tagged w/ South Korea
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The capsules were made in northeastern China from babies whose bodies were chopped into small pieces and dried on stoves before being turned into powder, the Korea Customs Service said.
Customs officials refused to say where the dead babies came from or who made the capsules, citing possible diplomatic friction with Beijing.
Chinese officials ordered an investigation into the production of drugs made from dead fetuses or newborns last year.
The customs office has discovered 35 smuggling attempts since August of about 17,450 capsules disguised as stamina boosters, and some people believe them to be a panacea for disease, the customs service said in a statement.
The capsules of human flesh, however, contained bacteria and other harmful ingredients.
The smugglers told customs officials they believed the capsules were ordinary stamina boosters and did not know the ingredients or manufacturing process.
Ethnic Koreans from northeastern China who now live in South Korea were intending to use the capsules themselves or share them with other Korean-Chinese, a customs official said. They were carried in luggage or sent by international mail.
The capsules were all confiscated but no one has been punished because the amount was deemed small and they weren't intended for sale, said the customs official, who requested anonymity, citing department rules.
China's State Food and Drug Administration and its Health Ministry did not immediately respond to questions faxed to them Monday. Chinese media identify northeastern China as the source of such products, especially Jilin province which abuts North Korea.
The Jilin food and drug safety agency is responsible for investigating the trade of such remains there. Calls to the agency and to the information office of Jilin's Communist Party were not answered Monday.
The South Korean customs agency began investigating after receiving a tip a year ago. No sicknesses have been reported from ingesting the capsules.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/southkorea/9250438/Pills-filled-with-powdered-human-baby-flesh-found-by-customs-officials.htmlThe capsules were made in northeastern China from babies whose bodies were chopped... more
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AP Newsbreak: AZ sheriff played probe for laughs
N. Korean army vows to turn Seoul to ashes
Trial of US ex-political star John Edwards set to beginAP Newsbreak: AZ sheriff played probe for laughs
N. Korean army vows to turn Seoul to... more
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The New York Times...
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February 29, 2012
North Koreans Agree to Freeze Nuclear Work; U.S. to Give Aid
By STEVEN LEE MYERS and CHOE SANG-HUN
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PHOTO:
Korean Central News Agency, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Kim Jong-un met with soldiers from the Korean People’s Army in southwestern North Korea in February.
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WASHINGTON — North Korea announced on Wednesday that it would suspend its nuclear weapons tests and uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors to monitor activities at its main nuclear complex. The surprise announcement raised the possibility of ending a diplomatic impasse that has allowed the country’s nuclear program to continue for years without international oversight.
The Obama administration called the steps “important, if limited.” But the announcement seemed to signal that North Korea’s new leader, Kim Jong-un, is at least willing to consider a return to negotiations and to engage with the United States, which pledged in exchange to ship tons of food aid to the isolated, impoverished nation.
A freeze on nuclear activity, if it holds, could significantly ease anxieties over North Korea’s behavior at a time when the Obama administration, in an election year, is focused on halting Iran’s nuclear program and reducing the possibility that Israel could attack Iran. The last significant effort to negotiate a dismantling of North Korea’s nuclear weapons collapsed in the waning weeks of George W. Bush’s presidency more than three years ago.
The United States and other nations have been watching closely to see whether Mr. Kim’s rise to power late last year after the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, would result in a change in North Korean behavior. The signals have been mixed. Only days ago, Mr. Kim delivered a bellicose speech suggesting that he could resort to military actions against South Korea as he consolidated his power.
North Korea also agreed to a moratorium on test launchings of long-range missiles, which have in the past inflamed tensions in the region. But joint statements by the State Department and North Korea’s official news agency gave no indication of when substantive negotiations over the country’s nuclear program — involving the United States and North Korea, along with Russia, China, Japan and South Korea — might begin again.
North Korea must first arrange with the International Atomic Energy Agency to send its nuclear inspectors, a process that officials said could raise new obstacles and take some time. And senior administration officials cautioned that North Korea still had to show its sincerity before broader discussions could resume. “We’ve made clear that we’re not interested in talks just for the sake and the form of talks,” a State Department official said.
