South Korea’s military scrambled fighter jets and attack helicopters on Monday after five North Korean drones crossed into its airspace, with one aircraft crashing, according to the country’s defense ministry.
The ministry said South Korea’s military fired shots at the drones, but added it couldn’t confirm whether any drones were shot down.
Lee Seung-oh, a South Korean defense official, said four of the drones flew around Ganghwa island and one flew over capital Seoul’s northern airspace.
“This is a clear provocation and an invasion of our airspace by North Korea,” Lee said during a briefing.
One of South Korea’s KA-1 light attack aircraft crashed on takeoff as it was deployed to respond to the drones, according to the defense ministry. The cause for the crash is unclear, and no casualties were reported.
In response to the airspace violation, Lee said, the South Korean military sent its manned and unmanned reconnaissance assets to the inter-Korean border region, with some of them crossing into the North Korean territory.
The assets conducted a reconnaissance mission, including filming North Korea’s military installations, Lee added.
The South Korean military first detected the drones in the skies near the northwestern city of Gimpo at around 10:25 a.m. local time Monday, according to the country’s defense ministry.
The last time a North Korean drone was detected below the inter-Korean border was in 2017, according to the South Korean defense ministry. At the time, South Korea said it had recovered a crashed North Korean drone that was spying on a US-built missile system in the country.
North Korea has aggressively stepped up its missile tests this year, often launching multiple weapons at a time. It’s fired missiles on 36 separate days – the highest annual tally since Kim Jong Un took power in 2012.
Most recently, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles on Friday, according to South Korean officials. The missiles were fired from Pyongyang’s Sunan area into the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
The secretive country usually test-launches its missiles in this way, firing them at a lofted angle so that they land in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
However, in October, it fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) at a normal trajectory that went over Japan for the first time in five years.
In November, it claimed to have launched a “new type” of ICBM, Hwasong-17, from Pyongyang International Airfield, a missile that could theoretically reach the mainland United States. And last week, Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un’s sister and a top official in the regime, claimed in state media that North Korea was ready to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at a normal trajectory, a flight pattern that could prove the weapons can threaten the continental United States.
The United States and South Korean experts have warned that Pyongyang could be preparing for a nuclear test, its first in more than five years. North Korea has been developing its nuclear missile forces in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, ramping up its activities since the last of three meetings in 2019 between Kim Jong Un and then-US President Donald Trump failed to yield any agreement.
In October, Kim warned his nuclear forces are fully prepared for “actual war.”
“Our nuclear combat forces… proved again their full preparedness for actual war to bring the enemies under their control,” Kim said in comments reported by the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military fired warning shots, scrambled fighter jets and flew surveillance assets across the heavily fortified border with North Korea on Monday, after North Korean drones violated its airspace for the first time in five years, officials said.
South Korea’s military detected five drones from North Korea crossing the border, and one traveled as far as the northern part of the South Korean capital region, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The military responded by firing warning shots and launching fighter jets and attack helicopters to shoot down the North Korean drones. The attack helicopters fired a combined 100 rounds but it wasn’t immediately known if the North Korean drones were shot down. There were no immediate reports of civilian damage on the ground in South Korea, according to the Defense Ministry.
One of the aircraft, a KA-1 light attack plane, crashed during takeoff but its two pilots both ejected safely, defense officials said. They said they also requested civilian airports in and near Seoul to halt takeoffs temporarily.
South Korea also sent surveillance assets near and across the border to photograph key military facilities in North Korea as corresponding measures against the North Korean drone flights, the Joint Chiefs said. It didn’t elaborate, but some observers say that South Korea likely flew unmanned drones inside North Korean territory.
“Our military will thoroughly and resolutely respond to this kind of North Korean provocation,” Maj. Gen. Lee Seung-o, director of operations at the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters.
South Korea’s public confirmation of any reconnaissance activities inside North Korea is highly unusual and likely reflects a resolve by the conservative government led by President Yoon Suk Yeol to get tough on North Korean provocations. North Korea could respond with more fiery rhetoric or weapons tests or other provocation, some observers say.
On Friday, South Korea detected two short-range ballistic missile launches by North Korea, the latest in the country’s torrid run of weapons tests this year. Friday’s launches were seen as a protest of the South Korean-U.S. joint air drills that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal.
It’s the first time for North Korean drones to enter South Korean airspace since 2017, when a suspected North Korean drone was found crashed in South Korea. South Korean military officials said at the time that the drone with a Sony-made camera photographed a U.S. missile defense system in South Korea.
