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South Korea deliberates on fate of its unfinished nuclear reactors

Jury on fate of 2 unfinished nuclear reactors to enter crucial debate camp this week 2017/10/08 SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Yonhap) — Hundreds of members of a jury formed to deliberate President Moon Jae-in’s proposal to scrap two unfinished nuclear power reactors are set to enter a three-day debate camp this week in a crucial final step to determine whether to kill or continue the project.

The 478-member jury, formally known as the “citizens’ participation group,” has since last month been familiarizing themselves with the pros and cons of the controversial proposal to abandon the construction of the Shingori-5 and Shingori-6 reactors in the southeastern city of Ulsan.

Starting Friday evening, they are scheduled to spend two nights together for final debates. The camp, set to be held at the Gyeseongwon retreat training center in the central city of Cheonan, is crucial because participants are expected to make up their mind depending on the debates.

Officials plan to conduct two surveys asking the participants whether the reactors’ construction should continue or end, at the beginning and end of the camp. Results are expected to be the main basis of a recommendation that a state commission plans to make on the reactors’ fate next week…….http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2017/09/29/0302000000AEN20170929002800315.html

October 9, 2017 Posted by | politics, South Korea | Leave a comment

Catastrophic outcome if North Korea were to attack Seoul and Tokyo

Nuclear hit on Tokyo, Seoul ‘could kill 2 million’  http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/nuclear-hit-on-tokyo-seoul-could-kill-2-million 6 Oct 17 

New research shows disastrous outcomes for nearby US allies if North Korea strikes

SEOUL • As United States President Donald Trump threatens to destroy North Korea, even some of his closest aides have warned of the potentially disastrous effects of a war.

New research published on the 38 North website points to just how catastrophic the impact might be on the regime’s neighbours.

If North Korean leader Kim Jong Un were to launch a nuclear attack on Seoul and Tokyo – both within striking distance of his weapons – as many as 2.1 million people could die and another 7.7 million could be injured, according to the 38 North report.

The analysis by Mr Michael Zagurek Jr, a consultant specialising in databases and computer modelling, is based on North Korea’s current estimated weapons technology and bomb strength.

Mr Zagurek assumes that Mr Kim has a baseline arsenal of 20 to 25 warheads and the capacity to put them on ballistic missiles.

Concerns about a nuclear conflict in North Asia have increased as Mr Kim accelerates his programme of acquiring weapons capable of hitting continental US, and as Mr Trump threatens preemptive military action.

 While the chance of a direct attack on US allies Japan and South Korea remains slim, Mr Zagurek said history was replete with miscalculation by “rational actors” during crisis situations.

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho last month said the regime’s possible next steps include testing a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean.

According to Mr Zagurek, it is possible that another nuclear test, an intercontinental ballistic missile test, or a missile test that has the payload impact area too close to US bases in Guam might see Washington react with force.

US options could include attempting to shoot down the test missiles or possibly attacking the North’s missile testing, nuclear-related sites, missile deployment areas or the Kim regime itself. In turn, the North Korean leadership might perceive such an attack as an attempt to remove the Kim family from power and, as a result, could retaliate with nuclear weapons, he added.

North Korea’s older warheads have yields in the 15-25-kilotonne range, around the size of the bombs that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Fatality estimates rise significantly if North Korea were able to strike with bombs similar to the one it tested on Sept 3, which had a likely yield of 108-205 kilotonnes, Mr Zagurek said.

October 7, 2017 Posted by | Japan, North Korea, South Korea, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

South Korea’s nuclear phaseout might put a damper on its nuclear export plans

Nuclear phase-out puts burden on S. Korea’s export drive By Kim Eun-jung  SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) –– South Korea’s nuclear phase-out policy may create a boom for the renewable energy initiative and allay public safety concerns, but it may also send an unwanted signal to the outside world that could hurt the country’s push to expand into the global atomic power generation market.

Since taking office in May, President Moon Jae-in has scrapped plans for new nuclear power plants and vowed not to extend the life cycles of 24 existing reactors, in a bid to end decades of reliance on the controversial energy source.

The latest move was aimed at addressing safety concerns after the 2011 Fukushima disaster and is in line with actions taken by other advanced economies that are turning to renewable energy sources, including the U.S., France and Germany.

