South Korea

N.Korea to skip Olympic Games over Covid-19 fears

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un

North Korea will not join the Tokyo Olympics this year due to coronavirus concerns, the country’s sports ministry said on Tuesday, dashing South Korean hopes the Games could be a catalyst to revive stalled peace talks.

It will be the first time North Korea has missed a Summer Olympics since it boycotted Seoul in 1988 amid the Cold War.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in had hoped the two countries, still technically at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, could field a combined team in Tokyo and rebuild momentum for improved relations.

The North’s withdrawal from Tokyo is also a setback for plans, agreed at a 2018 summit between Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, to pursue a joint Korean bid to host the 2032 Games.

When South Korea hosted the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018, Kim sent his sister to head the country’s delegation, athletes from both sides marched under a unified flag at the opening ceremony, and fielded a combined women’s ice hockey team.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula rose last month when the North resumed missile tests, although both sides said after the launches that they wanted to continue dialogue.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said Seoul had hoped the Tokyo Olympics would be a chance to “foster peace and reconciliation between the two Koreas”.

“We regret it could not happen,” it added in a statement.

Tokyo Olympic organisers said they were aware of news reports on North Korea’s move and would work with other countries for the success of the Games.

“We will continue to prepare the best possible stage to welcome athletes from all countries and regions,” the organising committee said in a statement.

The North made its decision to pull out of Tokyo at a meeting of its Olympic committee and Sports Minister Kim Il Guk on March 25, the ministry said on its website.

“The committee decided not to join the 32nd Olympics Games to protect athletes from the global health crisis caused by the coronavirus,” it said.

North Korea says it has not had any coronavirus cases.

Kim, known to be a fan of U.S. basketball, has publicly displayed his ambitions to promote professional sports.

The March 25 meeting also discussed ways to develop professional sports technologies, earn more medals at international competitions and expand public sports activities over the next five years, the ministry said.

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Read alsoHungarian FM Szijjártó meets Japanese minister for Olympics

South Korea’s LG to withdraw from the smartphone market

smartphone LG

South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc will wind down its loss-making mobile division after failing to find a buyer, a move that is set to make it the first major smartphone brand to completely withdraw from the market.

Its decision to pull out will leave its 10% share in North America, where it is the No. 3 brand, to be gobbled up by Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc with its domestic rival expected to have the edge.

“In the United States, LG has targeted mid-priced – if not ultra-low – models and that means Samsung, which has more mid-priced product lines than Apple, will be better able to attract LG users,”

said Ko Eui-young, an analyst at Hi Investment & Securities.

LG’s smartphone division has logged nearly six years of losses totalling some $4.5 billion. Dropping out of the fiercely competitive sector would allow LG to focus on growth areas such as electric vehicle components, connected devices and smart homes, it said in a statement.

In better times, LG was early to market with a number of cell phone innovations including ultra-wide angle cameras and at its peak in 2013, it was the world’s third-largest smartphone manufacturer behind Samsung and Apple.

But later, its flagship models suffered from both software and hardware mishaps which combined with slower software updates saw the brand steadily slip in favour. Analysts have also criticised the company for lack of expertise in marketing compared to Chinese rivals.

While other well-known mobile brands such as Nokia, HTC and Blackberry have also fallen from lofty heights, they have yet to disappear completely.

LG’s current global share is only about 2%. It shipped 23 million phones last year which compares with 256 million for Samsung, according to research provider Counterpoint.

In addition to North America, it does have a sizeable presence in Latin America, where it ranks as the No. 5 brand.

While rival Chinese brands such as Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi do not have much of a presence in the United States, in part due to frosty bilateral relations, their and Samsung’s low to mid-range product offerings are set to benefit from LG’s absence in Latin America, analysts said.

LG’s smartphone division, the smallest of its five divisions accounting for about 7% of revenue, is expected to be wound down by July 31.

In South Korea, the division’s employees will be moved to other LG Electronics businesses and affiliates, while elsewhere decisions on employment will be made at the local level.

Analysts said they were told in a conference call that LG plans to retain its 4G and 5G core technology patents as well as core R&D personnel, and will continue to develop communication technologies for 6G. It has yet to decide whether to license out such intellectual property in the future, they added.

LG will provide service support and software updates for customers of existing mobile products for a period of time which will vary by region, it added.

Talks to sell part of the business to Vietnam’s Vingroup fell through due to differences about terms, sources with knowledge of the matter have said.