North Korea has previously touted its drone program, and South Korean officials said the North has about 300 drones. In 2014, several suspected North Korean drones equipped with Japanese-made cameras were found south of the border. Experts said they were low-tech but could be considered a potential security threat.
Earlier this month, North Korea claimed to have performed major tests needed to acquire its first spy satellite and a more mobile intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. They were among high-tech weapons systems that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to introduce along with multi-warheads, underwater-launched nuclear missiles, nuclear-powered submarines and hypersonic missiles.
North Korea released low-resolution photos of South Korean cities as viewed from space, but some experts in South Korea said the images were too crude for surveillance purposes. Such assessments infuriated North Korea, with Kim’s powerful sister Kim Yo Jong issuing a series of derisive terms to insult unidentified South Korean experts and express her anger.
North Korea is to hold a key ruling Workers’ Party conference this week to review past policies and set policy goals. Some experts say that during the meeting, North Korea will likely reaffirm its push to bolster nuclear and missile arsenals to cope with what it calls hostile U.S. policies, such as U.S.-led international sanctions and its regular military training with South Korea.
North Korea would eventually use its boosted nuclear capability as a bargaining chip to win international recognition as a legitimate nuclear state, the relaxing of international sanctions and other concessions, analysts say.
North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles on Friday, according to South Korean officials, the latest in an unprecedented year of weapons testing.
The missiles were fired from Pyongyang’s Sunan area at around 4:32 p.m. local time, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement Friday. It added the two missiles were launched into the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
The Japan Coast Guard said it believed a ballistic missile had fallen outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone, citing information from the country’s Ministry of Defense.
This marks the 36th day that North Korea has fired missiles this year alone, often launching multiple weapons at a time.
Under leader Kim Jong Un, the isolated nation has aggressively ramped up missile tests, with US and South Korean experts warning that Pyongyang could be preparing for a nuclear test – which would be its first in more than five years.
Satellite imagery earlier this year showed activity at its underground nuclear test site.
North Korea has delivered arms to Russia’s private military group Wagner, the White House said Thursday, calling the mercenary enterprise a “rival” for power to the defense and other ministries in the Kremlin.
The United States will boost sanctions against Wagner following North Korea’s sale of infantry rockets and missiles to the group last month, in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, said White House national security spokesman John Kirby.
“Wagner is searching around the world for arms suppliers to support its military operations in Ukraine,” Kirby told reporters.
“We can confirm that North Korea has completed an initial arms delivery to Wagner, which paid for that equipment,” he said.
According to Kirby the group, which is independent of the Russian defense establishment and is leading a bloody siege of Bakhmut, Ukraine, is spending more than $100 million each month in its Ukraine operations.
“Wagner is emerging as a rival power center to the Russian military and other Russian ministries,” Kirby said.
‘Sign of desperation’
In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency, the North Korean foreign ministry denied conducting any arms transaction with Russia, saying the story was “cooked up by some dishonest forces for different purposes.”
However, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the U.K. concurs with the American assessment that North Korea delivered arms to Russia for the Wagner group in violation of UN resolutions.
“The fact that President (Vladimir) Putin is turning to North Korea for help is a sign of Russia’s desperation and isolation,” Cleverly said in a statement.
“We will work with our partners to ensure that North Korea pays a high price for supporting Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.”
Close to Putin
The Wagner group is controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman once called “Putin’s chef” for his work catering dinners for the powerful leader before and after he became the Russian president.
A vocal critic of the Russian defense establishment’s handling of the war in Ukraine, Prigozhin, 61, runs a number of diverse businesses out of his Concord Catering group in St. Petersburg.
One is the Internet Research Agency, the notorious St. Petersburg internet “troll farm” that conducted a massive online operation to interfere with the US elections to help then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in 2016.
For that Prigozhin and several others in the operation were indicted in the United States in 2018.
Just last month, he boasted of the operation.
“We interfered, we are interfering and we will interfere,” he said.
He has also been hit with U.S. and European Union sanctions several times, particularly for Wagner Group activities.
The mercenary-like army has been carrying out operations — ostensibly private but implicitly approved by the Kremlin — in Syria, Libya, Sudan, the Central African Republic and other countries in Africa.
In several locations they have been accused of participating in atrocities. They have been accused of taking part with government forces in the massacre of 300 civilians in Moura, Mali in March 2022.