North Korea has agreed in the past to halt its nuclear efforts, only to back out and then return to the table before breaking off talks once more with a flurry of accusations against the United States. The North Korean statement appeared to leave wiggle room for doing so again, saying the country would carry out the agreement only “as long as talks proceed fruitfully.”
“The United States, I will be quick to add, still has profound concerns,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said when she announced the agreement at a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Wednesday. “But on the occasion of Kim Jong-il’s death, I said that it is our hope that the new leadership will choose to guide their nation onto the path of peace by living up to its obligations. Today’s announcement represents a modest first step in the right direction.”
Officials and analysts offered different theories about why Mr. Kim’s government’s would agree now to allow inspectors to return, but most said it could prove to be a significant concession. After years of negotiations, North Korea expelled inspectors and went on to test nuclear devices in 2006 and 2009. American intelligence officials believe that the country has enough fuel for six to eight weapons, but the progress of its newly disclosed uranium-enrichment program at the Yongbyon nuclear complex, conducted without international scrutiny, remains unclear.
Victor Cha, a senior analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said that the agreement announced Wednesday differed little from previous ones that had failed to produce breakthroughs, but that it was nonetheless significant because the return of inspectors could shed light on the country’s nuclear progress.
“We haven’t had any eyes on this program for over five years now,” Mr. Cha said in a telephone interview from South Korea’s capital, Seoul. Some analysts and officials said the agreement might signal that the young and inexperienced Mr. Kim had consolidated power and had the backing of his country’s military.
Although administration officials said it was too soon to draw conclusions about Mr. Kim’s intentions, they said there was no doubt that he had directly authorized his negotiators to reach the deal, which the United States first offered in talks last July. An agreement appeared close during a second round of talks, but then the elder Mr. Kim died.
Two days of talks in Beijing last week between American and North Korean negotiators, as well as the Chinese, initially appeared to have produced few concrete results. But after the North Koreans returned home, the country’s leaders unexpectedly and rapidly responded. “This was very much in motion before the leadership transition,” said Daryl G. Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association in Washington, who called the agreement a welcome step.
Other analysts said the agreement allowed Mr. Kim to demonstrate his command and to use his early months in power to improve people’s lives after years of food shortages and a devastating famine. “It helps him show to his people that he is a leader who can deal with the Americans and bring back some practical benefits, namely the food aid,” said Kim Yong-hyun, an analyst at Dongguk University in Seoul.
As part of the agreement, the United States said it would send 240,000 metric tons (about 265,000 tons) of food, though it limited the aid to nutritional supplements, rather than the rice and grains that, as two administration officials said, has in previous instances been diverted by the government or the military, or even sold abroad.
The aid is expected to be delivered in monthly shipments of 20,000 metric tons over the next year. The United States also insisted on rigorous monitoring to ensure that the aid would be provided to the neediest, especially women and children, many of whom show the stunting effects of chronic malnutrition. In its statement, the State Department said that in exchange, the United States was “prepared to take steps to improve our bilateral relationship in the spirit of mutual respect for sovereignty and equality” and to allow cultural, educational and sports exchanges with North Korea.
The State Department official cautioned that the agreements “merely unlock the door” to a resumption of negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear program. “We can’t allow the same patterns of the past to repeat themselves,” the official added. “We can’t allow wasting arguments on topics that are irrelevant to the main challenges we face. And that’s simply going to take a long time to work out.”
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Steven Lee Myers reported from Washington, and Choe Sang-Hun from Seoul, South Korea. Mark Landler contributed reporting from Washington.
.The New York Times...
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February 29, 2012
North Koreans Agree to Freeze... more
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President Obama broke his campaign promises in backing Bush-era trade pacts that repeat mistakes of NAFTA
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With President Obama’s backing, Congress yesterday passed trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama that are based on the flawed model of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth, had the following statement in response:
“President Obama broke his campaign promise by championing these unjust trade deals. The pacts with South Korea, Colombia and Panama will empower big multinational corporations and Wall Street investors to pursue quick profits at the expense of environmental protections, human rights and shared economic prosperity.
“The investment chapters of the three trade deals, which open the door to corporate attacks on environmental protections, are especially alarming. If, for instance, a South Korean uranium mining company thought a U.S. environmental law impinged on its ‘right’ to make profits, it could sue our government through a biased international tribunal, bypassing U.S. courts and threatening to override decisions made through our democratic institutions.