This drastic turn from past administrations’ pro-nuclear policies, however, raises questions over South Korea’s status in the global nuclear market, which has seen spike in competition with the rise of state-backed Russian and Chinese companies in recent years.

Seoul policymakers have pledged continued support for overseas projects separate from its domestic energy policy, but industry insiders worry that less enthusiasm for nuclear power could shrink investment in advanced nuclear technologies and give South Korea less bargaining power on the global stage…….http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2017/09/22/0503000000AEN20170922008800320.html

September 25, 2017 Posted by | marketing, South Korea | Leave a comment

Trump at UN negotiates big weapons sales to South Korea

Moon and Trump agree on South Korea purchase of state-of-the-art US weaponry during summit

Hankyoreh Sep.22,2017  The deal is reportedly set to include nuclear powered submarines

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump agreed on Sept. 21 on a plan for South Korea to introduce state-of-the-art US weaponry or develop its own to counter North Korea’s recent nuclear and missile provocations. Later the same day, Moon had a luncheon and trilateral summit with Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, where the three agreed that the entire international community “must apply the maximum intensity sanctions and pressure so that North Korea cannot withstand it anymore and must come to the table for dialogue.” ……http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/812155.html

September 23, 2017 Posted by | business and costs, South Korea, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

USA and South Korea’ show of bombing force against North Korea

Korean peninsula draws range of military drills in show of force against North Korea http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles/korean-peninsula-draws-range-of-military-drills-in-show-of-force-against-north-korea-idUSKCN1BT0CK, Ben Blanchard, Hyonhee Shin BEIJING/SEOUL (Reuters) 18 Sept 17, – The U.S. military staged bombing drills with South Korea over the Korean peninsula and Russia and China began naval exercises ahead of a U.N. General Assembly meeting on Tuesday where North Korea’s nuclear threat is likely to loom large.

The flurry of military drills came after Pyongyang fired another mid-range ballistic missile over Japan on Friday and the reclusive North conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3 in defiance of United Nations sanctions and other international pressure.

A pair of U.S. B-1B bombers and four F-35 jets flew from Guam and Japan and joined four South Korean F-15K fighters in the latest drill, South Korea’s defense ministry said.

The joint drills were being conducted “two to three times a month these days”, Defence Minister Song Young-moo told a parliamentary hearing on Monday.

In Beijing, the official Xinhua news agency said China and Russia began naval drills off the Russian far eastern port of Vladivostok, not far from the Russia-North Korea border. Those drills were being conducted between Peter the Great Bay, near Vladivostok, and the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk, to the north of Japan, it said.

The drills are the second part of China-Russian naval exercises this year, the first part of which was staged in the Baltic in July. Xinhua did not directly link the drills to current tension over North Korea.

China and Russia have repeatedly called for a peaceful solution and talks to resolve the issue.

On Sunday, however, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said the U.N. Security Council had run out of options on containing North Korea’s nuclear program and the United States might have to turn the matter over to the Pentagon.

September 22, 2017 Posted by | South Korea, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

President Moon says No to nuclear weapons in South Korea

No nuclear weapons in South Korea, says President Moon, By Paula Hancocks and James Griffiths, CNN September 14, 2017 

Story highlights

  • Moon said South Korea needs to advance its military, but would not go nuclear
  • The South Korean President brushed aside possible tensions with US leader
 Seoul South Korean President Moon Jae-in has dismissed the possibility of deploying nuclear weapons in his country, warning it could “lead to a nuclear arms race in northeast Asia.”
“I do not agree that South Korea needs to develop our own nuclear weapons or relocate tactical nuclear weapons in the face of North Korea’s nuclear threat,” he told CNN Thursday in his first televised interview since North Korea’s sixth nuclear test.
Though he was not supportive of deploying or pursuing nuclear weapons, Moon said South Korea “needs to develop our military capabilities in the face of North Korea’s nuclear advancement.”
Earlier this month, South Korea’s defense minister suggested it was worth reviewing the redeployment of US tactical nuclear weapons on the peninsula in order to deter threats from the North, something conservative US Sen. John McCain said should be “seriously considered.”
A recent Gallup Korea poll found 60% of respondents were in favor of South Korea having its own nuclear weapons, with 35% opposed.
“To respond to North Korea by having our own nuclear weapons will not maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula and could lead to a nuclear arms race in northeast Asia,” Moon said.

