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South Korea on Covid-19 herd immunity and journey bubble packages

South Korea on Covid-19 herd immunity and travel bubble programs

Customers wearing protective masks pay for their purchase at a vegetable stall in Mangwon Market in Seoul, South Korea on Tuesday, February 9, 2021.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

South Korea wants to open up its economy and work on travel bubble programs as it has been relatively successful in controlling the spread of Covid-19, its deputy prime minister told CNBC in an exclusive interview.

The government plans to boost consumption and further boost the economy in the second half of this year – and steps are being taken to achieve that goal, said Hong Nam-ki, who is also South Korea’s economy and finance minister.

“I would say the current government has been relatively successful at both infection control and vaccination,” he told CNBC’s Chery Kang on Friday, according to a CNBC translation of his Korean remarks. “Based on the achievements, the current government now wants to promote economic growth while maintaining such health measures.”

In fact, he said that South Korea is aiming for herd immunity by November, which means the virus will no longer be able to spread rapidly as most of the population is either fully vaccinated or has become immune from infection.

By last week, 30% of the South Korean population had received their vaccinations and Hong says the country can reach 70% by September.

Our plan now is to achieve herd immunity by November – but in my personal opinion we will be able to move the schedule forward.

Hong Nam-ki

South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister

The country has reported more than 155,500 cases and at least 2,015 deaths as of Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University – numbers that are relatively controlled compared to most Asian countries.

In contrast, India – with the highest number of cases in Asia – officially reported more than 30.2 million cases on Monday, according to Hopkins. Indonesia has 2.11 million cases while the Philippines has nearly 1.4 million case numbers, the data showed.

“Our plan now is to achieve herd immunity by November – but in my personal opinion we will be able to move the schedule forward,” said Hong.

“If the vaccination goes as planned, we believe the Covid-19 situation is under control. Then the measures to support consumption and economic recovery can be carried out without interruption from July onwards.

However, should the pandemic worsen, it would be difficult to push these growth-promoting measures, he warned.

Travel bubble?

The South Korean government plans to support travel bladder programs for fully vaccinated people, Hong said. A travel bubble is a pre-agreed agreement with another country that provides that travelers from both countries are allowed quarantine trips if certain conditions are met – such as negative Covid tests or full vaccinations.

However, whether the travel bubble will pop depends on vaccination progress and conversations with other countries, he said, declining to name those countries.

In early June, the Singaporean newspaper Straits Times reported that South Korea is exploring travel bladders with some countries, including Singapore and Taiwan, to enable quarantine-free travel for vaccinated people.

“I believe that depending on their health status, vaccination rates and the convenience of immigration, more countries will be on the list of countries in demand,” Hong told CNBC.

“I think we need to continue working with private tour operators to investigate the virus situation to decide exactly which countries,” he added.

One initiative that citizens can at least indulge in for the time being could be “flights to nowhere”, a target-free concept that some countries introduced during the pandemic.

“Even if you cannot travel abroad, no landing flights have been offered,” said Hong. “Passengers could fly all the way to Japan, hover over the Japanese sky, and then come back without landing. Lots of people showed interest in it and it was used a lot, ”he said, referring to such flights that were introduced in South Korea last year.

“So if the health situation improves and the vaccination campaign accelerates more strongly, we believe that we are going in (that) direction.”

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World News

Biden rejects Trump’s strategy to North Korea

Biden rejects Trump's approach to North Korea

U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in hold a joint news conference after a day of meetings at the White House, in Washington, U.S. May 21, 2021.

Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday rejected his predecessor’s approach to North Korea and said his goal as president was to achieve a “total denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula.

Speaking at a joint press conference with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Biden used the example of former President Donald Trump’s high-profile meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un to illustrate what he, Biden, would never do.

“If there was a commitment on which we met, then I would meet with [Kim],” said Biden. “And the commitment has to be that there is discussion about his nuclear arsenal.”

“What I would not do is what has been done in the recent past,” the president said. “I would not give him all he’s looking for, international recognition as legitimate, and give him what allowed him to move in a direction of appearing to be more serious about what he wasn’t at all serious about.”

Trump held three high-profile meetings with Kim, one in Singapore in June of 2018, another in Hanoi the following February, and the last one in June of 2019. During their third meeting, Trump took several steps onto North Korean soil, becoming the first American president to do so.