“The passage of the Colombia deal is downright shameful. This deal promises to fuel ongoing armed conflict in Colombia, including intimidation and murder of local activists and union leaders. The deal will also encourage foreign investments in destructive palm oil plantations, mines, oil drilling and other projects designed to exploit Colombia’s natural resources and export the profits overseas. Afro-Colombian and indigenous peoples are at particular risk of displacement.
“As polls demonstrate, Americans understand that current U.S. trade policies are not working in the public interest. As protesters on Wall Street and in other cities across the country challenge the deepening poverty, unemployment and inequality in our country, President Obama has led us toward more of the same.
“President Obama must change course as he negotiates the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. The Trans-Pacific Partnership, and its investment chapter in particular, must not be based on the same failed and unjust model.”
More at the linkPresident Obama broke his campaign promises in backing Bush-era trade pacts that... more
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A group of South Korean activists said Wednesday they will occupy the streets of Seoul this weekend to protest financial inequality, joining the "Occupy Wall Street" movement that originated in the United States.
The association of 30 civic groups said it will hold a two-day "Occupy Seoul" protest downtown and in other parts of the capital, including the financial district Yeouido, on Saturday and Sunday.
It said the rally is aimed at galvanizing "99 percent of Koreans" to stand up against the superwealthy "1 percent" they see in control and benefiting from a toxic financial environment, echoing claims by anti-Wall Street protesters.
"We will join the global movement and gather the voices of desperate Koreans," the group said in a release.A group of South Korean activists said Wednesday they will occupy the streets of Seoul... more
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This video has been circulating on the Korean Internet this week of a black gentleman yelling at and threatening an elderly Korean couple. It's definitely going to be a viral hit by the end of the week, as it's making its rounds around the world as we speak...
Anyway, his violent behavior was the result of him misunderstanding the elderly man’s comment to him. The elderly man reportedly said “니가 여기 앉아” (a sign of consideration) but not knowing Korean, the man in question interpreted “니가” as the N-word which led to his violent outburst.
You be the judge... check it out.This video has been circulating on the Korean Internet this week of a black gentleman... more
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article examines East Asian nations and shows that their achievements might be rooted in a common Confucian heritiagearticle examines East Asian nations and shows that their achievements might be rooted... more
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“Blade runner” Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee sprinter running on carbon-fiber blades, passed his first test with flying colors on his debut at the 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics. Pistorius swept past several able-bodied runners, finishing third in his heat to reach the semi-finals of the 400 meters Sunday. The South African, who has had to overcome huge legal and performance obstacles just to be allowed to race in Daegu, South Korea, on his prosthetic legs, delighted the crowd with a strong run of 45.39 seconds from an outside lane.
The crowd rose to the double amputee as he powered down the final straight before a band of his compatriots chanted “Oscar! Oscar!” to confirm the 24-year-old as one of the sentimental favorites of the championships. Describing his landmark race as a great relief, especially after the disruption of a false start by another of the runners, Pistorius said he had fulfilled a long-held ambition.
After crossing the finish line, Pistorius gave an appreciative bow to the South Korean crowd of about 10,000 for its cheers and support. After the race, Pistorius said, “I have worked extremely hard to be here” “It has been phenomenal to run. It has been a lot of pressure in the race, and there is a lot of work for tomorrow.” “It was a great opportunity for me to have a chance to run, this is a goal I’ve had for many, many years,” he told reporters. “I really don’t feel like a pioneer but I’m very honored to be in the position I am in . I hope to write a few more chapters, I’m still young.”
This piece includes color photographs, video of the race and a documentary short film.
http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/“blade-runner”-oscar-pistorius-reaches-400-meters-semi-finals-at-world-championships/“Blade runner” Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee sprinter running on... more
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Devastating rains move the government to plan for a harsh, wet new reality
In recent weeks South Korea has been battered by torrential rains that have caused serious flooding, landslides and widespread property damage, killing 62 people. Stunning images of Seoul’s normally busy downtown streets filled with neck-deep water circulated around the world.
There are heavy rains every summer in South Korea, but this was something else. The storms are being regarded as evidence that the climate is changing and that the country must adjust to a hotter, wetter, more volatile reality. The South Korean government is quietly making plans to improve disaster preparedness and recovery capacity.
