Tag: South Korea

New Defense Spending Bill Puts Slew of Left-Wing Initiatives on Chopping Block

Daily Caller News Foundation
Mike Rogers

Congress’ latest defense spending bill unveiled Saturday would deal a major blow to a slew of left-wing policy initiatives that have been pushed by the Biden Pentagon.

The National Defense Reauthorization Act of 2025 (NDAA) includes provisions that prohibit the use of Department of Defense (DoD) funds to promote Critical Race Theory, climate change, the procurement of sex change surgeries for children and further extends a freeze on hiring for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, according to the text of the bill. The bill is likely to pass a Republican-controlled House and Senate amid promises from President-elect Donald Trump to rein in the so-called “woke” military.

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Science Journal Buries High Myocarditis Risk from COVID Vax, Claims Shot Reduces Heart Attacks

Just the News
COVID Vaccine

A science journal published studies last month that alternately claimed COVID-19 vaccines vastly increase the risk of myocarditis, and lower the “incidence of common cardiovascular events” more than raising “known rare cardiovascular complications” such as myocarditis.

The July 23 study of 9.2 million South Koreans in Nature Communications, sibling to the better-known Nature, did not lead with the myocarditis results. The July 31 study of 45.7 million Britons emphasized how much greater the purported vaccine benefit was.

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Youngkin Meets with South Korean Prime Minister During Final Stop in Asia

The Center Square

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin met with South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck Soo during his final stop on an Asian tour to promote economic, education and trade relations.  

Youngkin and the prime minister met Friday in Seoul to expand on bilateral trade relation opportunities between the commonwealth and South Korea. Youngkin also highlighted the education partnership between the commonwealth and South Korea and how he hopes it will lead to more business opportunities.

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Youngkin Signs Executive Order Establishing Virginia Trade Office in Taiwan

The Center Square

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin took historic steps by signing an executive order establishing a foreign trade office while meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan in Taipei earlier today, kicking off his Asian tour. 

This will be the commonwealth’s fourth international office; others are in Japan, South Korea and Germany. Youngkin is scheduled to visit Japan and South Korea during his Asian trip.

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Virginia Gov. Youngkin to Visit Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea

The Center Square

Amid speculation that he could be weighing a potential presidential run in 2024, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin will travel to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea as part of his first intentional trade mission as governor later this month, his office announced Tuesday. 

While overseas, the governor is slated to meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, as well as other government officials, business associations, company executives and global industry leaders, according to Youngkin’s office. The trip is scheduled for April 24 through April 29. 

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American Ally Strikes Nuclear Deal with Russia

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South Korea reached an agreement with Russia’s state-run nuclear giant to jointly construct a reactor turbine despite sanctions and widespread global hostility toward Russia, The Associated Press reported Thursday.

South Korea’s state-run Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) and ASE, a subsidiary of Russia’s Rosatom, will collaborate in a $2.25 billion venture to provide components for Egypt’s first nuclear reactor, according to the AP. Economic affairs chief Choi Sang-mok said the U.S. ally consulted with the U.S., who has led the sanctions regime to isolate Russia from the global economy, before striking the deal.

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Commentary: Onshoring Semiconductor Capacity Is Crucial to National Security

RealClearWire
semiconductor

When you think about national security, you probably don’t immediately think about semiconductors. These tiny chips are the “brains” enabling all the computational capabilities and data storage that we take for granted today. Chips power virtually every sector of the economy – including data centers, automotive, healthcare, banking, and agriculture. As a consequence of their widespread use, semiconductors have grown to become a $555 billion global industry, and are the world’s fourth most traded product. Semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging have been cited frequently as one of the main critical supply chain priorities for the nation.

A steady source of uninterrupted, trusted chips is necessary for the security of the nation – supporting the readiness of the U.S. military and protecting critical infrastructure like the electric grid. The problem is that most chips are fabricated outside of the U.S., in the vulnerable region of Southeast Asia – hence the security issues. Around three quarters of global chip production capacity comes from Southeast Asia.

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North Korea Reports Having Launched Missile Capable of Hitting U.S. Territory Guam

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North Korea's ballistic missile

North Korea acknowledged Monday having test-fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of striking the U.S. territory Guam.

