North Korea has fired artillery across the South Korean border in response to broadcasts made from the South exposing the North Korean government’s brutality.
The North Korean government called the broadcasts “a declaration of war.” The North Korean volley was aimed at the broadcast locations. The attack happened about 4 p.m. local time.
The South Korean military responded with artillery fire. The North did not retaliate but sent a warning that they would carry out military action within 48 hours if the broadcasts did not stop.
“Our military has stepped up monitoring and is closely watching North Korean military movements,” South Korea’s defense ministry said.
The U.S. government, who has about 28,500 military personnel in South Korea, said they are “monitoring” the situation.
“Such provocative actions heighten tensions, and we call on Pyongyang to refrain from actions and rhetoric that threaten regional peace and security,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Katina Adams said.
The nations last traded fire in October 2014 when two patrol boats in the Yellow Sea exchanged fire and was followed by North Korean gunfire later that week.
The British government is looking to invest millions into a test highway system that would recharge electric cars as they drive.
The roadways, if successful, would allow drivers of electric cars to avoid the current problems of large charging times and inaccessibility of charging stations.
“The government is already committing £500 million ($779 million U.S.) over the next five years to keep Britain at the forefront of this technology, which will help boost jobs and growth in the sector. As this study shows, we continue to explore options on how to improve journeys and make low-emission vehicles accessible to families and businesses.” UK Transport Minister Andrew Jones stated in a press release.
The proposed system would create a series of coils under the roadway that would emit electricity through the air to a receiver coil inside the car. The coil would then charge the batteries inside the car. The system would be located completely under the roadway, so there would be no risk of electrical shock to the general public.
The method is similar to that of wireless charging stations for cell phones.
“Vehicle technologies are advancing at an ever increasing pace and we’re committed to supporting the growth of ultra-low emissions vehicles on England’s motorways and major A roads,” Highways England chief highways engineer, Mike Wilson, said in a press statement. “The off-road trials of wireless power technology will help to create a more sustainable road network for England and open up new opportunities for businesses that transport goods across the country.”
South Korea is already working on a similar system in a part of the town of Gumi. The 7.5 mile road charges specially modified electric buses.
The Pentagon says an investigation into an accidental shipment of live anthrax to labs in nine states and South Korea was significantly larger and lasted over a decade.
The anthrax, sent from the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, has been shipped to 51 sites in the United States and overseas in the last 10 year. The samples were all believed to have contained irradiated and inactivated virus.
The officials admitted they are testing 400 additional batches and if they are found to be live, the number of locations with live virus could significantly jump.
Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work said that 31 lab workers have ben undergoing post-exposure treatment as a precaution but that the public is safe.
“We know of no risk to the general public from these samples,” Work said.
The admission of the shipments of live anthrax are part of a pattern of accidents involving viruses that have observers questioning the way the military is handling potentially deadly pathogens. A year ago, the CDC admitted a dozen employees may have been exposed to live anthrax and that another lab contaminated a flu virus with the deadly H5N1 bird flu and then shipped it out to another laboratory.
Less than a year ago, live smallpox vials were found in a storage lab at the National Institutes of Health.
The first ballistic missile with range long enough to strike within North Korea is now part of the South Korean army’s arsenal.
The first long-range missile was test fired on Wednesday according to the South Korean Defense Ministry.
The missile was fired from a vehicle, indicating that the missile is part of a mobile missile system that could be taken anywhere in South Korea. The weapon is part of a system being developed since a 2012 agreement with the United States to extend their weapon distance capability. The South can now create weapons long enough to strike into North Korea but not able to threaten China or Japan.
South Korean media say the new missiles are called “Hyunmoo-2B” and have a range of 310 miles.
“The test demonstrated improved ballistic missile capability that can strike all parts of North Korea swiftly, and with precision, in the event of armed aggression or provocation,” a statement from the country’s president read.
North Korea has a large arsenal of missiles that can not only reach South Korea but also threaten Japan. The country has also claimed a recent test-fire of missiles that can be launched from submarines.
The U.S. ambassador to South Korea is recovering today from an attack by a knife-wielding assailant.
Ambassador Mark Kippert had started delivering a speech when 55-year-old Kim Ki-jong jumped at him and slashed with the knife. Lippert underwent surgery for a cut on his face that required 80 stitches to close.
Doctors told the media that damage to the Ambassador’s left hand could be severe enough to permanently hamper use.