In Ukraine, the group has served as an elite special forces-type operation that has better training, equipment and supplies than the mainstream Russian military.
Convict recruits sent to front
Prigozhin himself reportedly dubbed the intense fight in Bakhmut a “meat grinder,” saying it would destroy the Ukraine army.
But Wagner itself has taken significant casualties, and Prigozhin has relied on prisons to supply Wagner with convicts to fill out its ranks.
Kirby estimated that the Wagner force now numbers about 50,000, including 10,000 skilled “contractors” and 40,000 convicts.
In Bakhmut and other areas of heavy fighting, Ukraine forces say the relatively untrained convicts have been forced to the front, where many have been killed or injured.
According to U.S. information, Kirby said, 90 percent of the estimated 1,000 Wagner fighters killed in the fighting in recent weeks were convicts.
“It seems as though Mr. Prigozhin is willing to just throw Russian bodies into the meat grinder in Bakhmut,” he said.
Kirby said Prigozhin appeared more interested in “influence peddling at the Kremlin” than protecting his troops.
“For him, it’s all about how good he looks to Mr. Putin, and how well he’s regarded at the Kremlin,” Kirby said.
North Korea’s foreign ministry calls Japan’s new $320bn security strategy ‘wrong and dangerous’, promises a response.
North Korea has condemned Japan’s planned military build-up and pledged action against what it described as Tokyo’s “wrong and dangerous choice” to bolster its defence sector.
The statement on Tuesday from North Korea’s foreign ministry comes just days after Japan unveiled a new $320bn security strategy that outlined plans for Japan’s military to mount “counter-strike capabilities”, and to respond to the threats posed by China, Russia and North Korea.
Japan’s sweeping, five-year military strategy will see the country become the world’s third-largest military spender after the United States and China.
Japan’s new security strategy effectively formalises a “new aggression policy” and fundamentally changes East Asia’s security environment, a spokesperson for Pyongyang’s foreign ministry said in a report published by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
In response to Japan’s move to “realise unjust and excessive ambition”, North Korea “will continue to show how concerned and displeased we are with practical action,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson blasted the US for “exalting and instigating Japan’s rearmament and re-invasion plan,” adding that Washington had no right to raise issue with Pyongyang’s efforts to bolster its own defences.
North Korea’s efforts to upgrade military capabilities have included a record number of ballistic missile launches this year, including missiles capable of carrying nuclear payloads and with varying ranges that could reach the US mainland and allies South Korea and Japan.
North Korea claimed advances on Monday in its efforts to acquire a spy satellite, saying that it had launched a test satellite and releasing low-resolution, black-and-white photos that showed a view from space of the South Korean capital, Seoul, and the nearby city of Incheon.
Some analysts in South Korea said the images were too crude to be satellite photos, according to the South Korean Yonhap news agency.
North Korea hit back at that criticism on Tuesday, with Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying it was “inappropriate and hasty” to assess her country’s satellite capabilities from those two photos alone.
Pyongyang’s efforts to develop a spy satellite were a “pressing priority directly linked to our security,” she said, adding that additional sanctions on her country would not stop such technological developments.
South Korea will seek international support and “try hard to impose additional sanctions on us”, she added.
“But, with our right to survival and development being threatened, why are we afraid of sanctions … and why would we stop?”
All ya gotta do is follow the damn train…and, ya know, not get shot.Gif: Activision / Kotaku
For a game that’s still technically in beta, Call of Duty’s DMZ sure has been one hell of a fun experience. DMZ’s latest twist concerns a new playable area selectable when loading into DMZ—but you’ll need a keycard to get in. You can find keycards for this new area throughout Al Mazrah. So, want one? Worry not: This guide will cover a few common ways you can find Building 21 keys as well as how to stay alive long enough to successfully escape with one.
DMZ is a PvPvE extraction-based game mode that’s new to Warzone 2.0. Here, multiple squads of three deploy into CoD’s battle royale map, Al Mazrah, compete for lootable resources, square off in intense gunfights with blisteringly difficult (sometimes unfairly so) bots, and other players who may or may not be your friends. Get in, do what you set out to do, survive, exfil, rinse and repeat. Until now, Al Mazrah has been the only map available in DMZ. That sort of began to change with Season 01 Reloaded, which introduced a new (and apparently more difficult) area. Many players have already found keycards for the new location. You can too.