US-South Korea relations

Next week, Moon will travel to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. His visit comes amid speculation over a growing rift between Seoul and Washington, after US President Donald Trump accused Moon of seeking “appeasement” with North Korea……..http://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/14/asia/south-korea-moon-nuclear/index.html

September 15, 2017 Posted by | politics, South Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

South Korean opposition party in USA asking Washington for nuclear weapons

A South Korean delegation asks Washington for nuclear weapons, WP, By Josh Rogin September 14, 17, The heated debate in South Korea over redeploying U.S. nuclear weapons on its territory has now reached Washington. A senior delegation of South Korean lawmakers is in town making the case to the Trump administration and Congress that such a move is needed to confront North Korea’s growing nuclear capability and place more pressure on China.

“We are here to ask for redeployment of tactical nuclear warheads in South Korea,” Lee Cheol Woo, the head of the intelligence committee of South Korea’s National Assembly, told me Thursday morning.

Lee is heading a delegation of members of the Liberty Korea Party, the opposition to President Moon Jae-in’s Democratic Party. He is also the chairman of the assembly’s special committee for nuclear crisis response.

Moon told CNN yesterday that he does not agree that tactical nuclear weapons should be reintroduced to South Korea or that Seoul should develop its own nuclear weapons. He warned it could “lead to a nuclear arms race in northeast Asia.” But Lee’s delegation believes that as the North Korea nuclear crisis worsens, a push by the Trump administration or Congress could help persuade Moon’s government to change its position, as it has already done regarding the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system……https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/josh-rogin/wp/2017/09/14/a-south-korean-delegation-asks-washington-for-nuclear-weapons/?utm_term=.fa0b8e508c36

September 15, 2017 Posted by | politics, South Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

USA to increase the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea

MINISTRY: MORE THAAD LAUNCHERS TO BE DEPLOYED THURSDAY, Appsforpcdaily.com,  Floyd Cook 10 Sept 17, South Korea says the US military will begin adding more launchers to a contentious high-tech USA missile defense system in South Korea on Thursday to better cope with North Korean threats.

The deployment of THAAD is of great concern to China. On Tuesday, Seoul Administrative Court has dismissed the claim of Seongju residents to suspend the government’s decision to allocate land for the THAAD missile system. Seoul’s Defense Ministry has said the USA military will begin installing the additional launchers Thursday.

Local residents worry about rumored health hazards related to the system’s high-powered radars and the possibility of being targeted in North Korean attacks.

Trump has repeatedly criticized the five-year-old South Korea-U.S. (KORUS) FTA as a frightful deal for creating a $27 billion U.S. trade deficit with South Korea last year. In August, about 900 people from the county shaved their heads to protest the government’s decision……..

Moscow has repeatedly opposed the THAAD deployment, as it could further deteriorate the nuclear crisis and provoke North Korean aggression.

Beijing has objected to the advanced anti-missile battery high-resolution radar system that can potentially monitor China’s military activities as a threat to its security, and had reportedly imposed informal restrictions on selected South Korean imports and tourism as retaliation.

A THAAD battery normally consists of six launchers that can fire up to 48 interceptor missiles, but only two launchers been operational at the site, on a former golf course. http://appsforpcdaily.com/2017/09/ministry-more-thaad-launchers-to-be-deployed-thursday/

September 11, 2017 Posted by | South Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Radioactive particles from North Korea nuclear tests now found in South Korea’s air, land and water

South Korea detects radioactive material following North Korean nuclear test, http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/09/08/south-korea-detects-radioactive-material-following-north-korean-nuclear-test.html, September 08, 2017 Traces of radioactive material were detected in South Korea by the nation’s nuclear safety agency Friday, less than a week after North Korea conducted its most powerful nuclear test.

South Korea’s Nuclear Safety and Security Commission discovered trace amounts of xenon gas, a radionuclide, in an analysis of samples from the air, ground and water collected following North Korea’s nuclear test, according to Yonhap News Agency.