All three meetings between Trump and Kim were ostensibly focused on denuclearization. Yet rather than reduce his stockpile, Kim doubled his country’s arsenal of nuclear weapons during the four years Trump was president.

Biden and Moon pledged to work together to continue the effort to denuclearize North Korea.

As part of this process, Biden announced Friday that Ambassador Sung Kim will serve as the U.S. special envoy for North Korea.

Sung Kim is a career diplomat and a former ambassador to South Korea. He was recently nominated to be the assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.

Another important topic during Biden and Moon’s meeting on Friday was their countries’ ongoing response to Covid-19.

South Korea is currently experiencing a shortage of coronavirus vaccines. Approximately 7% of South Koreans have received at least one shot of the vaccine, according to data by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

By contrast, more than 48% of Americans have received one shot, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

During the press conference, Moon and Biden announced that the United States would provide 550,000 Korean service members with Covid-19 vaccines.

Biden and Moon’s press conference followed an afternoon of meetings and ceremonies, including the awarding of the Presidential Medal of Honor to a U.S. veteran of the Korean War.

The visit was Biden’s second time as president hosting a foreign leader at the White House. And it offered the president an opportunity to showcase that, in his words, “America is back.”

After four years of Trump’s isolationist approach to foreign policy, Moon welcomed the new tone.

“The world is welcoming America’s return and keeping their hopes high for America’s leadership more than ever before,” Moon said Friday.

But foreign policy is not where Biden has devoted the lion’s share of his attention as president.

Aides to the president say he is chiefly focused on enacting his domestic agenda: two massive proposals, to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure and to fund a range of family and social services.

As the past week has shown, however, events on the ground can quickly force any White House to shift its attention overseas.

Most recently, renewed fighting between Israel and the Islamic militant group Hamas in Gaza consumed much of the attention of the world during the past 11 days.

Biden said Friday that a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinian Authority is “the only answer.”

And despite pressure from some Democrats to take a harder line on Israel’s airstrikes, Biden emphasized that nothing in his approach to the longtime U.S. ally has changed.

“There is no shift in my commitment to the security of Israel. Period.”

He also praised Egypt’s president, Abdel Al-Sisi, for doing what Biden said was a “commendable job” securing the cooperation of Hamas on a cease-fire that began early Friday morning.

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World News

South Korean Chief Urges Biden to Negotiate With North Korea

South Korean Leader Urges Biden to Negotiate With North Korea

SEOUL – President Moon Jae-in of South Korea has a message for the United States: President Biden must now deal with North Korea.

In an interview with the New York Times, Mr. Moon urged the American leader to start negotiations with the government of Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, after two years of stalling diplomatic progress were even reversed . Denuclearization is a “question of survival” for his country, said the South Korean president.

He also called on the United States to work with China on North Korea and other issues of global concern, including climate change. The deteriorating relations between the superpowers could undermine any negotiations on denuclearization.

“If tensions between the United States and China intensify, North Korea can benefit and capitalize on it,” said Moon.

It was partly a plea, partly a sales pitch, from Mr. Moon, who sat down with The Times as the United States tried to rebuild ties in the region to counter China’s influence and North Korea built its nuclear arsenal. Mr. Moon, who will meet Mr. Biden in Washington next month, seemed ready to take on the role of mediator between the two sides again.

Interviewed, Mr. Moon prided himself on his skillful diplomatic maneuvering in 2018 as he led the two unpredictable leaders of North Korea and the United States for a face-to-face meeting. He was also pragmatic, tacitly admitting that his work to achieve denuclearization and peace in the Korean Peninsula has since disintegrated.

President Donald J. Trump stepped down without removing a single North Korean nuclear warhead. Mr. Kim has resumed weapon testing. .

“He beat the bush and didn’t manage to pull it off,” said Mr. Moon of Mr. Trump’s efforts on North Korea. “The most important starting point for both governments is to have the will to dialogue and to meet face to face early on.”

Now, in his final year in office, Mr. Moon is determined to start over – knowing that in Mr. Biden he is facing a very different leader.

Mr. Moon relied on Mr. Trump’s style and emphasized the personality-driven “top-down diplomacy” through one-on-one interviews with Mr. Kim. Mr Biden, he said, is going back to the traditional “bottom-up” approach, where negotiators haggle over details before getting approval from their bosses.