No, it’s not Control. Behold the new and mysterious DMZ location: Building 21.Image: Activision
Where to look for Building 21 Keycards
Like other gear in DMZ, Building 21 keycards are randomly distributed. But you can prioritize certain locations to increase your chances of finding one.
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For now, much of what follows is based on hearsay and documented examples on the internet. r/DMZ is a great place to keep up on discoveries in this mode (and will likely be one of the first places players will start reporting the discovery of an entry point to Building 21). As a note: You can only store 20 keycards in your stash at any given time. So if you’ve been stocking other keys for random locations, you might need to use those up before aiming to find a Building 21 keycard. There seem to be three kinds of Building 21 keycards, the “Blue Access Card,” the “Red Access Card,” and one called “DRC Building 21 Access.” These seem to come in “used” and “worn” varieties, though the meaning of that isn’t known right now. Based on how other keys work in DMZ, it’s safe to assume this indicates how many uses you’ll get out of a key.
Players are also discovering notes with ultra-cryptic hints about Building 21’s location. No one’s been able to make heads or tails of these yet.
Red and orange loot caches, though rare, seem to be a good source of keycards. The chance of one containing a keycard is entirely up to RNG, however. You can find these caches, usually, in Strongholds, Fortresses, and on the train that moves around the map. These are dangerous locations, so be on your guard. If you get lucky and find one on first try and without much of a firefight, it’s time to get the hell out of Dodge to stash that key in your inventory.
Random supply drops can contain keycards, too. These spawn randomly (you’ll hear an announcement that a supply drop is on its way—as will every other player you’re competing against). But you can also trigger one by capturing a SAM site.
Speaking of which, if you have the faction mission asking you to capture a SAM site and loot a supply cache it shoots down, you can possibly kill two pigs with one stone here. DMZ is often about finding opportunities to take out multiple objectives at once.
Supply caches shot down by SAM launchers can contain Building 21 keycards.. Unlike loot caches and other supply drops, capturing a SAM site and causing a supply cache to fall from a plane is something you have a bit more agency over. It’s not a bad agenda to set when loading into the DMZ.
The commander’s helicopter seems to have Building 21 keycards. As all DMZ players know, at random times and locations, a very lethal and aggressive helicopter will spawn in, loudly announcing that you need to leave the area and that it will fire on anyone it spots (god help you if it does). If it’s within a captured SAM launcher’s range, or if you have the right equipment, you can take it down and loot the remains. The RAPP H is a great LMG for this—and you can load it up with anti-armor munitions if you have that on hand (you can select it as a part of your Field Upgrade when loading in). Bots also commonly carry around rocket-propelled grenades, particularly bots which patrol small villages.
DMZ: How To Stay Alive While Hunting Building 21 Keycards
DMZ is unpredictable. Setting out with a specific agenda in mind is smart, but you can never tell what the random combination of loot, bots, and players will bring. Here are some general tips if you’re heading out in search of keycards for Building 21.
When loading into DMZ, pick whatever weapons you’re comfortable with but make sure you or your team has some combination of the following:
Tactical Equipment: Spotter Scope or Heartbeat Sensor
Lethal Equipment: Proximity Mine or Claymore
Field Upgrade: Recon Drone, Munitions Box, Portable Radar, or Anti-Armor Munitions Box (if you’re planning to take down the commander’s helicopter)
Read More: Warzone 2.0’s DMZ: Everything You Need To Know About The Game’s Best New Mode
My personal loadout always has a Spotter Scope, Recon Drone, and Claymore, but any combination of the above will work for you. And if you’re going in with two friends, you can pretty much cover all these bases or have some room to get experimental.
Because the DMZ is so deadly, you need to prioritize your ability to get to the extraction point if you want to get out with a Building 21 keycard. Toward that end, here are some dos and don’ts:
Do: Approach every location with absolute caution. This is where Spotter Scopes and Heartbeat Sensors come in handy: Maintain a distance from every place that could be remotely occupied and use your Spotter Scope to check an area for opposition. You should never, ever, go into a given area blind in DMZ.
Do: Get the hell out of there the second you find a keycard. Sure, that intel contract looks very tempting. Or maybe you’ve found a safe to crack. Forget it. A Building 21 keycard is what you’re here for, and once you get it, your priority becomes extracting it safely. Getting out of the DMZ is a mission unto itself. Bots might be patrolling the area. Exfil campers (re: other players) might be scoping the area. Approach with caution. Send one person in to call in the chopper; retreat to safety and race to board it the second it’s within climbable distance. Never let your guard down until you’re safely in the air.