LG Elec shares have risen about 7% since a January announcement that it was considering all options for the business.

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Read alsoHuawei’s economic influence in Hungary growing – study

12 countries’ military officers sign draft condemning Myanmar security force’s violence

Myanmar Mianmar Riots Tüntetések Protests Fire Felgyújtott Flame

The top military officer from the United States and nearly a dozen of his counterparts are set to condemn on Saturday the deadly use of force by Myanmar’s security forces and say the country’s military has lost credibility with its people.

The joint statement, obtained by Reuters ahead of its planned release this weekend, is a rare declaration by the most senior military commanders from countries around the world, including in Asia and Europe.

It came after news reports and witnesses said Myanmar security forces killed 114 people on Saturday, including some children, on Armed Forces Day – the bloodiest day of its crackdown on pro-democracy protesters since last month’s military coup.

“As Chiefs of Defense, we condemn the use of lethal force against unarmed people by the Myanmar Armed Forces and associated security services,” read the draft statement.

It was signed by 12 chiefs of defense from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, United Kingdom and the United States.

Diplomats from these countries have already condemned the bloodshed by Myanmar’s military, making the statement largely symbolic. Myanmar’s military has so far ignored criticism of its violent crackdown on dissent.

While the draft statement did not explicitly condemn the Feb. 1 coup, which ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government, it said that

a professional military must follow international standards for conduct “and is responsible for protecting – not harming – the people it serves.”

It said the country’s military must “cease violence and work to restore respect and credibility with the people of Myanmar that it has lost through its actions.”

Myanmar’s military has said it took power because November elections won by Suu Kyi’s party were fraudulent, an assertion dismissed by the country’s election commission. Suu Kyi remains in detention at an undisclosed location and many other figures in her National League for Democracy party are also in custody.

The deaths on Saturday, Myanmar’s annual Armed Forces Day, which commemorates the start of resistance to Japanese occupation in 1945, would take the number of civilians reported killed since the coup to more than 440.

New U.S. and European sanctions this week increased external pressure on the junta. But Myanmar’s generals have enjoyed some support from Russia and China, both veto-holding members of the U.N. Security Council that could block any potential U.N. action.

Russia’s deputy defense minister Alexander Fomin attended a parade in Myanmar’s capital Naypyitaw on Saturday, having met senior junta leaders a day earlier.

Diplomats said eight countries – Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand – sent representatives to the Armed Forces Day parade, but Russia was the only one to send a minister.

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Read alsoAmerican Senate Majority Leader called Hungary a “third-world authority”

Foreign minister: South Korea brings biggest greenfield investment in Hungary’s history

sk innovation

South Korean company SK Innovation is bringing to Hungary a new 2.3 billion US dollar battery plant in what will be the country’s biggest ever greenfield investment, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said on Friday.

The development in Fejér County, in central Hungary, will create 2,500 jobs, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said, adding that SK Innovation is South Korea’s largest energy and chemicals company and one of the world’s leading battery manufacturers.

The company’s first two overseas plants are located in Komárom, in northern Hungary, and its third European plant producing batteries for electric cars will also be located in Hungary, he said.

The government is providing financial support, and this agreement is in the process of being finalised, he said, adding the amount would be the largest single government grant in Hungarian investment history.

Construction of the 700,000sqm plant is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of the year, Szijjártó said, adding that the government has already approved a large-scale regional transport and electricity infrastructure development project serving the plant.

The foreign minister called the investment “a fantastic success” at a time of enormous health and economic challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. He said Hungary had to work “much harder to get the SK Innovation investment amid extremely keen competition” which, he added, together with other Asian investors, had turned the country into “a frontrunner in electric battery production in Europe”.

Szijjártó said that 32 major South Korean companies have made investments in Hungary over the past six years, adding that bilateral trade turnover had increased by 28 percent last year.

Kim Jun, SK Innovation’s president-CEO, said in a video message that the company’s board decided to build the Ivancsa plant, the largest in Europe, with annual capacity of 30 GWh, at a meeting on Jan. 28. He called the site’s location “optimal” in terms of logistics and labour.

Read alsoGerman firms to invest EUR 11.1m Hungary

South Korea’s Iljin Materials to build EUR 10.7 copper foil plant in Hungary

Iljin Materials to build HUF 3.8 bn copper foil plant in Hungary

South Korea’s Iljin Materials will build a 3.8 billion forint (EUR 10.7) copper foil plant in Gödöllő, on the outskirts of the capital, to supply Samsung SDI’s growing local production capacity for electric vehicle batteries, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign affairs and trade minister, said on Monday.

