US soldier sentenced to 10 years in S.Korea rape case

Protesters stage a rally denouncing the crime of US soldiers in Seoul November 1, 2011.

A South Korean court today sentenced a US Army private to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a local teenage girl in one of the heaviest punishments handed to an American serviceman stationed on the divided peninsula.

Lights go out in Seoul amid energy crunch

The bustling entertainment districts of one of the world’s largest cities, Seoul, were pitched into darkness early today as the government clamped down on energy use to cope with rising oil prices.

Neon signs and outdoor lights were ordered switched off in the business and entertainment districts of the South Korean capital, in a tangible sign of how the oil price rise is hurting the resource-starved country.

President Lee Myung-bak has called for a tighter national energy policy to counter the impact of higher prices stemming from a wave of unrest across the Arab world and North Africa.

South Korea is the world’s No.5 crude oil buyer and No.2 liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer after Japan, and has boosted spending to acquire assets and develop oil and gas reserves, with a heavy focus so far on the Middle East and the Arctic.

Brent crude hit a high of almost US$120 (RM366) per barrel on February 24, the highest since 2008.

S. Korea spies break into Indonesians’ hotel room: ReportS. Korea spies break into Indonesians’ hotel room: Report

Three agents for South Korea’s spy agency broke into a downtown Seoul hotel room occupied by a delegation of Indonesian presidential envoys last week, apparently seeking secrets about bids for a defence contract, a newspaper said today.

The three left after being confronted by a member of the Indonesian delegation, led by a senior Cabinet minister. They had been discovered looking at files on a laptop computer, South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper said.

“National Intelligence Service employees were looking to identify the Indonesian delegation’s negotiating strategy with a view on our national interest,” a senior South Korean official was quoted as saying by the Chosun Ilbo.

The National Intelligence Service denied the report.

North Korea again calls for end to confrontation with South

South Korean Army soldiers patrol along a seashore at sunset during a photo opportunity in Dangjin, southwest of Seoul.

North Korea called for end to confrontation and emphasised the need for dialogue with the South in a joint editorial published today by official newspapers, repeating the line from a year ago in the wake of clashes in 2010.

“Confrontation between north and south should be defused as early as possible,” said the joint editorial by three main official newspapers, carried by the KCNA news agency.

“Active efforts should be made to create an atmosphere of dialogue and cooperation between north and south by placing the common interests of the nation above anything else.”

But North Korea failed to make any detailed offer for talks and the rhetoric was largely along the line from a year ago, when the editorial said: “National reconciliation and cooperation should be promoted actively.”

Train with gifts for N.Korea heir derails

A train packed with birthday gifts for North Korea’s leader-in-waiting Kim Jong-un derailed this month in a possible act of sabotage, a Seoul-based radio station which broadcasts across the border reported today.

Open Radio for North Korea, a non-profit station which often cites sources in the reclusive, impoverished North, said the train laden with gifts, including televisions and watches, came off the rails on December 11 near North Korea’s border with China.

“The security service has been in an emergency situation because a train departing Sinuiju and headed for Pyongyang derailed on December 11,” the radio station quoted a source in the security service in North Phyongan province as saying.

China urges North Korea to accept nuclear inspectors

North Korean soldiers stand guard yesterday on the banks of Yalu River near the North Korean town of Sinuiju, opposite the Chinese border city of Dandong


China yesterday urged North Korea to follow through on its offer to allow United Nations nuclear monitors into the country as a way to alleviate international tensions during a standoff with South Korea.

China, North Korea’s only major ally, has continually urged dialogue to resolve the crisis and has been reluctant to blame its neighbour for the shelling of a South Korean island last month, in which two Marines and two civilians were killed.

South Korea held further live-fire drills on the island on Monday, raising fears of all-out war, but the North did not retaliate. Instead, it offered to accept nuclear inspectors it has kicked out of the country previously.

“North Korea has the right to use nuclear power for peaceful purposes, but also at the same time must allow IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) inspectors in,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in Beijing.

South Korea army to hold huge drill, North silent

A South Korean Army soldier walks up steps of a guard post near the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas in Paju, north of Seoul, on December 22, 2010.


South Korea announced land and sea military exercises yesterday including its largest-ever live-fire drill near North Korea just as tension on the peninsula was beginning to ease after Pyongyang’s attack on a southern island.