Do: Search every medical kit you see. Since the most recent update, DMZ has more Self-Revive kits and revive pistols. You can find these in a variety of places, but they’re most often in the square medical boxes you find mounted to various walls. Having a self-revive kit can mean the difference between getting out with a keycard and losing all your stuff.
Do: Acquire an armored vehicle if you can. Sometimes you’ll need to race across the map to hit an extraction point (the 25 minutes DMZ gives you to accomplish all your tasks will evaporate before you know it). Armored vehicles aren’t invincible and you can take damage from inside, but they fare a hell of a lot better than the game’s other rides.
Don’t: Take on contracts, hack UAV towers, or try to finish objectives other than searching for keycards. You’re here to find a Building 21 keycard. That means you have two objectives: Find a card, and exfiltrate. Although a completed contract is necessary to get an exfil streak and a perk, it might not be worth the risk if you’re just hunting a keycard.
Don’t: Shoot anyone (players or bots) unless shot at. Ammo and armor can run out fast if you’re not careful, and firefights with any opposition in the DMZ can turn into a resonance cascade shitshow of non-stop fighting that will end with your death and the loss of all the loot you’ve gathered.
Don’t: Stay on the train for very long. Yes, that train has great loot (possibly even keycards) but you’re on borrowed time every second spent onboard. It’s a giant beacon for other players to find great equipment, and bots will open fire on it with wall-piercing rounds the second they suspect you’re present.
No one’s totally sure what awaits in Building 21, but having a mystery like this to chase in a remarkably unpredictable mode like DMZ is pretty exciting. Good luck scoring those keycards.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired a pair of ballistic missiles on Sunday toward its eastern waters, its first weapons test in a month and coming two days after it claimed to have performed a key test needed to build a more mobile, powerful intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the U.S. mainland.
South Korea’s military detected the launch of two North Korean ballistic missiles from its northwest Tongchangri area. The missiles flew across the country toward its eastern waters, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
It said the missiles were fired about 50 minutes apart but gave no further details, like precisely what type of weapons North Korea fired and how far they flew. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said South Korea’s military has bolstered its surveillance posture and maintains a readiness in close coordination with the United States.
Japanese officials said the two missiles fell in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan and that no damage to ships or human injuries have been reported. Japanese Vice Defense Minister Toshiro Ino told reporters that both missiles flew a distance of 500 kilometers (310 miles) at a maximum altitude of 550 kilometers (340 miles). He criticized North Korea for threatening the safety of Japan, the region and the international community.
The Tongchangri area is home to North Korea’s Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, where the country in past years launched satellite-carrying long-range rockets in what the U.N. called a disguised test of ICBM technology.
North Korea said Friday it tested a “high-thrust solid-fuel motor” for a new strategic weapon in the Sohae facility the previous day, a development that experts say could allow it to possess a more mobile, harder-to-detect arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach the U.S. mainland.
Sunday’s launch is the North’s first public weapons test since the country last month launched its developmental, longest-range liquid-fueled Hwasong-17 ICBM capable of reaching the entire U.S. homeland. Earlier this year, North Korea test-launched a variety of other missiles at a record pace, despite pandemic-related economic hardships and U.S.-led pressures to curb its nuclear program.
North Korea has defended its weapons testing as self-defense measures to cope with the expanded U.S.-South Korea military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal. But some experts say North Korea likely used its rivals’ military training as an excuse to enlarge its weapons arsenal and increase its leverage in future negotiations with the U.S. to win sanctions relief and other concessions.
“In the face of mounting diplomatic pressure after an unprecedented year for North Korean missile tests, the Kim regime is determined to show no weakness ahead of its New Year’s political events,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.
The weapon North Korea said it could build with the recently tested motor likely refers to a solid-fueled ICBM, which is among a list of high-tech weapons systems that leader Kim Jong Un vowed to procure during a major ruling party conference early last year. Other weapons systems Kim promised to manufacture include a multi-warhead missile, underwater-launched nuclear missiles and spy satellites.