The government is supporting the construction of the plant, which will have an annual capacity of about 10,000 tonnes, with a 722 million forint grant, Szijjártó said.

Several South Korean battery manufacturers have set up plants in Hungary with the largest capacities in the world, the minister said.

Hungary last year secured ten investments by electric auto sector companies, Szijjártó said, adding that Iljin Materials’ investment was the eighth one in the country this year in spite of the pandemic.

Hungary is the world’s tenth largest exporter of electric vehicle batteries,

Szijjártó said, adding that if the country continued to attract investments at the current rate, it had a realistic shot at reaching the top five.

Companies like Iljin Materials are allies of Hungary, he said, underlining the importance of keeping the country running by providing jobs to people.

He said the coronavirus pandemic was set to bring about a new global economic order “which will begin with … fierce competition in which investments will be worth gold”.

The minister said companies reeling from the pandemic were looking for new investment destinations in which they could establish a market presence quicker and more effectively.

Iljin Materials CEO Kim Byoung Chan said

Hungary was becoming a European hub for electromobility, adding that the copper foil plant was “just the beginning” and that the company would expand its investment in Hungary.

budapest tourist tourism panorama unsplash
Read alsoChicken paprikash and easy-going people: a Korean student’s impressions of Hungary

Dongwha Electrolyte to set up EUR 31m plant near Budapest

foreign minister speech

Dongwha Electrolyte Hungary will set up an 11 billion forint (EUR 31m) electrolyte plant in Soskut, on the outskirts of Budapest, the minister of foreign affairs and trade announced on Thursday.

The investments will create 90 jobs initially, Péter Szijjártó told a press conference.

He said big investments in battery plants locally by Samsung SDI, SK Innovation and other Korean companies had created a demand that the Dongwha group can fill.

Competition was fierce for the investment since the Dongwha Group has plants in four continents, Szijjártó said, noting that the 13,000sqm plant is Dongwha’s first in Europe.

The volume of Hungary’s trade with South Korea has increased by 16 percent to close to 2 billion dollars in the first six months of 2020 amid the pandemic with Hungary’s exports going up by 26 percent, the foreign minister said.

Lee Si-Joon, the president of Dongwha Enterprise, said their investment is poised to serve as “an important jumping board” for Hungary to become one Europe’s leading battery producers.

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Read alsoChinese investors to disappear from Budapest’s real estate market?!

Chicken paprikash and easy-going people: a Korean student’s impressions of Hungary

budapest tourist tourism panorama unsplash

After three years in Hungary and a successfully passed language exam, Han Seunghwa shares her experience with the Hungarian language and her impressions of Hungarian people.

Han Seunghwa arrived in Hungary in 2017 to study International Business Economics at the Budapest Business School with the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship. This is a popular programme that allows international students to pursue their Bachelor, Master’s, or PhD studies at a higher education institution in Hungary.

Similarly to other exchange students, Han took the opportunity to learn Hungarian after she arrived here, and now, after a successful language exam, The Kim Family has done an interview with her about her background and motivations.

When asked about her choice, Han says that she selected Hungary because her partner is Hungarian, and she finds that “Hungary offers just as many opportunities to foreign students as other European countries”. She started learning Hungarian also because she wanted to be able to communicate with locals. Now she is still a student, but once she gets her degree, she plans to stay and work in Hungary.

Complicated grammar but familiar sounds

Han is a very devoted language learner. Apart from the help she receives from friends and in language classes, she often watches dubbed movies with English or Korean subtitles. She spends around 30 minutes a day practising the language.

Given her goals of staying in Hungary, she decided to take a C1 (advanced level) exam in Hungarian. She already has some experience in exam-taking, as she has successfully completed the B1 (intermediate) level. She says that even if the oral exam took shorter than the written one, she found it way more challenging than the writing part.

To the question of what is the greatest challenge in the Hungarian language, her response is the grammar: it is very complicated, and there are a lot of irregularities.

And what she really likes about the language is how it sounds. Almost every consonant is followed by a vowel, which makes it somewhat similar to Korean.

Her favourite Hungarian proverb is “Ami késik, nem múlik” (all is not lost that is delayed) which, other than following this consonant-vowel pattern, also bears an important message to her, helping her to hold out in times when being hardworking is simply not enough.