The land drill, involving three dozen mobile artillery guns, six fighter jets, multiple launch rocket systems and 800 troops, the largest number of personnel in a single peace-time exercise, will take place on Thursday and is likely irritate the North.

The scale of the drill and the timing, coming right after the tensely staged a live-fire exercise on Monday, indicate South Korea’s conservative President Lee Myung-bak sees more political mileage in taking a tough military stance rather than reverting to dialogue, despite overtures from Pyongyang.

North Korea backs down over South Korean drill

Policemen and a soldier lead people to an air raid bunker on Yeonpyeong Island on December 20, 2010. South Korean marines have ordered residents of Yeonpyeong island to move to air raid bunkers in anticipation of a live-fire drill yesterday.


North Korea stepped back from confrontation over “reckless” military drills by the South yesterday and reportedly issued a new offer on nuclear inspections, drawing a cautious response from Seoul and Washington.

Air-raid bunkers on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong shook during South Korea’s live-fire artillery exercise, which went on for more than 90 minutes.

But the North Korean guns that had shelled the island after a similar drill last month stayed silent, bringing a measure of relief in a crisis that raised fears of war along one of the world’s most heavily fortified frontiers.

“The revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK did not feel any need to retaliate against every despicable military provocation,” the official KCNA news agency said, quoting a communique from the North’s Korean People’s Army Supreme Command that called the drills a “childish play with fire.”

North Korea threatens to launch two retaliatory strikes over further planned artillery drills on disputed island

Tense: South Korean marines patrol on Yeongpyeong Island as the country announced it would stage further artillery drills over the weekend

Stand off: South Korean Navy vessels lie off the disputed island. North Korea has threatened to launch two retaliatory strikes if the drills go ahead

North Korea has again warned its southern neighbour to stop planned artillery drills on disputed islands and said it would launch two retaliatory strikes if it failed to comply.

South Korea has said it plans to carry out a 24-hour live-fire drill on Yeonpyeong Island sometime between Saturday and Tuesday, depending on weather.

Pyongyang, which claims ownership of nearby waters and has said it considers the drills an infringement of its territory, responded to similar firing exercises last month by shelling the tiny island.

South Korea warns of problems when NK power shifts

The United States and South Korea should be prepared for a crisis in North Korea when dictator Kim Jong Il leaves power, South Korea's defense chief said Friday.

The expected transfer of power to Kim's youngest son could have unpredictable consequences in the isolated nation, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young said during a visit to the Pentagon.

"When Kim Jong Il's health may deteriorate, or if there's a movement of public opinion in North Korea, we cannot eliminate the possibility of there being an instability situation in North Korea" that would affect the security of the whole peninsula, Kim said through an interpreter.


Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, and South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young hold a joint news conference at the Pentagon, Friday, Oct. 8, 2010.


Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, looks toward South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young at the end of a joint news conference at the Pentagon, Friday, Oct. 8, 2010.

South Korea sends aid to North, talks start on reunions

A convoy of South Korean trucks carrying the first rice aid to North Korea in three years crossed the peninsula’s heavily armed border on Friday in the latest of a series of conciliatory moves between the rivals.

At the same time, officials from both countries met in the North Korean border town of Kaesung to discuss the resumption of reunions of families split by the Korean War which were halted after the sinking of a South Korean warship earlier this year.

South Korea marks 60th anniversary of historic battle with dramatic re-enactment involving hundreds of troops

South Korea has staged a dramatic military re-enactment to mark the 60th anniversary of one of the most important battles of the Korean War.

Around 14,000 people took part in the event, which involved ships, aircraft and soldiers from South Korea, Australia and the United States, at the coastal city of Incheon.

The re-enactment of the Incheon Landing took place despite protests from North Korea that the original landing was a 'crime committed with the aims of bringing down the Korean people'.

A North Korea state newspaper said the ceremony was planned to deliberately provoke Pyongyang and showed its enemies' 'ambition for invasion... remains unchanged though over half a century has passed'.

The rapid amphibious invasion was followed by a bloody 11-day advance in Seoul, with U.S General Edward Almond eventually declaring the city liberated on September 25 1950

Three killed as Typhoon Kompasu tears through South Korea

Three people were killed and millions of pounds of damaged caused after the strongest tornado in 15 years tore through Seoul.