South Korea and Japan first reported Sunday that the Hwasong-12 missile had been launched – making it the seventh nuclear-capable missile having been launched since 2017 by the rogue nation.

The North Korean state news said the missile was fired as a test and took a high trajectory to avoid flying over neighboring countries. The projectile flew just under 500 miles before landing in the sea between Japan and the Korean Peninsula.

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Department of Energy to Release Millions of Barrels of Oil From Reserve to Combat Surging Gas Prices

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The Department of Energy (DOE) announced Tuesday the release of millions of barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to combat soaring gas prices.

The DOE approved the release of 13.4 million barrels from its SPR, marking the second-largest exchange from the reserve and bringing the total amount of oil released from the cache to almost 40 million barrels.

Exchange contracts for the released oil have were awarded to seven companies. President Joe Biden authorized a plan in November 2021 to release 50 million barrels of crude oil from the SPR in a coordinated effort with China, India, Japan, South Korea and the U.K. to combat surging gas prices and assist in the COVID-19 pandemic recovery.

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Democrat Ex-Lawmakers Contracted to Lobby for North Korean Business Investment

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Two former Democratic congressmen contracted with a lobbying firm to advocate on behalf of South Korean businesses operating factories in North Korea, according to recent filings.

Former Democratic Missouri Rep. Lacy Clay joined law firm and lobby shop Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman on Wednesday to lobby on behalf of the Corporate Association of the Gaesong Industrial Complex (CAGIC) at the direction of South Korean consultancy HC & Sons, according to a foreign agent filing with the Justice Department. Former Democratic Texas Rep. Greg Laughlin, who has been with Pillsbury since 2004 and served in Congress for 6 years before switching parties, began lobbying on behalf of CAGIC in December 2021, filings show.

Pillsbury began working with CAGIC in July 2021, filings show, signing a $675,000 contract to provide services including “general advocacy, including meetings with U.S. Executive and Legislative Branches.” The firm will also “provide information to CAGIC and advocate on its behalf,” filings show.

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Biden Asks Asian Countries to Release Oil Reserves as Administration Scrambles to Combat High Gas Prices: Report

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Joe Biden

The Biden administration asked China, Japan, South Korea and India to tap into their emergency oil reserves as the president continues to grapple with rising gasoline prices, Reuters reported.

The effort to simultaneously release oil reserves represents a rebuke of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the cartel that controls oil production throughout the Middle East, several anonymous sources familiar with the request told Reuters on Wednesday. OPEC has repeatedly rejected requests from President Joe Biden and other top administration officials to increase oil production amid rising gasoline prices.

The four Asian nations the president appealed to represent some of the largest energy consumers and greenhouse gas emitters, according to a University of Oxford database.

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Hackers Steal Customer Information in McDonald’s Cyberattack

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McDonald's at sunset

Hackers obtained customer data from McDonald’s after breaching the company’s systems in the U.S., South Korea and Taiwan, according to The Wall Street Journal.

U.S. employees’ and franchisees’ contact information, seating capacity of U.S. locations and the dimensions of play areas at restaurants in the U.S were all exposed during the breach, McDonald’s said Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported. While McDonald’s said the hack didn’t cause disruptions at any of its locations, it vowed to launch an investigation into the breach and continue to invest in bolstering its cybersecurity protocol.

“McDonald’s will leverage the findings from the investigation as well as input from security resources to identify ways to further enhance our existing security measures,” the global fast food chain told U.S. employees in an internal message, according to the WSJ.

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Missing Seoul Mayor’s Body Found After Massive Search

The Associated Press

The missing mayor of South Korea’s capital, reportedly embroiled in sexual harassment allegations, was found dead early Friday, more than half a day after giving his daughter a will-like message and then leaving home, police said.

Police said they located Park Won-soon’s body near a traditional restaurant in wooded hills in northern Seoul, more than seven hours after they launched a massive search for him.