Low prices and friendly Hungarians

The most exciting part of learning a foreign language is probably the opportunity to immerse in a new culture. Having lived in several other places such as the USA and China, Han is familiar with the fact that each culture has its own peculiarities.

chicken paprikash -hungarian gastronomy
Chicken paprikash.
Photo: Funzine

She thinks that Hungarians are friendly, well-mannered, and warm-hearted people. She says that people in Hungary are very different from Koreans in that they are quite laid-back and do not rush anything, which is “in a big contrast to a speed-based Korean economy.” Another thing she noticed is that Hungarians really appreciate the time they spend alone and with their friends or family, as opposed to Koreans who are a lot more disciplined in this regard.

Her favourite Hungarian food is chicken paprikash, as it reminds her of flavours from her home. When her parents were visiting her in Budapest, they loved the vast selection of fruits and low prices.

For her favourite memories from Hungary, she mentions the time she was cooking with her friends, and she also really enjoyed her visit to a friend’s apartment at Lake Balaton.

Click here to find out what things Rosamund Pike found so amazing during her stay in Budapest. And if you want to read about what foreigners find strange about Hungary or the Hungarian people, click here.

Samyang Biopharm to build EUR 24.9m medical equipment plant in Hungary

Samyang Biopharm to build HUF 8.6 bn medical equipment plant in Hungary

South Korean biopharmaceutical company Samyang Biopharm is investing 8.6 billion forints (EUR 24.9m) to build a medical equipment plant in Gödöllő, on the outskirts of Budapest, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign affairs and trade minister, said on Tuesday.

The investment will create 55 jobs in its first phase, the minister said, adding that the government is supporting the project with a 1.3 billion forint non-refundable grant.

The Gödöllő base will be the Samyang Group’s first European plant as well as the first South Korean pharmaceutical investment to be brought to Hungary, Szijjártó said.

He said the novel coronavirus pandemic had underscored the importance of capacities to produce medical equipment, adding that Samyang’s investment would reduce Hungary’s vulnerability “in difficult times”.

South Korean investments bring the highest technological standards to Hungary,

the minister said, adding that they were based on extensive R+D and represented high value-added that could help advance the “dimensional shift” of the Hungarian economy.

South Korean companies continue to view Hungary as a favourable investment destination and business environment, Szijjártó said, adding that hundreds of millions of euros were expected to flow into Hungary in investments from South Korea over the coming months.

hungary south korea ties
Read alsoForeign minister: Hundreds of millions of euros to flow into Hungary from South Korea

Foreign minister: Hundreds of millions of euros to flow into Hungary from South Korea

hungary south korea ties

Hundreds of millions of euros are expected to flow into Hungary in investments from South Korea this year, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told MTI in Seoul on Monday.

Several South Korean battery manufacturers have decided to set up plants in Hungary, Szijjártó said during an official visit.

hungary south korea ties
Read alsoForeign minister: Hundreds of millions of euros to flow into Hungary from South Korea

These companies “appreciate Hungarian [business] environment, political stability and Hungarians’ commitment, expertise and diligence, as well as … the lowest corporate tax in Europe,” Szijjártó said.

Hungary is set to “remain the flagship of European car manufacturing in a new era, that of electric vehicles,” he said.

Trade between the two countries came to 3.5 billion dollars in 2019, Szijjártó said. Despite the “difficulties in world economy”, Hungarian exports to South Korea grew by 35 percent in January-April this year, he added.

hungary south korea ties
Read alsoForeign minister: Hundreds of millions of euros to flow into Hungary from South Korea

South Korea replaced Germany as the top investor in Hungary in 2019, he said.

During the visit, Szijjártó met his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha, and held bilateral talks with Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee. He also met representatives of SK Innovation, Samsung SDI, Doosan Solus and Hankook Tire.

LOT Polish Airlines’ Budapest-Seoul non-stop flight re-launched

LOT Polish Airlines’ Budapest-Seoul non-stop flight re-launched (Photo Budapest AirportBaranyi Róbert)

LOT Polish Airlines resumed its Budapest-Seoul non-stop route, temporarily discontinued due to the pandemic, on Monday. The first non-stop long-haul flight of the summer departed to Seoul on Monday, and going forward it will be operated between Budapest and the capital of South Korea on a weekly basis, departing each Monday.