All of North Korea’s existing ICBMs use liquid propellant, which must be added to the weapons before they’re fired. This makes it relatively easier for outsiders to spot their launch preparations via satellites. But fuel in solid-propellant rockets is already loaded inside, so it shortens launch preparation times, increases their mobility and makes it harder for outsiders to learn what’s happening ahead of liftoff. North Korea already has a growing arsenal of short-range, solid-fueled ballistic missiles targeting key locations in South Korea, including U.S. military bases there.
In reaction to North Korea’s testing activities, the South Korean and U.S. militaries have expanded their regular drills and resumed trilateral trainings with Japan. But security jitters about North Korea’s nuclear weapons have increased in South Korea and Japan, as the North has threatened the preemptive use of nuclear weapons, taking reported steps to deploy nuclear-capable, short-range missiles along its border with South Korea and test-firing a missile over Japan.
The exact status of North Korea’s nuclear attack capability remains in secrecy.
Some experts speculate North Korea already has functioning nuclear-tipped missiles that can hit the entire U.S. and its allies South Korea and Japan, given the number of years it has spent on its nuclear program. But others say the country is still years away from acquiring such weapons, noting it has yet to publicly prove it has a technology to build warheads small enough to be placed on missiles or protect warheads from the harsh conditions of atmospheric reentry.
—
Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.
China’s November retail sales see significant miss
China’s industrial production for November grew 2.2%, after seeing a growth of 5% in October, according to official data. That’s lower than expectations for growth of 3.6% in a Reuters survey.
Retail sales fell 5.9% on an annualized basis, further than expectations of a decline of 3.7% in a Reuters survey and a fall of 0.5% the previous month.
— Jihye Lee
JPMorgan expects Asian markets to end week with cautious tone after Fed hike
JPMorgan expects markets in the Asia-Pacific region to end the week on a cautious tone following the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike of 50 basis points.
“Given the U.S. market reaction after the FOMC meeting, we expect Asian markets to end the week with more cautious tone,” Tai Hui, the firm’s Asia-Pacific chief market strategist, said in a note.
Tai added that a weaker inflation print is needed before the Fed’s hawkishness fades, while the region may have more optimism on China’s expected reopening.
“The medium term prospects of China’s economic reopening and Asia’s domestic demand resilience could be a bright spot as the U.S. and Europe face more growth challenges,” Tai said. “We would need more weak inflation data in order for the Fed to tone down its hawkishness.”
— Jihye Lee
South Korea’s revised trade data shows slightly narrower trade deficit
South Korea’s revised trade data for November was flat, official data from the Bank of Korea showed.
Imports grew by 2.7% while exports fell by 14%, in line with readings from the previous month, resulting in a trade deficit of $6.99 billion, slightly narrower than the previous month’s reading of $7.01 billion.
Prices for imports grew 14.2% compared with a year ago after seeing growth of 19.8% the previous month. Export prices grew 8.6% in November compared with a year ago, after growing 13.7% in October.
— Jihye Lee
Japan’s trade data beat estimates, reports wider-than-expected trade deficit
Japan’s exports and imports for November grew more than expected on an annualized basis, official data showed.
Exports for the month rose 20%, beating expectations of 19.8% in a Reuters survey. Imports rose 30.3%, also higher than expectations of 27% in a Reuters poll.
This resulted in a wider-than-expected trade deficit of 2.02 trillion yen ($14.91 billion) after posting 2.16 trillion yen ($15.96 billion) in the previous month.
— Jihye Lee
CNBC Pro: Missed China’s reopening rally? Bank of America names global stocks to ride the second-leg
Investors will have a second opportunity to take part in the stock market rally after China announced a relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions, according to Bank of America.
The bank named more than 10 stocks after having found “green shoots of recovery in high-frequency data” that point toward rising earnings at companies exporting to China.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesh Rao
Australia unemployment rate in line with expectations
Australia’s unemployment rate for November remained at 3.5% on an annualized basis, in line with expectations from a Reuters poll and flat from the prior month.
Official data from the Australia Bureau of Statistics showed the labor participation rate also remained at 66.7%, and the employment to population ratio remained at 64.4%.
Monthly hours worked increased to 1.89 billion.
— Jihye Lee
Fed announces 50 point rate hike
The Fed announced it will raise interest rates by 50 basis points, marking an end to the pattern of 75 point hikes seen in recent months.
Before this move, the Fed had raised rates by 75 basis points at the last four meetings. A basis point is equivalent to 0.01%.
The 50 basis point hike was widely expected ahead of the meeting.
It’s the final policy decision expected from the central bank in 2022.