“I hope that Biden will go down as a historic president who has made substantial and irreversible progress towards full denuclearization and peace settlement on the Korean Peninsula,” Moon said in an interview with Sangchunjae, a traditional hanok on the grounds of the Executive Residence, Blue House.

Mr. Moon’s visit to Washington comes at a crucial time. The Biden administration completes its month-long policy review regarding North Korea, one of the most pressing geopolitical issues facing the United States.

Mr Biden has begun to reverse many of his predecessor’s foreign policy decisions. But Mr Moon warned that it would be a mistake to kill the 2018 Singapore Accord between Mr Trump and Mr Kim, which set broad goals for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. .

“I believe if we build on what President Trump has left, we will make these efforts a reality under Biden’s leadership,” he said.

Mr. Moon urged the United States and North Korea to take “incremental and gradual” steps towards denuclearization, while “at the same time” exchanging concessions and incentives. It was a well-worn script for Mr. Moon who occasionally paused during the interview to refer to his notes and underscored his speech with small but determined hand gestures.

Some past American negotiators and Mr. Moon’s conservative critics oppose such a strategy, saying North Korea would stall and undermine international sanctions, the best leverage Washington has on the impoverished country. In his annual threat assessment released last week, the director of national intelligence for the United States said that Mr. Kim “believes that over time he will gain international acceptance and respect as a nuclear power.”

However, Mr. Moon’s team argues that the step-by-step approach is the most realistic, even if it is not perfect. According to his administration, North Korea would never give up its arsenal in a single step lest the regime lose its only negotiating chip with Washington.

The key, Mr. Moon said, is that the United States and North Korea work out a “mutually trustworthy roadmap.”

American negotiators under Mr. Trump never made it to this point. Both sides could not even agree on a first step for the north and what reward Washington would get for doing so.

Mr. Moon is not only trying to save his “Korean Peninsula Peace Process”, but also arguably his greatest diplomatic legacy.

When his North Korea policy stalled, critics called him a naive pacifist who relied too much on Mr Kim’s unproven commitment to denuclearization.

“His good intentions had dire consequences,” said Kim Sung-han, a professor at Korea University. “His mediation has not worked, nor have we made any progress on denuclearization. His time is running out. “

Since negotiations stalled, Mr. Moon’s problems at home have increased. Its approval ratings have fallen to hit lows amid real estate and other scandals. This month, angry voters brought his Democratic Party devastating defeats in the mayoral elections in South Korea’s two largest cities.

This is a sharp turn from the start of his term in office when Mr. Moon turned a hair-raising geopolitical crisis into a political initiative.

“When I took office in 2017, we were very concerned about the possibility of another outbreak of war on the Korean peninsula,” he said.

Four days after his tenure, North Korea launched its medium-range ballistic missile Hwasong-12, which could attack Hawaii and Alaska. Then the north tested a hydrogen bomb and three ICBMs. In response, Mr. Trump threatened “fire and anger” when carrier groups from the American Navy steamed onto the peninsula.

Mr. Moon’s first diplomatic victory came when Mr. Kim accepted his invitation to send a delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Shortly afterwards, Mr. Moon met with Mr. Kim at the heavily armed inter-Korean border.

During that meeting, Mr. Moon said the North Korean dictator had hinted that disarmament was a real possibility. “If security can be guaranteed without nuclear weapons, why should I have difficulty holding them at the expense of sanctions?” Mr. Moon remembered Mr. Kim.

He said he pitched Mr. Trump and asked him to meet Mr. Kim. At their television summit in Singapore, Trump promised “security guarantees” for North Korea, while Mr. Kim pledged to “work towards a full denuclearization of the Korean peninsula”.

“It is clearly an achievement for President Trump to hold the first North Korea-United States summit,” he said.

But Mr. Moon also lamented that Mr. Trump never got through after declaring that “there is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea”. When Mr Kim and Mr Trump met again in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2019, negotiations were going nowhere and the men left without reaching an agreement on how to move forward with the Singapore deal.

While Mr. Moon was keen to praise Mr. Trump, he also appeared frustrated with the former president’s erratic behavior and Twitter diplomacy. Mr. Trump canceled or downsized the annual joint military exercises the United States conducts with the South, demanding an “excessive amount” to keep 28,500 American troops in South Korea.

Mr Moon said he had decided to suspend negotiations on the so-called defense cost sharing agreement during Mr Trump’s final months in office. South Korea was willing to pay more given its growing economic size, but Mr Trump’s demands went against the very foundation of the two countries’ relations.