The much-awaited Budapest-Seoul flight was first launched by LOT Polish Airlines last fall. From then on, there has been great demand for the flight between Liszt Ferenc International Airport and Incheon Airport of Seoul: the Boeing 787 Dreamliners offering up to 294 seats served on the route with high seat occupancy.

Thanks to the easing of travel restrictions around the globe, the popular air link was possible to re-establish in the middle of July; currently it is operated every Monday between Budapest and Seoul.

According to statistics a great amount of tickets were previously purchased by Korean citizens, mostly with the purpose of recreational activities in Hungary, and almost a quarter of all passengers used the flight on business. Also thanks to LOT non-stop air service, many Hungarians decided to discover South Korea even if they did not plan to do so before. The popularity of the Budapest-Seoul non-stop route is also demonstrated by the fact that air traffic between the two cities grew by 50% between September and March.

The re-launch, therefore, has a special significance for both tourism and business relations between Hungary and South-Korea. Besides the non-stop long-haul flight, as announced last year LOT has launched non-stop air service i.e. to Dubrovnik, Croatia for this summer.

We are delighted to resume today our non-stop flights between Budapest and Seoul.

After very difficult times of lockdown and suspension of international air travels caused by the global pandemic, we observe an increased passenger demand for international travels. Therefore, this summer we would like to invite passengers from Hungary to South Korea, to Croatia and to Poland. Hopefully over a time, we will be able to offer a wider range of flights from LOT’s second base in Europe. – said Krzysztof Moczulski, LOT’s spokesperson.

Budapest Airport and LOT Polish Airlines are providing for the protection of health of passengers and crews by all possible means. All information regarding onboard safety regulations are available HERE.

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Read alsoWizz Air suspends several flights from Budapest due to new COVID-19 restrictions

S. Korea says DPRK blows up inter-Korean liaison office in Kaesong

the DPRK blew up the Kaesong joint liaison office

South Korea’s Unification Ministry said on Tuesday that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) demolished an inter-Korean liaison office in the DPRK’s border town of Kaesong by an explosion.

The South Korean ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said in a brief statement that the DPRK blew up the Kaesong joint liaison office at 2:49 p.m. local time (0549 GMT).

The liaison office was opened in September 2018 for the round-the-clock communications between the two Koreas in accordance with the Panmunjom Declaration.

The declaration was signed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un after their first summit on April 27, 2018 at the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom.

The joint liaison office has been temporarily closed since January over the COVID-19 outbreak.

According to a military source cited by multiple local media, an explosion was heard and smoke was seen rising from the Kaesong Industrial Complex, an inter-Korean factory park in Kaesong housing the liaison office.

An official at the South Korean defense ministry told Xinhua over phone that the ministry had nothing to confirm over the issue.

The explosion came after Kim Yo Jong, first vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and younger sister of the DPRK leader, said in a statement Saturday night that she had given instructions for decisive action to be taken.

“If I drop a hint of our next plan the South Korean authorities are anxious about, the right to taking the next action against the enemy will be entrusted to the General Staff of our army,” she said, indicating a demolition of the liaison office.

The DPRK has repeatedly lashed out at South Korea in protest of anti-DPRK propaganda leaflets sent by defectors and activists across the border. Pyongyang closed its joint liaison office and cut off all communication lines with South Korea last week.

South Korean President Moon on Monday offered to have dialogue with the DPRK to find a breakthrough, saying the time has come that the two Koreas “would no longer sit and wait for improved conditions.”

Moon said he wished to actively find and put into practice the projects that the two Koreas can choose and push for on their own, expressing his anticipation that the DPRK would open its door for dialogue and put ideas together.

Denuclearization talks between the DPRK and the United States have stalled since the second summit between top DPRK leader Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump ended with no agreement in February 2019 at the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.

The South Korean president proposed in April to resume inter-Korean cooperation with the DPRK by jointly tackling the COVID-19 outbreak.

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Read alsoDPRK military says ready to go into action

DPRK military says ready to go into action

The-military-of-the-Democratic-Peoples-Republic-of-Korea-DPRK-kim

The military of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Tuesday it is getting itself fully ready for providing a sure military guarantee to any external measures to be taken by the Party and government.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted a statement released by the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) as saying that

the army was keeping close watch “on the current situation in which the north-south relations are turning worse and worse,” and it would “rapidly and thoroughly implement any decisions and orders of the Party and government.”