— Alex Harring
Powell wants ‘substantially more evidence’ that inflation is cooling
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday the recent positive signs for inflation aren’t enough for the central bank to ease back on interest rate increases.
“It will take substantially more evidence to have confidence that inflation is on a sustained downward” path, Powell said during his post-meeting news conference.
The comments came as the Fed raised its benchmark rate another half percentage point and indicated at least another three-quarters of a point in hikes are coming. The decision also occurs a day after November’s consumer price index reading was up just 0.1%, an indication that inflation may have peaked.
However, Powell said inflation remains a problem.
“Price pressures remain evident across a broad range of goods and services,” Powell added.
The US military activated its first Space Force command on foreign soil on Wednesday in South Korea, with the unit’s new commander saying he is ready to face any threat in the region.
The creation of the US Space Forces Korea gives the newest branch of the US military its first official presence on the Korean Peninsula at a time when North Korea has been testing ballistic missiles at a record pace and China has been building up its ballistic missile forces.
The new unit “will be tasked with coordinating space operations and services such as missile warning, position navigation and timing and satellite communications within the region,” according to US Forces Korea.
A ceremony to launch the new unit took place at a hangar at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 65 kilometers (40 miles) south of Seoul, where the US 7th Air Force is based.
Asked what potential adversaries like Beijing or Pyongyang could take from the formation of the unit, Space Forces Korea commander Lt. Col. Joshua McCullion said he hoped it would have a deterrent effect. “The hope is that they see we are ready,” he said.
“Myself and my guardians are ready to go, day or night,” he said, using the official term for US Space Force members.
“That’s (the message) we want the adversary, whoever that adversary is, to take.”
McCullion acknowledged that the new force, established as a separate military branch in December 2019, has been the object of satire in the media, with some mocking its relative youth and comparing it to “Star Trek.”
But he said nobody should underestimate the force’s abilities.
“We are a young force, that’s exactly part of the game we’re playing right now. We just have to build and grow.”
Brig. Gen. Anthony Mastalir, who introduced the new unit at Wednesday’s ceremony, said it was an example of “integrated deterrence” that showcased the “unparalleled” ability of the US and its allies to project power on land, at sea, in air and now in space.
“This new command will ensure that the space capabilities enabling integrated deterrence are ready to fight tonight,” Mastalir said, adding that the force is ready to face any adversary in the new command’s area of operations.
US Army Gen. Paul LaCamera, commander of US Forces Korea, noted that both China and Russia have developed anti-satellite capabilities, while North Korea and Iran were both working against US interests in space.
SEOUL — South Koreans are set to become one or two years younger after the country’s parliament on Thursday passed laws to abolish the traditional method of calculating age.
This traditional method, which will be replaced by the system used elsewhere in the world in June 2023, declares people a year old at birth and adds a year to their age every Jan. 1 — even if they were born just the day before.
The change was a campaign promise by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who cited social and administrative costs caused by the traditional method when juxtaposed alongside the international system.
The term “Korean age,” determined by birth year rather than the exact birth date, is still widely used in social situations in the country.
Since the 1960s, the Asian nation has also been tallying official ages of its citizens based on the international system, under which babies start at age zero and years are added every birthday.
Certain laws, however, use a separate method of calculating age based on the year of birth regardless of month. The so-called “year age” method applies when determining age for mandatory conscription or school grades.
The hodgepodge of three different age-counting methods often left South Koreans confused about how old they were depending on the circumstances they are in.
Official documents will use the international method starting mid next year.
Presidential spokesman Lee Jae-myoung said the simplified age system “follows the global standard and puts an end to unnecessary social and economic confusions.” The change is expected to address domestic as well as international communication issues caused by difference in age-counting methods.
The current setup also caused some awkward misunderstandings in South Korea’s Confucianism-influenced culture, in which age gap influences how people interact.
The traditional age-counting method was once used across East Asia but other countries like China and Japan turned to the international system decades ago. Experts say the method was kept in South Korea due to its culture of hierarchy.
“People finding their age one or two years younger will create a positive social impact as well,” said Lee Wan-kyu, South Korean minister of government legislation. He said the government will widely promote the new age system to help it settle in everyday life of the citizens.
“Not only administrative measures but also social efforts to break down the rank-based culture” are needed to incorporate the change, Kim Jung-kwon, law professor at Seoul’s Chungang University, told a governmental panel on the issue last month.