“His request lacked a reasonable and rational calculation,” said Moon.

The fact that Washington and Seoul could strike a deal within 46 days of Mr Biden’s inauguration is “clear evidence of the importance President Biden attaches to the alliance.”

Mr. Moon is confident of the progress the new American leader can make in North Korea, although a major breakthrough may be unrealistic given the deep distrust between Washington and Pyongyang.

Mr Biden said last month that he was “prepared for some form of diplomacy” with North Korea, but that “it must be made contingent on the end result of denuclearization”.

North Korea has come up with ideas for a step-by-step approach that begins with the demolition of its only known nuclear test site, followed by the dismantling of a rocket engine test facility and the nuclear complex in Yongbyon north of Pyongyang.

Mr Moon said he believes such steps, when combined with American concessions, could result in the removal of the North’s more valuable assets such as ICBMs. In this scenario, the step towards complete denuclearization becomes “irreversible”.

“This dialogue and this diplomacy can lead to denuclearization,” he said. “If both sides learn from the failure in Hanoi and put their heads together on more realistic ideas, I am confident that they can find a solution.”

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World News

North Korea Bows Out of Tokyo Olympics, Citing Covid-19

North Korea Bows Out of Tokyo Olympics, Citing Covid-19

North Korea announced on Tuesday that it had decided not to participate in the 32nd Summer Olympics in Tokyo because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The decision was made when the National Olympic Committee of the North met in Pyongyang on March 25th and decided that a delegation would skip the Tokyo Olympics, scheduled for July 23rd to August 8th, “to our athletes protect from the global health crisis caused by the malignant viral infection, “said the government-run sport in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

It’s the first Summer Olympics the North has skipped since boycotting the Seoul Olympics in 1988.

North Korea, which has a rundown public health system, has taken tough measures against the virus since the beginning of last year, including closing its borders. The country officially claims there are no Covid-19 cases, but outside health experts remain skeptical.

North Korea’s decision robs South Korea and other nations of a rare opportunity to make official contact with the isolated country. Officials in the south had hoped the Olympics could provide a venue for high-level delegates from both Koreas to discuss issues beyond the sport.

The 2018 Winter Olympics in the South Korean city of Pyeongchang provided such an opportunity. Kim Yo-jong, the only sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, attracted worldwide attention when she became the first member of the Kim family to cross the border into South Korea to attend the opening ceremony.

Mr. Kim used the North’s participation in the Pyeongchang Olympics as a signal to begin diplomacy after a series of nuclear and long-range missile tests. The inter-Korean dialogue soon followed, leading to three summit meetings between Mr. Kim and President Moon Jae-in of South Korea. Mr. Kim also met three times with President Donald J. Trump.

Since the collapse of Mr Kim’s diplomacy with Mr Trump in 2019, North Korea has avoided official contact with South Korea or the United States. The pandemic has deepened its diplomatic isolation and economic difficulties amid concerns over its nuclear ambitions. North Korea launched two ballistic missiles in its first such test in a year on March 25 to challenge President Biden.

The Tokyo Games, which start in July, were originally scheduled for 2020 but have been postponed for a year due to the pandemic. The Tokyo Organizing Committee has made efforts to develop security protocols to protect both attendees and local residents from the virus. Concern is high in Japan, with large majorities in polls saying the Games shouldn’t be held this summer.

A number of health, economic and political challenges have besieged the Games. Even when the organizers decided last month to exclude international viewers, Epidemiologists warn that the Olympics could turn into a superspreader event. Thousands of athletes and other participants will come to Tokyo from more than 200 countries while much of the Japanese public remains unvaccinated.

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Politics

North Korea Conducts 1st Missile Check Underneath Biden Administration

North Korea Conducts 1st Missile Test Under Biden Administration

SEOUL – North Korea tested two short-range cruise missiles over the weekend, South Korean defense officials confirmed on Wednesday. The test was the first under the Biden administration and was added to a series of recent provocations and statements that were viewed as warnings to Washington.

The test took place off the west coast of North Korea on Sunday, just days after the country accused the United States and South Korea of ​​causing “a stench” on the Korean peninsula with their annual military exercises. It did not violate United Nations resolutions prohibiting North Korea from developing or testing ballistic missile technology.