The assailant shouted “no to war training” and later that the two Koreas need to be reunited.
North Korea hailed the attack saying that it was a “righteous punishment” against the United States and showed the residents of South Korea want to be ruled by the North. They blamed the U.S. keeping 28,500 troops in South Korea as a reason for the problems in the region.
President Obama condemned the attack and sent his best wishes to the ambassador.
The captain of a South Korean ferry which capsized and killed more than 300 people, mostly students, will be spending at least the next three decades behind bars.
Captain Lee Joon-seok was convicted of gross negligence but was surprisingly acquitted of homicide connected to the deaths of the passengers.
The captain had fled the ship when it began sinking rather than staying behind to try and rescue the teenagers and passengers trapped below the water line.
Family members of the students who drowned were furious with the verdict and the sentencing, saying that the sentence was too lenient and that it was unconscionable that the captain was not found guilty of homicide in abandoning the passengers.
The ship’s engineer was convicted of homicide only on the part of two ship’s employees that he left behind when the fled the ship. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
In this first public mass in Asia, Pope Francis spoke to 50,000 people and told them they need to strive to eliminate materialism from their lives.
The Pope also said to “reject inhumane economic models which create new forms of poverty and marginalize workers, and the culture of death which devalues the image of God, the God of life, and violates the dignity of every man, woman and child.”
Vatican Radio said the Pope’s message focused on the allure of materialism that is so worshipped and praised by the world. He said the spirit of unbridled competition that feeds materialism is the engine driving selfishness and strife.
The Pope took time to give special praise to the Korean church because they did not have a track record to build on and when they found Catholic books imported from China “were able to go it alone.”
He also offered blessings for 10,000 Koreans that had been martyred in the 18th and 19th centuries trying to bring Catholicism into the region. He said the martyrs gave a “noble tradition” and “legacy” that needs to be continued by taking care of “the poor, the needy and the vulnerable in our midst.”
A South Korean missionary arrested in North Korea on charges of spying and setting up a network of underground churches has been sentenced to life at hard labor.
Kim Jung-wook was sentenced after a trial where North Korean authorities claim he admitted to “committing anti-North Korean religious acts” and “malignantly hurting the dignity” of ruler Kim Jong-Un.
According to North Korean state media, Jung-wook had a defense attorney but there were no details about whether a defense was actually provided during the trial that international observers called a sham.
Kim Jung-wook had been arrested last October after he entered North Korea from China. When he lived in China, he had been instrumental in helping North Korean Christians escape to South Korea. He had crossed into North Korea to learn about food storages and was caught by authorities.
Prosecutors presented what they called evidence of his actions including religious books. The court could have sentenced the missionary to death but decided to issue the life sentence.
The deadly South Korean ferry disaster has been found to be the result of illegally loaded cargo shifting during the journey.
The death toll climbed to over 260 as divers continue to bring the bodies of the dead from inside the ferry. The official death toll does not include one diver who died after problems with his oxygen supply while on a recovery mission.
Investigators say that the ferry was loaded with double the amount of cargo allowed by maritime law. The cargo was also not tied down properly which broke free in the heavy surf and shifted left, toppling the ferry.
“The lashing devices that should have held cargo goods steady were loose, and some of the crew members did not even know” how to use them correctly, prosecutor Yang Joong-jin told reporters.
Police reportedly have arrested four employees of the ferry’s owner, Cheonghaejin Marine Company, and one of those in custody was a senior executive. Officials won’t say if the people arrested had a direct connection to the overloading of the ferry.
The ferry company reportedly had been overloading the ferry since March 2013 and earned almost three million dollars in additional profits with the illegal loads.
North Korea is preparing to execute 33 people for being Christians.
The official charge from the government is “attempting to overthrow the government.” In reality, the group was working with a South Korean Baptist missionary to set up underground churches.
Missionary Kim Jung-wook has been jailed and tortured for a year because of his attempts to start underground churches in North Korea. He was presented at a press conference last week where he apologized for his “anti-state crimes” and appealed for his release.
He was also forced to say that South Korea Intelligence services had provided him with information and equipment. The South Korean government said they had no involvement with Kim Jung-wook.
North Korean officials say the 33 people involved with Kim Jung-wook were planning to build a church on the site of a massive statue of North Korea’s founder after they overthrew the government.
Kim Jong-un has been on a murderous rampage including members of his government. His top deputy disappeared last week and some people have speculated that the North Korean leader has killed him.