North Korea defied international warnings Sunday, conducting its sixth and most powerful nuclear test. The country said it detonated a hydrogen bomb that can fit on an intercontinental ballistic missile. South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said Thursday he expects its neighbor to launch a missile Saturday while celebrating its founding day. North Korea has already fired 21 missiles this year.

The radioactive material’s inflow is still being tracked to determine definitively if it came from the nuclear test, according to the agency.

The agency added the level of radioactive material detected in the analysis is not enough to cause any effects on South Koreans’ health.

September 9, 2017 Posted by | radiation, South Korea | 1 Comment

Tension increased as USA and South Korea deploy more fire power on the Korean Peninsula

Allies seek to deploy aircraft carrier, strategic bomber in response to N.K. nuke test, Yonhap News, 2017-09- SEOUL, Sept. 4  — South Korea and the United States will seek to deploy a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, strategic bombers and other powerful assets to the Korean Peninsula as a response to North Korea’s latest nuclear test, Seoul’s defense ministry said Monday.

In its report to the National Assembly’s defense committee, the ministry also said that its military will stage a unilateral live-fire drill, which involves Taurus air-to-surface guided missiles mounted on its F-15K fighter jets, this month. The missile with a range of 500 kilometers is capable of launching precision strikes on the North’s key nuclear and missile facilities.

“We will push for the option of deploying strategic assets such as the U.S. carrier strike group and strategic bombers after consultation with the U.S.,” the ministry said.

The show-of-force measures were unveiled a day after Pyongyang conducted what it claims to be a test of a hydrogen bomb mountable onto an intercontinental ballistic missile, sharply raising military tensions.

At the parliamentary session, Defense Minister Song Young-moo said that during his recent talks with U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, he demanded that the U.S. deploy its strategic assets to Korea on a “regular” basis. He made the demand, citing local politicians’ calls for the redeployment of U.S. tactical nukes.

But he dismissed the news report that he actually demanded the redeployment of the U.S. nuclear arsenal withdrawn from the peninsula in the early 1990s…….http://m.yna.co.kr/mob2/en/contents_en.jsp?cid=AEN20170904010952315

September 6, 2017 Posted by | politics international, South Korea, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Heavier warheads and lots more USA weapons sales to South Korea

S.Korea, US to lift warhead weight limit on South Korean missiles | 04 Sept 2017 | The US agreed to allow South Korea deploy heavier warheads on its missiles after the latest nuclear test by Pyongyang. The existing limit set in a missile pact between Washington and Seoul is 500 kg. The agreement to lift the weight limit was reached by US President Donald Trump and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in in a phone call on Monday, the South Korean presidential office said in a statement. With tensions rising on the Korean peninsula, Donald Trump also gave “conceptual approval” for billions worth of US weapons to be sold to South Korea. 

September 6, 2017 Posted by | South Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Trump is considering abandoning trade agreement with South Korea – (strange timing!)

Amid Nuclear Tensions, Trump Mulls Exit From South Korea Trade Deal, NYT,  By GLENN THRUSH and GARDINER HARRIS, SEPT. 2, 2017, WASHINGTON — President Trump is considering pulling out of a major trade agreement with South Korea as he tries to fulfill get-tough campaign pledges on international trade. But he has not yet made a final decision, two senior administration officials said Saturday.

The president’s top economic advisers remain deeply divided over a possible withdrawal from the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement, as negotiators from both countries struggle to rewrite the five-year-old deal.

The debate comes as the United States and South Korea are working together to try to combat a growing nuclear threat from North Korea, which said on Sunday that it had tested a hydrogen bomb that could be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile. It is a more powerful weapon than the atomic bomb it had tested in the past.

In recent days, a frustrated Mr. Trump has pushed his staff to take bold action against a host of governments, including the one in Seoul, that he has accused of unfair trade practices. But many of his more moderate advisers, including the chairman of the National Economic Council, Gary D. Cohn, believe that such a move could prompt a trade war that could hurt the United States economy…….

Scrapping the deal would also have profound geopolitical implications in the region, said Michael Green, an Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who oversaw issues on the Korean Peninsula during the administration of President George W. Bush.