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U.S. OKs Possible $314M Missile Deal for S. Korea

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Reuters   The U.S. State Department has cleared $314 million in possible sales of air defense missiles to South Korea, the Pentagon said,as tensions re-emerge on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea, a key Asian ally of the United States, asked to buy up to 94 SM-2 missiles used by ships against air threats, along with 12 guidance systems and technical assistance, for a total cost of $313.9 million, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said on its website. The agency, a unit of the Department of Defense, delivered certification on Thursday notifying Congress of the possible sale. The proposed sale, announced Friday by the Pentagon, comes after North Korea recently criticized South Korea’s defense purchases from the United States, including the arrival of the first F-35 stealth aircraft. With denuclearization talks stalled after a second summit between North Korea and United States broke down in Hanoi in February, North Korea went ahead with more weapons tests this month. The reclusive North and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, rather than a peace treaty. South Korea already uses SM-2 missiles developed by Raytheon Co., but is building more missile…

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‘He’s Trying to Grab Trump’s Attention’: North Korea Test Fires ‘Projectiles’ Into the Sea

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by Tim Pearce   North Korea fired several unidentified short-range weapons off the country’s east coast into the Sea of Japan on Saturday morning, according to South Korea’s Defense Ministry. South Korea said the projectiles were launched shortly after 9 a.m. local time and flew 70 to 200 kilometers before crashing into the sea, The Associated Press reported. U.S. and South Korean defense officials are investigating the launch of the “projectiles,” the latest weapons test by North Korea as negotiations with the U.S. to denuclearize the East Asian country stall. National security adviser John Bolton briefed President Donald Trump Friday night, a senior administration official told The Wall Street Journal. “Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it. He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!” Trump tweeted Saturday. Anything in this very interesting world is possible, but I believe that Kim Jong Un fully realizes the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it.…

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Senator Portman Wears ‘Otto’ T-Shirt in South Korea Visit in Remembrance of Ohio Native

Anthony Gockowski

Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) joined a bipartisan congressional trip to South Korea this week to discuss trade between the U.S. and South Korea as well as the ongoing nuclear negotiations with North Korea. During a visit to the demilitarized zone between South Korea and North Korea, Portman sported an “Otto” t-shirt in remembrance of Ohio native Otto Warmbier, who was famously imprisoned by Kim Jong Un’s regime and later died after being returned to the U.S. “Being in the region, I could not help but think of Otto Warmbier and his family. Otto has been at the front of my mind while I’ve been here and I’ve made clear to South Korean government officials that we must never forget him,” Portman said in a press release. The Ohio senator visited with soldiers from his home state during the trip who are “serving on the front lines to protect the people of South Korea from potential North Korean aggression.” “I am so grateful for the incredible sacrifices that our soldiers make on our behalf and I was honored to visit with them during my time in South Korea,” Portman said. Portman said he also visited with South Korean trade representatives to…

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Two Koreas Connect Road Across DMZ

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North and South Korea have connected a road across their shared border for the first time in 14 years, Seoul’s defense ministry said Thursday in the latest reconciliation gesture between the neighbors. The dirt road, which is wholly within the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula, will be used for joint operations next year to recover remains from the 1950-53 Korean War. The 12-meter-wide construction of the route in Cheorwon, near the midpoint of the DMZ, is one of several steps agreed to at the Pyongyang summit between the South’s President Moon Jae-in and the North’s leader Kim Jong Un in September. The neighbors also pledged to remove bunkers and weapons from the border truce village of Panmunjom. Different approaches to North Seoul and Washington are pursuing increasingly different approaches to the nuclear-armed North. The dovish Moon has pursued a policy of engagement with his isolated neighbor, while the U.S. insists pressure should be maintained on Pyongyang until it denuclearizes. Pictures handed out by Seoul’s defense ministry Thursday showed a South Korean soldier and a North Korean counterpart taking part in the “recent” roadwork holding their hands out toward each other, with their colleagues watching. “It is historically significant for…

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South Korea Seizes Hong Kong-flagged Ship Suspected of Sending Oil to North Korea

Tennessee Star Staff

South Korea’s foreign ministry says the country has seized a Hong Kong-flagged ship that transferred oil to a North Korean vessel in international waters despite United Nations Security Council sanctions. Yonhap, the South Korean news agency, reports South Korean custom officials say the Lighthouse Winmore vessel transferred “600 tons of refined petroleum” to a North Korean ship October 19. South Korea seized the Lighthouse Winmore on November 24 when it sailed into South Korea’s Yeosu Port, the news agency says.

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