When North Korea launches missile tests, they are usually celebrated by the state news media and quickly endorsed by the South Korean military. However, the North Korean news media did not cover the test on Sunday. South Korean officials said Wednesday that they discovered the test when it took place but decided not to report it immediately. They did not elaborate on their decision.

South Korean defense officials tend to view short-range cruise missile tests as less of a provocation than ballistic launches. They also tend not to highlight what they consider minor provocations from the north when trying to promote inter-Korean dialogue. When North Korea launched short-range cruise missiles off its east coast last April, they were immediately confirmed by South Korea. In this case, South Korean officials only confirmed the test after it was first reported by the Washington Post.

The missiles were launched at 6:36 a.m. on Sunday from a location near Nampo, a port southwest of Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, said Ha Tae-keung, a South Korean lawmaker briefed on Wednesday by intelligence officials. The intelligence officials said the South Korean military authorities had agreed with their American counterparts not to publish the tests, Ha said.

South Korea and the United States completed their annual 10-day military training exercise last week. North Korea has often responded to these exercises with its own exercises, which sometimes include missile tests.

Officials and analysts in the region have been watching North Korea closely to see if the country would escalate tensions to leverage ahead of possible negotiations with the Biden government.

North Korea has rejected any serious dialogue with Washington since the second summit between its Chairman Kim Jong-un and former President Donald J. Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam, ended abruptly in 2019. Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump failed to reach an agreement on how quickly the North would cut its nuclear program or when Washington would grant sanction relief.

Pyongyang has made several hostile statements to the United States in the past few days, and analysts said the missile test may be part of a subtle pressure tactic, increasing the possibility that North Korea will return to a new cycle of tension on the peninsula to stamp out concessions from Washington .

“Through these new missile tests, Pyongyang is signaling to Team Biden that its military capabilities are getting stronger every day,” said Harry J. Kazianis, senior director of Korean Studies at the Washington-based Center for the National Interest, said in an email sent Comment.

The Biden government has stepped up efforts to work more closely with its regional allies South Korea and Japan to better cope with North Korea’s growing weaponry capabilities as well as an emerging China. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III visited Seoul and Tokyo last week as part of the government’s first high-level diplomatic tour of Asia.

President Biden plans to complete a policy review in North Korea in close coordination with South Korea and Japan in the coming weeks, Blinken said in Seoul. He said the review included “print options as well as potential for future diplomacy”. During his visit, Mr. Blinken also criticized North Korea’s human rights record and what he called Mr. Kim’s “repressive government” and its “widespread and systematic abuses”.

Washington made a breakthrough last week when a North Korean citizen was extradited to the US for the first time. A Malaysian court agreed to extradite the North Korean businessman, who is due to be tried in an American court for money laundering and violating international sanctions. North Korea accused Washington of being a “backstage manipulator” in this case and warned against “paying a fair price”.

Nor is it necessary to react to the recent attempts by the Biden government to enter into dialogue and reject them as a “trick of delaying time”.

As Washington strengthens its alliances with Tokyo and Seoul, Kim and Xi Jinping, China’s leaders, have vowed to bring their two communist countries closer together.

In a message to Mr. Xi published on the North Korean news media this week, Mr. Kim stressed the need to strengthen unity between the two countries in order to “deal with enemy forces.” In his own message to Mr. Kim, Mr. Xi vowed to help maintain “peace and stability” on the Korean peninsula.

North Korea’s recent missile test suggests that Mr. Kim “will tolerate continued economic dependence on China to get out of the pandemic of the offensive against Washington and Seoul,” said Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

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Politics

North Korea fires off first missile check since Biden took workplace

North Korea fires off first missile test since Biden took office

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un

Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images

WASHINGTON – North Korea conducted a missile test for the first time during President Joe Biden’s tenure last weekend. Senior administration officials said Tuesday night they are monitoring the situation but stressed that the actions constituted a low-level provocation.

Pyongyang fired at least one missile, but senior administrative officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, refused to explain what type of weapon was fired, where the test was conducted, or the success rate.

At a briefing on Tuesday, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby declined to comment on the missile launch.

The missile test comes when Pyongyang ignores invitations from Washington to discuss denuclearization and major joint US and South Korean military exercises resume on the peninsula.

“We have no illusions about the difficulties this task presents. We have a long history of disappointment with diplomacy with North Korea. It has defied the expectations of both the Republican and Democratic governments,” said a senior government official.

The official also said Washington was consulting with former Trump administration officials to gain additional insight into North Korea.