“One of the big reasons we decided to go forward with the agreement was to demonstrate to the South Koreans, North Koreans and Chinese that the U.S. was committed to this relationship for the long haul,” Mr. Green said.

That the administration would even consider canceling the agreement in the midst of the North Korean missile and nuclear crisis is astonishing, Mr. Green said.

“It’s probably all theater, but it has negative strategic consequences as we try to manage the North Korean threat,” he said. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/02/world/asia/us-south-korea-trade.html

September 4, 2017 Posted by | politics international, South Korea, USA | Leave a comment

Tactical nuclear weapons for South Korea: U.S. and South Korean defense leaders considering this

Song, Mattis reportedly discuss redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons to South Korea, The Hankyoreh,  Sep.1,2017
The subject was said broached during the first day of SK Defense Minister’s visit to US

The South Korean and US defense leaders discussed the issue of deploying tactical nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula during their meeting on Aug. 30, according to sources.

This marks the first official confirmation of discussions on the tactical nuclear weapon issue between top-level South Korean and US government figures. Critics are calling the discussions a hasty move that could fuel political controversy and confuse the issue of Seoul’s stated opposition to tactical nuclear weapons.

South Korean Minister of National Defense Song Young-moo met with US Secretary of Defense James Mattis at the Pentagon on Aug. 30 and broached the tactical nuclear weapon deployment issue during discussions on amending the South Korea-US missile guidelines, a senior government official reported.

The official remained quiet on the details, saying only that “the tactical nuclear weapon deployment issue was discussed, but it wasn’t anything specific.”

The redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons has become a heated political issue, with conservative parties strongly calling for it as a response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations. It’s also an incendiary issue with bearing on the peninsula’s denuclearization………

Song arrived in the US for a five-day visit on Aug. 29.

By Park Byong-su, senior staff writer and Kim Ji-eun, staff reporterhttp://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/809296.html

September 2, 2017 Posted by | South Korea, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

As USA and South Korea hold military exercises on Korean peninsula, Russia flies nuclear bombers around the peninsula

Russian nuclear bombers fly near North Korea in rare show of force, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-southkorea-bombers-idUSKCN1B40MP, Andrew Osborn, 25 Aug 17,  Moscow, Reuters, Russian nuclear-capable strategic bombers have flown a rare mission around the Korean Peninsula at the same time as the United States and South Korea conduct joint military exercises that have infuriated Pyongyang.

Russia, which has said it is strongly against any unilateral U.S. military action on the peninsula, said Tupolev-95MS bombers, code named “Bears” by NATO, had flown over the Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Japan, the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, prompting Japan and Seoul to scramble jets to escort them.

The flight, which also included planes with advanced intelligence gathering capabilities, was over international waters and was announced by the Russian Defence Ministry on the same day as Moscow complained about the U.S.-South Korean war games.

“The US and South Korea holding yet more large-scale military and naval exercises does not help reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula,” Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, told a news briefing in Moscow.

“We urge all sides to exercise maximum caution. Given the arms build-up in the region, any rash move or even an unintended incident could spark a military conflict.”

August 25, 2017 Posted by | North Korea, Russia, South Korea, weapons and war | Leave a comment

The USA- South Korea war games begin on the Korean Peninsula

US-South Korea begin wargames  https://uk.news.yahoo.com/us-south-korea-begin-wargames-051130924.html,  23 Aug 17  The United States and South Korea have kicked off their annual military exercise, known as Ulchi Freedom Guardian.

The wargames use computer simulations to prepare for conflict with nuclear-capable North Korea.

Troops from seven allied nations, including Britain, Canada and Australia, are also taking part.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in denied Pyongyang’s accusation that the drills are a rehearsal for an invasion.

“This year’s Ulchi exercise is to check the defensive postures of our civilians, government and military to secure the lives and safety of our people”, Moon said at a cabinet meeting. “It is an annual exercise of a defensive nature, and there is no intention of heightening military tensions on the Korean Peninsula”.

Peace activists in Seoul protested the decision to go ahead with the drill, concerned it could trigger retaliation by North Korea. Pyongyang last week appeared to back down from a threat to launch a missile strike on the US territory of Guam.

China has also urged Washington to scrap the ten-day-long exercise.

August 23, 2017 Posted by | South Korea, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

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