The statement said the army had accepted a government’s opinion “on studying an action plan for taking measures to make the army advance again into the zones that had been demilitarized” under the north-south agreement in 2018, as well as to “take a thorough-going security measure for positively cooperating with our people from all walks of life in their large-scale leaflet scattering struggle against the enemy.”

“We will map out the military action plans for rapidly carrying out the said opinions to receive approval from the Party Central Military Commission,” it said.

The DPRK has repeatedly lashed out at South Korea since last week in protest against anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets sent by defectors and activists across the border. Pyongyang has also closed its joint liaison office and cut off all communication lines with the South.

Kim Jong Un cuts off inter-Korean communication lines

DPRK leader Kim Jong Un

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) cut off all inter-Korean communication lines at noon Tuesday, the official Korean Central News Agency reported on Tuesday morning.

The relevant field of DPRK side “completely cut off and shut down the liaison line between the authorities of the north and the south, which has been maintained through the north-south joint liaison office” starting from 12:00 (0300 GMT) on June 9, the report said.

Other communications will also be cut off, which includes the East and West Seas communication lines between the military of the North and the South, the inter-Korean trial communication line and the hotline between the office building of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea and South Korean presidential office Chongwadae, according to the KCNA.

The development is apparent follow-up action of DPRK after its top officials have recently threatened to shut down the inter-Korean liaison office or even withdraw from the military cooperation agreement signed in 2018 in protest at anti-DPRK propaganda leaflets that defectors from the North fly across the border.

On Thursday, Kim Yo-jong, sister of top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, issued a statement threatening to close the liaison office or even completely dismantle a now-shuttered joint industrial park in the North’s border city of Kaesong unless Seoul stops defector groups from sending leaflets into the North.

“The South Korean authorities connived with the hostile acts against the DPRK by the riff-raff, while trying to dodge heavy responsibility with nasty excuses. This has driven the inter-Korean relations into a catastrophe,” the KCNA said.

It went on to say that “the disgusting riff-raff have committed hostile acts against the DPRK by taking advantage of the South Korean authorities’ irresponsible stance and with their connivance.”

“We have reached a conclusion that there is no need to sit face to face with the South Korean authorities and there is no issue to discuss with them, as they have only aroused our dismay,” it added.

S.Korea urges DPRK to maintain inter-Korean communication lines

South Korea urged the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Tuesday to maintain communication lines between the two Koreas after Pyongyang’s threat to cut off all inter-Korean hotlines, multiple local media reported.
An unidentified South Korean unification ministry official was quoted as telling local reporters that the inter-Korean communication lines, which are a basic tool for communication, should be kept in place as agreed upon between the two Koreas.
The official said South Korea will follow the inter-Korean agreement while makings efforts for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.

Budapest memorial for ship tragedy to be unveiled in autumn

Danube-tourist-boat-millenium budapest

A memorial dedicated to the victims of the 2019 ship collision claiming many South Korean lives in Budapest is being designed and planned to be inaugurated in autumn, Peter Szijjártó, Hungary’s foreign minister, said on Facebook on Monday, after talks with his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha over the phone.

The South Korean foreign minister thanked Hungary for the solidarity it showed after the tragedy that claimed the lives of 26 South Korean tourists and two Hungarian crew members when a sightseeing boat and a cruise ship collided near Margaret Bridge on May 29.

She also thanked Hungary for the commemoration that marked the first anniversary of the tragedy, Szijjártó said.

The two ministers also discussed the coronavirus pandemic and recognised each other’s efforts in containing the virus.

“Foreign Minister Kyung-wha thanked Hungary for allowing employees of Korean companies to enter the country, and I thanked the Korean companies for their investments in Hungary,” Szijjártó said.

He noted that the largest volume of foreign investments in Hungary was made by South Korean companies last year which lifted bilateral trade by 21 percent in the first quarter of this year to close to one billion dollars.

Szijjártó further noted close bilateral cooperation in international affairs.

Hungary supports South Korea’s membership in the United Nations Security Council and urges talks to be launched between the EU and South Korea on an investment protection agreement.

Ship collision – Commemoration of 2019 tragedy held on Danube

ship collision commemoration

A commemoration was held on Friday in Budapest near Margaret Bridge on the first anniversary of the tragedy that claimed 28 lives when a sightseeing boat and a cruise ship collided on the River Danube.