President Donald Trump will meet with North Korean President Kim Jong Un in Panmunjom, South Korea, in the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas on June 30, 2019.

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

“This type of saber-rattling is not threatening, but is intended to attract the attention of the Biden administration,” wrote Lt. Col. Daniel Davis, a senior fellow at Defense Priorities, in a statement responding to the development.

“There is a way to negotiate freezes and potential rollbacks in exchange for limited sanction relief. But unless Washington is willing to compromise and normalize relations, Kim should continue developing and testing weapons,” Davis added.

Harry Kazianis, Senior Director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest, described North Korea’s actions as a message to the new government.

“With these new missile tests, Pyongyang is signaling to Team Biden that its military capabilities are getting stronger every day,” said Kazianis.

Last week, a senior North Korean official said Pyongyang would not respond to numerous invitations to resume nuclear talks until the United States abandons “hostile policies”.

“We have already stated our position that contact and dialogue between the DPRK and the US will not be possible if the US does not retract its hostile policy towards the DPRK,” said Choe Son Hui, first deputy foreign minister, according to a published statement by the Korean state central news agency on Thursday.

Also last week, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned the United States when Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin began their first trip abroad under Biden’s leadership. The two visited South Korea and Japan to forge alliances and reaffirm US commitments and interests in the region.

“We take this opportunity to warn the new US administration that is trying to give something [gun] The smell of powder in our country, “Kim Yo Jong said in a statement referring to joint US and South Korean military exercises in the region.

“If it [the U.S.] wants to sleep in peace for the next four years, it should be better not to cause a stink at the first step, “she added, according to an English translation.

Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Jorge Silva | Reuters

Later on Tuesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that the Biden administration had no “direct comment or answer”.

″Our goal will always be centered on diplomacy and denuclearization in North Korea, “she said.” We are currently focused on working with and coordinating with our partners and allies on a number of issues, including security in the region. “

Under Kim Jong Un, the secluded state carried out its most powerful nuclear test, launched its first ballistic ICBM and threatened to launch missiles into the waters near the US territory of Guam.

Since 2011, Kim has fired more than 100 missiles and conducted four nuclear weapon tests. This is more than what his father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung fired over a 27 year period.

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Politics

North Korea nationwide extradited to U.S., faces cash laundering expenses

North Korea national extradited to U.S., faces money laundering charges

Kim Yu Song, advisor to the North Korean embassy in Malaysia, reads a statement to the media in front of the North Korean embassy. North Korea is breaking diplomatic relations with Malaysia in protest after a court ruled that a North Korean citizen named Mun Chol Myong should be extradited to the United States for money laundering charges. The Malaysian government said it would order all diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours.

Wong Fok Loy | LightRocket | Getty Images

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Mun has been detained in Malaysia since his arrest by local authorities in May 2019, less than two weeks after being charged in Washington on six money laundering cases, including the money laundering conspiracy.

North Korea said last Friday it cut diplomatic ties with Malaysia over Mun’s extradition, which was approved by a Malaysian court last week.

The Associated Press reported on Saturday that Mun was in FBI custody in Washington.

Kang Son Bi (L) wife of Mun Chol Myong, the North Korean man who may be extradited from Malaysia to the US for money laundering, arrives at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on December 6, 2019.

Mohd Rasfan | AFP | Getty Images

“One of the FBI’s biggest counterintelligence challenges is bringing overseas defendants to justice, particularly the North Korean case,” FBI assistant director Alan Kohler Jr. of the bureau’s counterintelligence division said in a statement.

“Thanks to the FBI’s partnership with overseas authorities, we are proud to bring Mun Chol Myong to the US for trial and we hope he will be the first of many,” Kohler said.

The indictment accuses Mun and co-conspirators of using a network of front-line firms, registering bank accounts under false names, and removing references to North Korea from international transfers and receipts.

In doing so, they enticed American banks to process transactions in favor of North Korean companies that they would otherwise not have been able to process.

“We are delighted that Mun has been extradited and will be on trial for the crimes alleged in the indictment,” Channing Phillips, acting US attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a statement.

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Politics

U.S. Tried to Restart Nuclear Talks With North Korea

U.S. Tried to Restart Nuclear Talks With North Korea

The Biden government has tried to resume talks with North Korea over the fate of its nuclear program, but its overtures have not been returned, the White House press secretary confirmed on Monday.

