An official at the Korea Meteorological Administration points to the location near Buan County, North Jeolla Province, where a 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck on Wednesday morning, on a map displayed at the administration in Seoul. Yonhap
A 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck an area near the southwestern county of Buan, North Jeolla Province, on Wednesday morning, marking the strongest tremor to be detected on the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding waters so far this year.
Usually, North Jeolla Province seldom experiences earthquakes, and it was the first time that a quake with a magnitude of more than 4 has occurred in the region.
According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), the epicenter of the quake was detected 4 kilometers south-southwest of Buan at 8:26 a.m., with a latitude of 35.7 degrees north, a longitude of 126.71 degrees east, and a depth of 8 kilometers.
This should be considered a good thing for South Korea as China has repeatedly shown they are willing to use economic retaliation to try and coerce policy changes where the U.S. has not:
South Korea’s exports to the United States exceeded those to China so far this year, data showed Monday, raising the possibility that the U.S. could be the top export destination for South Korea for the first time in 22 years.
Outbound shipments to the U.S. amounted to $53.3 billion from January through May 2024, compared with South Korea’s export value to China of $52.69 billion, according to the data from Statistics Korea and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
If the current trend continues, the U.S. will be the No. 1 export destination for South Korea for the first time since 2002.
Gen Z adults in France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Japan, South Korea are more opposed to mass immigration and to multiculturalism than older adults: pic.twitter.com/7gDzBsN7pO
Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lee Kang-in scored for his second straight match, as Korea defeated China 1-0 at home Tuesday to conclude the second round in the Asian qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Lee netted his 10th international goal in front of 64,935 fans at Seoul World Cup Stadium in the final Group C match of the second round in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) World Cup qualification.
Korea had already clinched the top spot in their group, and also a ticket to the third round, after beating Singapore 7-0 last Thursday. China, on the other hand, needed at least a draw to reach the third round without needing help from other teams.
Considering everything going on lately with the North Koreans; I have to wonder if this crossing into South Korea was really inadvertant or not?:
About 20 North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the inter-Korean land border earlier this week and went back to the North’s side after the South’s military fired warning shots, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday.
The North Korean soldiers crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas in the central section of the border at around 12:30 p.m. Sunday, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
The South Korean military conducted warning broadcasts and fired warning shots, prompting the North Koreans to return to their side of the border, the JCS said, adding that there was no unusual activity after the warning shots.
JCS spokesperson Col. Lee Sung-jun said the military assesses the soldiers, who were working on an unspecified task inside the DMZ, did not intend to cross the MDL, considering that they returned immediately after the warning shots.
This is probably another reason why the Yoon administration should not have made this possible find of oil of the coast of Korea public because the opposition controlled National Assembly doesn’t want to give them credit:
The government’s ambitious project to excavate oil and gas in the East Sea is expected to face challenges in securing a budget from the National Assembly, according to sources, Sunday.
While the government aims to allocate a budget of 100 billion won ($72.4 million) next year for initial drilling, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is putting on the brakes, first demanding the transparent disclosure of relevant information regarding the project.
According to the government, a budget of 100 billion won is needed for drilling one prospective structure. Its goal is to commence initial exploratory deepwater drilling within the first half of the 2025, following sequential exploratory drilling of the four remaining prospective structures.
For next year, following the usual practice, the government plans to cover approximately 50 percent of the total project cost, or 50 billion won, through the Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC). The remaining 50 percent will be provided as government loans to KNOC.
“The trade ministry and the KNOC have refused to submit key documents, including those related to the appropriateness of Act-Geo’s selection, the bidding process, project feasibility evaluation results, the list of domestic and international advisory panels, meeting minutes and final reports,” the lawmakers said.
They stated that a review of relevant documents submitted by the government is needed before determining the appropriateness of the proposed budget.
The ruling People Power Party refuted the claims, saying the DPK is objecting for political purposes
It is pretty clear that the opposition will keep delaying funding for this oil find just to ensure the Yoon administration doesn’t get credit for it.
I just don’t see restarting propaganda broadcasts as something that will stop these trash attacks. These attack are low cost, effective, and have little risk of escalation for the North Korean regime:
The South Korean government decided, Sunday, to resume loudspeaker broadcasts along the inter-Korean border in response to North Korea’s recent launches of trash-carrying balloons.
Hours after the decision, the military announced that it had aired messages — presumably critical of the North Korean regime — across the border. However, it declined to provide details on the psychological warfare broadcasts, such as their timing, location and delivery methods.
It will be interesting to see if the Yoon administration has the political will to continue to allow the defector groups to send propaganda balloons into North Korea when the response is this:
North Korea is once again sending balloons presumed to be carrying trash to South Korea on Saturday, Seoul’s military said, after it launched nearly 1,000 similar balloons across the border since last week.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff advised people not to touch the objects and report them to nearby military or police authorities, and cautioned of possible damage from the balloons, adding the balloons may move southward overnight due to a change in the direction of the wind.
Since May 28, North Korea has sent the trash-loaded balloons across the border into South Korea, which it described as a “tit-for-tat” response to anti-Pyongyang leafleting.
The North announced it would temporarily suspend the balloon campaign after Seoul warned of “unendurable” countermeasures, but threatened to send “a hundred times the amount of toilet paper and filth” in response to any further leafleting from the South.
Despite the threats, North Korean defector groups have continued their anti-regime campaigns on Thursday and Friday.
You can read more at the link, but this is a provocation that the North Koreans can pretty much continue to do indefinitely. I just don’t see any response by South Korea other than outlawing the defector groups from flying their balloons to end these trash attacks.
It looks like South Korea is back on Putin’s good graces again:
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday he highly appreciates South Korea’s position not to directly supply weapons to Ukraine, and that Moscow is ready to restore relations with Seoul.
Putin made the remark during a meeting with representatives of leading international news agencies, including Yonhap News Agency, which was held on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
The remark drew attention in that Putin, who began his fifth term as president last month, showed a positive attitude toward South Korea and openly talked about the possibility of improving relations with Seoul.
The owner of the company that found there is a possibility of a large oil and gas reserve off the coast of Pohang is currently in South Korea meetings:
The owner of the U.S.-based geoscience research company Act-Geo, which took part in South Korea’s project for potential offshore oil and gas reserves, arrived in the nation Wednesday for meetings with government officials.
Vitor Abreu, the owner of the Houston, Texas-based research firm, arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, noting his visit was aimed at following up with the state-run Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) on the potential discovery of up to 14 billion barrels of gas and oil.
“I came here to discuss with the KNOC what’s the best way for us to approach this and actually to give a better or more clear response for the Korean people in this very, very important project,” Abreu told reporters upon his arrival.
Abreu refrained from offering more details on the project, citing a “confidentiality agreement” with the state-run firm.
Here is how the article responded to claims from critics about the creditability of Abreu’s company:
The government commissioned Act-Geo to conduct a study in February last year, which reported that the deposits could hold between 3.5 billion and 14 billion barrels of gas and oil.
Meanwhile, there have been rising questions surrounding the credibility of the firm, with some claiming that the address of the company headquarters was that of a residential house in suburban Houston.
In response, the KNOC said Abreu was a veteran of 30 years in the field of deep-sea exploration and previously served as the head of the geology division at ExxonMobil and the president of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
The company also said that during his days at ExxonMobil, Abreu played a leading role in the exploration of the largest deep-sea oil field in Guyana, South America.