On May 29 last year, the Viking Sigyn cruise ship collided with the Hableány sightseeing boat with 33 South Korean tourists and a crew of two Hungarians on board. Seven tourists were rescued from the water after the collision and the rest died. One of the bodies could not be recovered.

hableány ship boat danube
Read alsoOne victim of capsized Hableány still missing – reward offered!

At the ceremony, a wreath was placed on the river by the crew of the Millennium ship of Panorama Deck, the company that operated Hableany.

ship collision commemoration
Photo: MTI/Balogh Zoltán

They also lit 28 candles and sounded the ship’s bell 28 times to commemorate the victims.

FOr that matter, the criminal trial of the case of a ship collision with a sightseeing boat on the Danube claiming 28 lives has been postponed to begin on September 8.

viking-sigyn-hungary-court
Read alsoShip collision – Viking Sigyn captain won’t waive right to trial

According to the charges brought against the cruise ship’s Ukrainian captain he was steering the ship alone as it reached Margaret Bridge. The captain failed to attend to his duties for at least five minutes, according to the charges. During that time, his ship collided with the Hableany sightseeing boat and pushed it under water.

The cruise ship’s captain has been charged with fatal negligence and failing to provide assistance to persons in danger. Those acts are punishable with two to eleven years in prison under Hungarian law.

A preparatory meeting for a trial was held on March 11 which, however, could not be attended by any of the south Korean victims or the relatives of the South Korean survivors because of the coronavirus epidemic, the court said.

Two further preparatory meetings scheduled for April 30 and May 28 could not either be held because of the virus, it said.

How can we stop the spreading of the virus if there are countries that do not do anything?

Coronavirus epidemic North Korea

There are 15 countries in the world where the coronavirus epidemic is not present yet – according to official sources. Three of them are dictatorships like Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and North Korea while the remaining 12 are island countries in Oceania that separated themselves from the rest of the world.

Out of the above mentioned 15 countries, 6 is on the list of the 15 countries being the least prepared for a global epidemic in the world. According to index.hu, it was one of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow’s, Turkmenistan’s president from 2007,

main targets to develop the country’s healthcare system.

Since he is a dentist, he wanted to become the doctor of his nation and coronavirus does not help in this issue. An emigrated doctor told in 2014 about the country’s healthcare system that it is on the level of the 1970s so they are not too well-prepared for a global epidemic.

Berdimuhamedow; whose country is in the last position on the Worldwide Press Freedom Index, did everything to make Turkmens more healthy. For example, in 2016, he banned selling tobacco products in the country and nominated April the month of health and happiness during which everybody has to do exercises even during work.

Interestingly, official data says that there are no infected in Turkmenistan which is interesting taking into consideration that in neighbouring Iran, with which Ashgabat had a 1,000 km long common border, there are 70 thousand infected and 4,500 dead. When the border was closed between the two countries, on February 24, there were already 61 infected in Iran. However, for example, 

cafés and restaurants are still open in Turkmenistan.

In Tajikistan, the situation is mostly the same. The dictator there is Emomali Rahmon since 1994, and even though he banned common prayers at the mosques at the beginning of March, he abolished that a three weeks later. On March 22, he said in his new year speech to 12 thousand students that the schools are still open, and even the 2020 football season continued.

The country did 700 tests and 4,000 people are in quarantine and masks are obligatory to wear even in the most hidden Tajik settlements. Importantly, the economic consequences will be catastrophic in Tajikistan since the Russian border is closed so

hundreds of thousands of guest workers have to remain at home.

There have been no infections reported from North Korea, as well, even though the epidemic cost the lives of 3,500 Chinese and 200 South Koreans. Strict measures to counter the spread of the virus; however, have been implemented even by Pyongyang before. For example, those coming from abroad have to stay in quarantine for 30 days, there is no air, and railway traffic between the country and Russia or China and the Communist leadership has decided to build a new hospital lately.

People must wear a mask and use hand sanitiser while using public transportation and those driving a bus have to wear gloves. Interestingly,

even US President Donal Trump offered help for the Communist dictatorship

which Kim Jong Un welcomed with “heartfelt gratitude”.

In the small island states of Oceania and Lesotho (South Africa), the virus is not present, as well. However, there is a devastating tropical storm now in that part of the Pacific ocean because of which those countries need to receive immediate international help. And that can result in receiving the virus, as well. Interestingly, according to the Global Health Security Index,

the healthcare system is the 9th worst in Vanuatu

where there are only 2 ventilators, 20 beds and 60 doctors in the local hospital for 300 thousand people.