Jen Psaki, the press secretary, told reporters in an afternoon briefing that “we reached out to North Korean officials” but hadn’t heard from them, and confirmed a Reuters report over the weekend.

“We have a number of channels that we can reach as always,” said Ms. Psaki. “We also focus on advising many former government officials involved in North Korea policy, including several previous administrations. We have and will continue to work with our Japanese and South Korean allies to seek input and explore new approaches. We listened to their ideas carefully. “

“Diplomacy is always our goal,” said Ms. Psaki. “Our goal is to reduce the risk of escalation. However, so far we have not received a response. “

Mr Biden took office in the face of the increasing threat of nuclear proliferation around the world, including North Korea, which has expanded its arsenal of missiles, including those that could reach the United States.

His predecessor Donald J. Trump cultivated a personal relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un – including being the first American president in 70 years of conflict and conflict to meet in person with a North Korean head of state – to advance disarmament. These efforts failed. North Korea continued to develop new weapons. A North Korean official said last summer that hopes for peace with South Korea and the United States had “turned into a dark nightmare.”

Mr Biden discussed the North Korean issue with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in early February and agreed to “closely coordinate” the matter, according to a reading of the appeal by the White House.

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World News

South Korea Will Pay Extra for U.S. Troop Presence

South Korea Will Pay More for U.S. Troop Presence

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea announced Wednesday that it agreed to increase its share of the cost of the US military presence by 13.9 percent this year to address an ongoing dispute within the Alliance ahead of a joint visit by Eliminate Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III.

Differences in how the cost of maintaining 28,500 American troops in South Korea was divided has kept the Allies at odds for years. The issue was particularly controversial under former President Donald J. Trump, who demanded that South Korea increase its payments drastically – up to five times, according to some reports. Even when warming up for North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, Trump often accused South Korea of ​​being allowed to freeload American military power.

Negotiations lasted a year and a half, but made progress after President Biden took office and pledged to re-establish alliances around the world.

Over the weekend, the United States and South Korea agreed on a five-year contract to increase military payments, subject to legal approval in both capitals. Under the deal, South Korea will pay $ 1 billion this year, 13.9 percent more than its annual payments in 2019 and 2020, officials said on Wednesday. From next year through 2025, South Korea will increase its stake annually at the same rate as it is increasing its defense budget – averaging 6.1 percent per year through 2025.

“South Korea and the United States have demonstrated the resilience of the solid alliance by smoothly addressing the important issue of the upcoming alliance early after the start of the Biden administration,” the South Korean State Department said in a statement on Wednesday.

Since the Korean War of 1950/53, South Koreans have viewed the American military presence as an integral part of their defense against North Korea. But Mr Trump’s request for a drastic increase irritated many and raised questions about Washington’s commitment to defending its ally.

North Korea has long fought for the withdrawal of American troops, arguing that the threat they posed, including their joint war games with the South Korean military, had compelled them to develop nuclear weapons.

Mr Trump met three times with North Korea’s Leader Kim Jong-un to attempt to end the north’s nuclear weapons program while the Allies suspended or reduced their joint military exercises in support of diplomacy. Mr Trump shocked many in South Korea, especially conservatives, by calling such exercises “enormously expensive” and “very provocative” in the Korean peninsula.

Mr Trump’s diplomacy with Mr Kim collapsed without an arms control deal with North Korea, whose nuclear and missile capabilities increased during Mr Trump’s tenure. Nonetheless, the United States and South Korea have significantly reduced the scope of this year’s spring military exercise, which began Monday, and ran it as a computer simulation with little troop movement. South Korea said the exercise was minimized this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a desire to keep the diplomatic dynamic with North Korea alive.

How to get North Korea back to the negotiating table will be a central theme when Mr Blinken and Mr Austin visit South Korea next Wednesday and Thursday and meet President Moon Jae-in and other senior South Korean officials. North Korea has yet to respond to its planned visit or the joint Washington-Seoul military exercise.

Mr. Blinken’s trip, which will include a visit to Tokyo prior to his trip to Seoul, was to “reaffirm the United States’ commitment to strengthening our alliances and highlighting cooperation that will bring peace, security and prosperity to the Indo-Pacific region and Environment promotes the world, “the State Department said in a statement.

Mr. Moon, the South Korean President, has emphasized the importance of the alliance with Washington while trying to maintain his country’s robust trade ties with China.