The events of July have all but confirmed what South Koreans have anecdotally thought to be true for some time: summers are longer than ever before with higher temperatures and heavier rainfall. A recent study by the Korea Meteorological Administration shows that the number of days with rainfall of more than 30 millimeters per hour has doubled in the last three decades. During this year’s midsummer rainy season, the rainfall in the central and southern regions was two to three times the average of previous years.
South Korea’s National Science and Technology Council has significantly increased funds for weather prediction in next year’s budget, from 3.1 billion KRW ($290,000) to W10.0 billion ($920,000). Seoul plans to install 82.9 kilometers of pipes in 26 places in the city by 2014, but only 5 km have been completed. President Lee Myung-bak has called for the creation of a new task force to revise the country’s disaster response systems to better deal with severe weather.
South Korea has the benefit of a vocal citizenry that keeps government on its toes. When something goes wrong in this country, people tend to get angry and demand better from their elected leaders. As this is a functioning democracy, leaders need to respond to their constituents for their own survival. Similar to how being caught unprepared for North Korea’s November 2010 shelling of Yeonpyeong Island has led to expansions in military capability, the poor preparation for July’s flooding has given way to improvements in the infrastructure for dealing with extreme weather.
The Seoul government has faced criticism after flooding led to deaths and paralyzed the city. The mayor has been criticized for neglecting the city’s lack of flood control infrastructure. He has since pledged W5 trillion over the next 10 years to install more effective drainage systems and reinforce homes in low-lying areas.
This signals a shift in the Seoul government’s priorities, as it had previously spent much of its time and money on projects to beautify the city, such as its World Design Capital and Han River improvement campaigns. It is likely that climate change will spur more policy realignments of this nature: away from the pursuit of the beautiful, towards the maintenance of basic functionality.
South Korea has long been active in responding to and preparing for the effects of climate change. In 2009, the South Korean government announced its “Low Carbon, Green Growth” plan, a broadly-based mandate of green growth initiatives that aimed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent through 2020 from 2007 levels. Under the plan, the government expanded use of solar and wind energy, smart grid, as well as carbon capture and storage technology.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has stopped short of publicly attributing July’s weather to climate change. In explaining the to-be-formed taskforce, he said "The Prime Minister's Office needs to form a task force with related government offices and experts to discuss how to re-establish the country's anti-disaster guidelines because we may undergo unexpected disaster next year, too," Lee was quoted by his spokesman as saying in a Cabinet meeting. This was a curious choice of words, as if there is flooding and landslides again next year, it won’t be unexpected.
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It’s a fairly safe bet that sooner or later all governments will need to change policies to deal with the new, more challenging circumstances. The South Korean case could be instructive, as it is being hit especially hard by new weather patterns and responding with something other than denial.
More at the link.Devastating rains move the government to plan for a harsh, wet new reality
In... more
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I really hope this South Korean report is false: Chinese pharmaceutical companies are buying baby corpses from hospitals, grinding them into pills, and then selling them as stamina boosters. Feel free to gag uncontrollably now and then keep reading.
According to the documentary created by South Korean SBS TV, the baby material comes from stillborn births and abortion clinics, and is produced by a microwave drying process. Well! Time to retch again.
The dead baby pill trade is also bringing in a lot of cash for those involved—understandably, as I would imagine it takes a lot of hush money in the Can I take these dead baby fetuses from your hospital and sell them exchange. And it's apparently not such a new industry—rumors (and purported videos) of Chinese baby meals have circulated for years, with reports like this one from 2003 lending further credence to the illicit infant trade.
SBS claims a DNA test found 99.7% human stuff crammed inside the tablets—which Google disturbingly translates as "man capsules"—and was fresh enough to distinguish gender. This is probably the most revolting thing I've ever read, so hey, we can all go to sleep tonight knowing we accomplished at least that much. Now if only there were a baby pill that would erase my brain and destroy everything involved in this story.
http://gizmodo.com/5828137/are-chinese-companies-selling-pills-made-of-dead-babiesI really hope this South Korean report is false: Chinese pharmaceutical companies are... more
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South Korean government has fined the local division of Apple 3m Won (or over £1,700 or roughly €2,000) over privacy fears on Wednesday.
iPhone and iPad devices carrying iOS 4 and above was tracking every movement from users and storing location data without the users consent, until a fix was made in May. The fine is a first for a company outside South Korea, but it doesn't stop there as nearly 28,000 South Korean users are filing a class action lawsuit over the data collection. France will also investigate the tracking features.