Hankook Tire restarts production at Hungary plant

hankook

South Korean tyre maker Hankook Tire on Tuesday said it has restarted production at its plant in Rácalmás, south of Budapest, in order to ensure it can continue supplying its partners.

Hankook Tire Magyarország suspended production at the plant between March 30 and April 7 due to the novel coronavirus outbreak and the shutdown of most vehicle makers in Europe.

Responding to a query by MTI, the company said

it will continue to supply its employees with face masks, enforce strict hygiene practices, regularly disinfect its premises, provide extra bus services for its employees and keep them updated about the outbreak.

Hankook Tire Magyarország employs more than 3,300 people to turn out 19 million tyres a year.

The company declined to reveal the percentage of employees that reported for work on Tuesday.

Audi coronavirus Győr Hungary
Read alsoCoronavirus epidemic over? – Audi restarted its production in Győr – UPDATE

WHO official says coronavirus epidemic “far from over” in Asia-Pacific region

Philippines-pork-market

A World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Tuesday the coronavirus epidemic is “far from over” in the Asia-Pacific region, as infections in Japan on Tuesday surpassed 2,000.

“This is going to be a long-term battle and we cannot let down our guard,” WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific Takeshi Kasai told a virtual media briefing, urging cooperation in the region to halt the spread of COVID-19.

Japan’s health ministry and local governments said 2,183 people had been infected with the COVID-19 virus in Japan as of 8:30 p.m. local time, with 78 new cases and seven deaths recorded in Tokyo.

This has added pressure on the government to take further measures to curb the domestic spread of the virus, as Japan’s top government spokesperson denied rumors of a lockdown on Monday.

South Korea decided to begin this year’s new school year with online classes from April 9 in a gradual manner amid lingering concerns about the outbreak. The country reported 125 more cases of the COVID-19, raising the total number of infections to 9,786.

The country will force all entrants from overseas to be put under self-quarantine for two weeks beginning Wednesday midnight local time.

Thailand’s Phuket International Airport will be shut from April 10 to 30 after Phuket Province sealed its entry points by land and sea amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Ministry of Public Health on Tuesday reported 127 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections to 1,651. One person has died, bringing the total number of COVID-19 deaths to 10.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo declared a public health emergency status and a 24.75 billion-U.S. dollar spending to allow the government to edge up development budget deficit and increase the spending for efforts to curb the COVID-19 spread.

The country, which has recorded the highest death toll in Southeast Asia, has decided to ban all arrivals and transits of foreign citizens. The novel coronavirus has killed 136 people and infected 1,528 until Tuesday.

The Australian government has canceled deployment of U.S. Marines to the Northern Territory (NT) amid the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 100,000 businesses have registered for Australia‘s wage subsidy scheme announced on Monday afternoon.

The 130 billion Australian dollar (80.2 billion U.S. dollar) economic lifeline entitles employees who have had their work status affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to fortnightly payments of 1,500 AUD (926.2 U.S. dollar).

In Malaysia, a total of 43 people have died of COVID-19 with 140 newly confirmed cases, bringing the total number to 2,766, said the Health Ministry.

Singapore’s Ministry of Health reported 47 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases to 926.

The death toll in India rose to 32 as the number of confirmed cases in the country reached 1,251.

With mounting cases in the world’s second-most populous country, Indian railways said it was ready to modify 20,000 coaches into quarantine isolation units.

Maldives has seen an overall reduction of COVID-19 cases, with more patients recovering than new ones being confirmed amid stringent precautionary measures taken by the government.

The country has 17 confirmed cases of COVID-19, out of which 13 patients have made a full recovery.

One more COVID-19 patient in Vietnam has recovered on Tuesday, bringing the total cured cases in the country to 56, Vietnam News Agency reported. Its capital city of Hanoi set up makeshift stations providing 10-minute COVID-19 tests for free.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ordered a 15-day nationwide social distancing against COVID-19 starting from Wednesday, requiring people to stay at home, keep a distance of at least 2 meters from others, and avoid gatherings of more than two people.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Health confirmed one more COVID-19 case, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 204.

The Cambodian government decided to give tax breaks for three months to aviation companies starting from March to May to help offset losses caused by the COVID-19.
Myanmar confirmed the first death among its 14 positive COVID-19 cases.