He is also a passionate advocate of diplomacy with North Korea and helped organize the summits between Mr Trump and Mr Kim. A breakthrough in the denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang would ease political détente on the Korean peninsula and help realize his dream of strengthening economic ties between the two Koreas.

Mr. Moon’s administration hopes the Biden administration will pursue the diplomacy started by Mr. Trump rather than reverting to former President Obama’s policy of “strategic patience” which focused on bruising North Korea with sanctions.

After his diplomacy with Mr Trump failed to lift sanctions against his country, Mr Kim vowed to continue advancing his country’s nuclear capabilities, stating that it would build new solid fuel ICBMs and make its nuclear warheads lighter and more precise.

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Covid resurgence in Japan, South Korea may hit Asia’s financial restoration

Covid resurgence in Japan, South Korea could hit Asia's economic recovery

Snow falls as people wearing face masks walk through the Asakusa district on March 29, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan.

Tomohiro Ohsumi | Getty Images

SINGAPORE – Towards the end of 2020, many investors are viewing Asia as the region with one of the best economic prospects for the next year as the coronavirus outbreak can be relatively better controlled.

However, a recent surge in Covid cases in some countries threatens to dampen the region’s economic outlook, some analysts have warned.

“For some of the Asian giants, this year’s problems with Covid-19 are unlikely to get better when the clock strikes 12 noon on New Year’s Eve,” said research firm Pantheon Macroeconomics.

However, many parts of Asia – where the virus first appeared – remain lower than in Europe and the US, data from Johns Hopkins University showed.

For some of the Asian giants, this year’s Covid-19 problems are unlikely to get better when the clock strikes 12 noon on New Year’s Eve.

But some countries are now struggling with a far worse resurgence than they did earlier in the pandemic. Even areas that have made great strides in containing the virus may not be spared. Taiwan this week reports its first locally transmitted case since April 12 – underscoring the difficulty in eradicating Covid.

Here’s a look at the Asian economies grappling with a renewed spike in coronavirus infections and how that would affect their economic prospects.

Japan

  • Covid-19 balance sheet: 207,007 cumulative confirmed cases and 2,941 deaths as of Wednesday, according to Hopkins data.

The number of daily reported coronavirus infections in Japan rose again in November and topped 3,000 for the first time last week, Hopkins data showed.

According to Reuters, medical groups in the country warned the pandemic will put a significant strain on the health system. However, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has failed to declare a state of national emergency – although he said he was suspending a travel subsidy program to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the news agency reported.

Economists at Pantheon Macroeconomics wrote in a Wednesday report that the Japanese government’s “relatively soft” rules on social distancing don’t appear to be working and that this could lead to tougher measures in the coming months.

“Therefore, a second and more effective nationwide state of emergency in Japan early next year cannot be ruled out,” the economists said. That would weigh on Japan’s economy in the first quarter of 2021, they added.

South Korea

  • Covid-19 Record: According to Hopkins, there were 53,533 cumulative confirmed cases and 756 deaths on Wednesday.

As in Japan, the daily incidence in South Korea reached unprecedented levels this month – above 1,000 for the first time since the outbreak.

But unlike in Japan, the government in South Korea has taken a tougher stance in response to the new wave of Covid cases.

The government on Tuesday announced a nationwide ban on gathering five or more people and ordered the closure of tourist attractions such as ski slopes and other winter sports facilities, Yonhap news agency reported.

This move, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics, would allow most of South Korea’s economic damage to be contained, for the most part, in the fourth quarter of this year.

Malaysia

  • Covid-19 balance sheet: 98,737 cumulative confirmed cases and 444 deaths on Wednesday, according to Hopkins data.

The Southeast Asian country kept Covid cases to a minimum before the recent surge from October, Hopkins data showed. This prompted the government to impose a new round of partial closure measures in some parts of the country.

Economists with consulting firm Capital Economics said the outlook for the Malaysian economy had become “less optimistic” this quarter, particularly in the area of ​​consumer spending.

“A second wave of the virus and the reintroduction of many restrictions on movement have reversed the sharp recovery in home consumption in the third quarter. Google’s high-frequency mobility data suggests social distancing continues to weigh on activity,” a report said Tuesday.

But the other parts of the economy – like exports – should continue to perform strongly, so the macroeconomic success of the recent resurgence is likely to be “much less” than the previous wave, the economists said.