Source: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/south-korea-slaps-apple-with-2855-fine-over-location-data/53956South Korean government has fined the local division of Apple 3m Won (or over... more
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Torrential rainfall pummelled South Korea killing at least 36 people Tuesday and Wednesday. Several buildings collapsed early Wednesday in one town 100 kilometers northeast of Seoul, which claimed 13 lives, 10 of which were university students on a volunteering trip.
A mountain mudslide in Seoul caused 17 deaths. Reports of other casualties are being reported from around the country. South Korea's emergency responders suggest global warming is changing weather patterns.
Bloggers are blaming Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon for damage in the capital. He's reduced the flood preparedness budget by nearly 90 percent from 2005.
South Korea's massive Four River Project seeks to control flooding, but is not focussesd on protecting watersheds, which is where environmenalists believe attention is needed.
Most of the damage from flooding is not just because of global warming, but because the government didn't prepared well. The Korean government and Seoul city tend to seek remedies to flooding with infrastructure projects. But specific environmental measures and forest management are the best solution.
Record downpours across the country have flooded more than 720 homes and burried another 20 in mudslides say initial reports. 17 roads in the capital closed. 66,000 homes lost electricity.
An average of 863 millimeters of rain falls during South Korea's monsoon season. This weeks's intense rain has almost doubled the average. And it's not over, another 250 millimeters are forecasted to hit South Korea on Thursday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS3DTE8x4wkTorrential rainfall pummelled South Korea killing at least 36 people Tuesday and... more
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The South Korean city of PyeongChang has won the bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympic games.
The South Korean city has beaten Munich in Germany and Annecy in France and it was the bidders third time they submitted (beaten by Vancouver for 2010 and Sochi for 2014). South Korea previously hosted the Summer Olympic games in Seoul in 1988 and it will also the third time the Winter Olympic games are held in Asia.
Source: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/06072011/58/pyeongchang-host-2018-winter-olympics.htmlThe South Korean city of PyeongChang has won the bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympic... more
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CNN...
North Korea reportedly test-fires missiles
By Paula Hancocks, CNN
June 7, 2011 10:09 p.m. EDT
Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- North Korea test-fired a short-range missile off its western coast in the middle of last week, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Quoting an intelligence source, Yonhap says Pyongyang launched a KN-06 short-range missile in an attempt to improve it and increase its range.
This launch would be the North's first test of a short-range missile in 19 months. In July 2009, North Korea fired a series of short-range missiles off its east coast, a move criticized by the international community.
The South Korean Ministry of Defense tells CNN they cannot comment on the report.
Tensions have been high between the two Koreas since two attacks last year killed 50 South Koreans.
North Korea also announced last week it will cut all ties with the South and threatened to strike with military force. It is not the first time Pyongyang has threatened to attack Seoul.CNN...
North Korea reportedly test-fires missiles
By Paula Hancocks, CNN
June... more
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An island in the Pacific Ocean that situated in the east of China, North and South Korea and Russia is named as Japan. In the direction of North to Japan the East China Sea lies and in the south Taiwan is located. Japan is a word that means ‘Sun Origin’ and sometime it called as a ‘Land from where Sun raises’. The government of Japan is a parliamentary form of government under a constitutional Law. It contains 10th largest population of the world.An island in the Pacific Ocean that situated in the east of China, North and South... more
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Military officials of North Korea told this that Seoul is attempting to improve its defensive capability for a war with North Korea. The focus of Seoul is to gain pre-emptive strike capability deep inside North Korean territories. These steps have been taken after North Korean launched two attacks on South Korean region. According to military officials of Seoul, Pyongyang has an aggressive approach towards South Korea and Japan. This aggressive approach of Pyongyang is essential to counter because other wise, Pyongyang would try to dominate other countries of this region.Military officials of North Korea told this that Seoul is attempting to improve its... more
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