Powerful gusts ripped over power lines and forced the cancellation of scores of international flights after the tropical storm hit South Korea this morning.

An 80-year-old man died after being hit by a flying roof tile and a 37-year-old businessman was killed on his way to work by a falling branch, the National Emergency Management Agency said.

Spectacular: The NASA satellite image shows Typhoon Kompasu - the seventh storm to affect the region this season - as it moves northwards

Powerful: The typhoon, the strongest to hit the Korean peninsula in 15 years, killed three people

South Korea’s PM-designate quits under pressure

South Korea’s reformist Prime minister-designate Kim Tae-ho said on Sunday he would step down as nominee amid opposition criticism of his qualifications and ethics.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak named the 47-year-old former governor of a rural province as his choice as prime minister this month in a major mid-term reshuffle aimed at pushing through his pro-business reform agenda.

Cursing South Korean soldiers gagged

South Korean soldiers shout as they take part in an exercise on Baengnyeongdo, an island near the disputed maritime border with North Korea. South Korea’s top military brass have said there is no excuse for soldiers’ foul language

South Korean soldiers have been ordered to clean up their act, and cut out expletives.

Even as tensions simmer on the peninsula, top military brass have said there is no excuse for foul language, and rather the country’s half a million soldiers should brush up on their knowledge of history.

Clinton Announces New Sanctions Against NKorea-US-South Korean war games a threat to peace, says North

Celtic sign South Korea's 'human weapon' Cha Du-ri

Celtic-bound: South Korea's Cha Du-ri (front) gets the better of Uruguay's Alvaro Pereira in their last 16 World Cup clash


South Korean World Cup defender Cha Du-ri has signed for Celtic on a two-year deal, the Glasgow club said.
Manager Neil Lennon's second signing of the summer was subject to a work permit and has an option for a third year.

The 29-year-old Cha, who played in three of South Korea's World Cup games before they were knocked out by Uruguay in the last 16, has been dubbed 'human weapon' for his habit of injuring opponents, team mates and coaches in training sessions and games.

NKorea warns UN not to discuss warship sinking

North Korean soldiers look at South Korea from their observation post at the border village of the Panmunjom, South Korea, Wednesday, June 9, 2010. North Korea threatened to retaliate against South Korea for taking it to the U.N. Security Council over the deadly sinking of a warship, calling the action an "intolerable provocation."




North Korean workers walk by a North Korean soldier at the border village of the Panmunjom, South Korea, Wednesday, June 9, 2010. North Korea threatened to retaliate against South Korea for taking it to the U.N. Security Council over the deadly sinking of a warship, calling the action an "intolerable provocation."

North Korea sent the U.N. Security Council a letter warning the world body to not even open debate on the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship blamed on Pyongyang, state media reported Wednesday.

South Korea last week officially asked the U.N. Security Council to punish North Korea, after an international investigation said a North torpedo attack sunk a South ship in March, killing 46 sailors. North Korea flatly denies responsibility and says any punishment would trigger war.

S.Korea to ship aid to North despite tensions

South Korea Wednesday approved two aid shipments of baby formula to North Korea despite rising tensions over the sinking of one of Seoul's warships.

The unification ministry, which must authorise all cross-border exchanges, said the shipments from private groups of milk and other items totalling 320,000 dollars would be sent late this month.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates prods China on NKorea, military ties to US

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, center, Japan's Minister of Defense Toshimi Kitazawa, right, and South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae Young, shake hands during the Shangri-La Dialogue's Asia Security Summit in Singapore, Saturday, June 5, 2010.


Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, left, shakes hands Japan's Minister of Defense, Toshimi Kitazawa, during the Shangri-La Dialogue's Asia Security Summit in Singapore, Saturday, June 5, 2010.


The Chinese military's deputy chief of staff, General Ma Xiaotian, listens as Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates delivers remarks during the first plenary session at the Shangri-La Dialogue's Asia Security Summit in Singapore, Saturday, June 5, 2010.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates challenged China to deal realistically with the short-term question of how to respond to an antagonistic North Korea and the longer-term issue of whether Beijing's expanding military can establish more durable ties with the U.S.

Asian nations cannot stand by in the face of North Korea's alleged sinking of a South Korean warship, Gates said during an international security summit Saturday that was dominated by questions about the North.

"To do nothing would set the wrong precedent," Gates said.