South Korea

SEOUL, Oct 22 (NNN-YONHAP) – South Korea, yesterday, confirmed two more cases of lumpy skin disease (LSD) at local cattle farms, after reporting the country’s first-ever case on the previous day.

The additional LSD cases were confirmed at a beef cattle farm in Dangjin, around 80 km south-west of Seoul, and a milk cow farm in Pyeongtaek, about 60 km south of Seoul, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

The ministry cordoned off the farms, planning to cull some 40 heads of cattle in Dangjin and about 100 milk cows in Pyeongtaek.

SEOUL, Oct 22 (Reuters) - South Korea, together with Japan and the United States, held a joint aerial exercise near the Korean peninsula on Sunday, the South Korean military said, marking the first such collaboration between the three countries.

The drill aimed to expand the countries' response capabilities against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, South Korea's air force said in a statement.

It involved a U.S. B-52 strategic bomber as well as fighter jets of the three nations.

SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- The United States has made "intentional nuclear war provocations" due to "internal troubles and external woes" as its nuclear-capable B-52H Stratofortress bomber made a first-ever landing in South Korea, and indicated a possible preemptive nuclear strike on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a commentary on Friday.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Hamas fighters likely fired North Korean weapons during their Oct. 7 assault on Israel, a militant video and weapons seized by Israel show, despite Pyongyang’s denials that it arms the militant group.

South Korean officials, two experts on North Korean arms and an Associated Press analysis of weapons captured on the battlefield by Israel point toward Hamas using Pyongyang’s F-7 rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-fired weapon that fighters typically use against armored vehicles.

SEOUL, Oct 16 (Reuters) - South Korean authorities cited the risk of Chinese economic retaliation when they charged marine technology firm SI Innotec last year with violating trade laws for its work on Taiwan's new military submarine program, according to a police document seen by Reuters and two people familiar with the matter.

SEOUL, Oct 13 (NNN-YONHAP) – The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), slammed the United States for its persistent deployment of nuclear strategic assets into the Korean Peninsula, denouncing the move as “an undisguised military provocation,” driving the situation to an irrevocable catastrophe.

KCNA published the commentary, a day after the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, arrived at South Korea’s south-eastern port of Busan, following trilateral naval drills involving the United States, South Korea and Japan.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea lashed out Friday at the arrival of a U.S. aircraft carrier battle group in South Korea, calling it a provocation and again raising the specter of using nuclear weapons to defend itself.

Emboldened by its advancing nuclear arsenal, North Korea has increasingly issued threats to use such weapons preemptively. But the North is still outgunned by U.S. and South Korean forces, and experts say it is unlikely to use its nukes first, though it will continue to upgrade those arms without returning to diplomacy for the time being.

SEOUL, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Rail traffic along the North Korea-Russia border spiked this week to the highest in years, suggesting arms supply by Pyongyang to Moscow after their leaders discussed deeper military cooperation, a U.S. think tank said on Friday.

Satellite imagery showed an "unprecedented" 73 or so freight cars at Tumangang Rail Station in the North Korean border city of Rason, the Beyond Parallel Project of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a report.

SEOUL, Oct 5 (Reuters) - North Korea has halted the nuclear reactor at its main atomic complex, probably to extract plutonium that could be used for weapons by reprocessing spent fuel rods, a South Korean news report said on Thursday, citing a government source.

The operation of the 5 megawatt nuclear reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex has been suspended since late September, according to intelligence assessment by U.S. and South Korean authorities, the report said.

SEOUL, Oct 1 (Reuters) - North Korea accused the United States on Sunday of letting a "terrorist" act against Cuba take place on U.S. soil, saying a recent attack against the Cuban embassy in Washington was the result of "despicable anti-Cuban" U.S. intentions.

The United States has neglected to ensure the safety of the Cuban mission and was only keen to put countries it dislikes, such as Cuba, on its list of state sponsors of terrorism, a spokesman of North Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement.