South Korea

S. Korea's 'Peace Olympics' meet backlash at home

Seoul - Muslimchronicle

South Korea's efforts to bring the North to its Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang next month are provoking a backlash among its own people, with accusations that Seoul risks turning the Games into a "Pyongyang Olympics". Many are fuming over what they see as exploitation of the South's own athletes for political purposes, and accusing President Moon Jae-In's government of making tooRead more

South Korea in a swoon as megastar

Seoul - Muslimchronicle

South Korea went into swoon mode Sunday -- at the feet of a party apparatchik from the North. Hyon Song-Wol is, however, no dourly-dressed, suit-wearing bureaucrat from the nuclear-armed nation, but the leader of Pyongyang's most popular girl band.Cameras followed her every move as the glamorous songstress swept through Seoul at the head of a North Korean delegation sent to inspectRead more

EU to remove Panama, seven others from tax haven blacklist

Brussels - Muslimchronicle

The EU will remove Panama, South Korea and six other countries from its recently unveiled EU tax blacklist at a meeting of finance ministers next week, a European Union official said on Tuesday. "Barring a major surprise, EU finance ministers should remove eight countries from the blacklist of tax havens," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Read more

Sarraf visits Seoul's military industries exhibition

Seoul - Muslimchronicle

Minister of National Defense, Yaacoub Sarraf, continued his South Korea tour and visited, on his second day in Seoul, the International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX) to take a closer look at the country's top military industries. Sarraf also held talks with head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), Jeon Jei-guk, over the bilateral military cooperation between Lebanon and SouthRead more

Fishy tale as Olympic venues face uncertain future

Pyeongchang - Muslimchronicle

Thousands of fans will pack the futuristic Gangneung Oval for the Olympic speed skating competition next month. But afterwards, one suggestion is for the cavernous steel-grey structure to store frozen fish. No definitive future use has been identified for the $120 million building on South Korea's east coast, one of several venues whose legacy -- or lack of one --Read more

'Global shift' as Olympics set up shop

Asia - Muslimchronicle

When the cauldron ignites in Pyeongchang on February 9, it will open a sequence of three Olympic Games in Asia over the next four years -- highlighting the region's growing clout, and also the declining interest among Western powers in holding the multi-billion dollar events. After next month's Winter Games in South Korea, Tokyo will take centre stage in 2020 and BeijingRead more

S. Korea govt sends bitcoin

Seoul - Muslimchronicle

Bitcoin and other virtual currencies were sent on rollercoaster rides in South Korea Thursday as the government said it was planning to ban cryptocurrency exchanges, before later backtracking. Justice Minister Park Sang-Ki said Seoul was preparing a bill to shut down the country's virtual coin exchanges, sending bitcoin and other virtual unit prices into a tailspin. "The ministry is preparing legislation that basicallyRead more

S. Korea's Moon willing to hold summit

Seoul - Muslimchronicle

South Korean President Moon Jae-In said Wednesday he would be willing to sit down with the North's leader Kim Jong Un, as the international community welcomed an agreement for Pyongyang to send its athletes to the Winter Olympics in the South. The Games in Pyeongchang next month have long been overshadowed by geopolitical tensions, with the North launching missiles capable of reaching the U.S.Read more

Two Koreas agree to hold military talks to defuse tension

Seoul - Muslimchronicle

North and South Korea agreed Tuesday to hold military talks to ease growing tension on the peninsula, the two sides said after the first civilian cross-border talks in more than two years. The rivals agreed to "defuse the current military tension and to hold military talks to address the issue", according to a joint statement. Source: AFP Read more

Koreas agree to restore military hotline

Seoul - Muslimchronicle

North and South Korea agreed Tuesday to restore a military hotline, an official said, less than a week after an civilian cross-border phone link was reopened. The North said during the rivals' first formal talks in more than two years that a link in the western part of the border had been put back into action, the South's vice unificationRead more