrived at the gateway to the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas on Monday, an AFP correspondent reported, in a show of US resolve hours after North Korea failed in its attempt to test another missile. The US vice president flew by helicopter into Camp Bonifas, a US-led United Nations command post just … Read more
North Korea unveiled what could be a new intercontinental ballistic missile at a giant military parade in Pyongyang on Saturday, analysts said. Nearly 60 missiles rolled through Kim Il-Sung Square at an event to mark the 105th anniversary of the North’s founder, in a show of strength as tensions mount over the isolated nation’s military … Read more
President Donald Trump is raising pressure on North Korea, touting the US naval “armada” he ordered to the troubled peninsula and promising America will “solve the problem” if China won’t help. He wants to stop Pyongyang from developing a long-range nuclear missile, but North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sees such a weapon as key to … Read more
Civic and religious groups in South Korea are moving to oppose the deployment of the U. S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system in their territory as they believe it hurts peace on the Korean Peninsula as well as the region and the world. Five elder leaders of advocacy and religious groups … Read more
Japan’s ruling party said Wednesday the government should consider developing the capability to strike enemy bases if the country is attacked, citing North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats. For years Tokyo has harboured deep suspicion of Pyongyang and seen itself as increasingly vulnerable to its nuclear and missile ambitions. North Korea conducted two nuclear tests … Read more
Chinese authorities have stepped up security for Thursday’s tense World Cup qualifier against South Korea, whose fans will receive a police escort after protests over Seoul’s decision to deploy a controversial missile defence system. The clash between the neighbouring countries is the most anticipated of Thursday’s Asian games, which also include Australia’s trip to face … Read more