Tag Archives: Seoul

World

Ex-South Korean President Roh Tae-woo dies at 88

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo, a major player in a 1979 coup who later became president in a landmark democratic election before ending his tumultuous political career in prison, died on Tuesday. He was 88.

The Seoul National University Hospital said Roh died while being treated for an illness. It gave no further details or his cause of death. Roh, who ruled South Korea as president from 1988-1993, was known to have suffered many health problems including cerebellar atrophy for years.

Roh was a key participant in the December 1979 military coup that made his army friend and coup leader Chun Doo-hwan president after their mentor, dictator Park Chung-hee, was assassinated following 18 years of rule.

Roh led his army division into Seoul and joined other military leaders for operations to seize the capital. The coup — and a subsequent crackdown by the Chun-controlled military on pro-democracy protesters in the southern city of Gwangju in 1980 — are two of the darkest chapters in South Korea’s turbulent modern history. About 200 people were killed in the military-led crackdown in Gwangju, according to government records.

Roh was Chun’s hand-picked successor, which would have assured him the presidency in an easy indirect election. But a massive pro-democracy uprising in 1987 forced Roh and Chun to accept a direct presidential election that was regarded as the start of South Korea’s transition to democracy.

Despite his military background, Roh built a moderate and genial image during the campaign, calling himself an “average person.” He eventually won the hotly contested election in December 1987, largely thanks to a split in liberal votes between opposition candidates Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung, who both later became presidents.

During his five-year term, Roh aggressively pursued ties with communist nations under his “Northward Diplomacy” as communism fell in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union dissolved.

South Korea was then deeply anti-communist because of its rivalry with North Korea, but under Roh it opened diplomatic relations with a communist nation for the first time — Hungary in 1989, the year when the Berlin Wall fell and communism crumbled across Eastern Europe.

Roh’s government established relations with the Soviet Union in 1990 and with China in 1992. Relations with North Korea improved under Roh, with the two sides holding their first-ever prime ministers’ talks, adopting a landmark joint statement on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and joining the United Nations at the same time.

Earlier, Roh oversaw the hosting of the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul, the final Olympics of the Cold War era that showed how South Korea had rebuilt itself from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War. North Korea boycotted the 1988 games.

Ties between the two Koreas have since suffered ups and downs. Despite numerous denuclearization pledges — including one made during Roh’s presidency — North Korea still maintains its nuclear weapons program which it views as a means of survival.

On domestic politics, Roh was seen by many as lacking charismatic and aggressive leadership. His nickname, “Mul (Water) Tae-woo,” implied his administration had no color and no taste. He still brought more openness by allowing more political criticism, in contrast with his authoritarian predecessors, Park and Chun. The governments led by Park and Chun often used security laws to suppress political opponents and restrict speech under the pretext of guarding against civil disorder and North Korean threats.

After his successor, Kim Young-sam, investigated the coup and military-led crackdown, Roh was arrested, convicted of mutiny, treason and corruption and received a 22-year and six-month prison term. Chun was sentenced to death.

The Supreme Court reduced those sentences to life imprisonment for Chun and 17 years for Roh. After spending about two years in prison, both Roh and Chun were released in late 1997 under a special pardon requested by then President-elect Kim Dae-jung, who sought national reconciliation amid an Asian financial crisis.

Roh had stayed mostly out of the public eye following his release from prison, refraining from political activities and speeches. In recent years, he suffered prostate cancer, asthma, cerebellar atrophy and other health problems.

Last April, his daughter, Roh So-young, wrote on Facebook that her father had been bed-bound over the past 10 years without being able to speak or move his body. She said her father sometimes made eye gestures for communications but looked to “have a tearful face” when he failed to express his feelings and thoughts properly.

Roh’s son, Roh Jae-heon, repeatedly offered an apology over the 1980 crackdowns and visited a Gwangju cemetery to pay respects to the victims buried there on behalf of his bed-ridden father.

But unlike Roh’s family, Chun, who reportedly suffers Alzheimer’s disease and a blood cancer, has yet to apologize over the crackdowns.

Last August, Chun appeared at a Gwangju court to defend himself against charges that he defamed a now-deceased Catholic priest who had testified to seeing Chun’s troops shooting at protesters from helicopters in Gwangju. Chun left the court after 20 minutes, complaining of breathing problems. In his memoir, Chun called the priest “a shameless liar.”

Both Roh and Chun were earlier ordered by a court to pay back hundreds of millions of dollars they collected illegally. Roh has paid back his shares but Chun hasn’t done so, according to South Korean media reports.

Roh is survived by his wife and their two children.

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Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung and former AP writer Sam Kim contributed to this report.

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US

Kim vows to build ‘invincible’ military while slamming US

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reviewed powerful missiles developed to launch nuclear strikes on the U.S. mainland, as he vowed to build an “invincible” military to cope with what he called persistent U.S. hostility, state media reported Tuesday.

In an apparent continued effort to drive a wedge between Washington and Seoul, Kim also used his speech at a rare exhibition of weapons systems Monday to stress that his military might isn’t targeted at South Korea and that there shouldn’t be another war pitting Korean people against each other.

“The U.S. has frequently signaled it’s not hostile to our state, but there is no action-based evidence to make us believe that they are not hostile,” Kim said Monday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. “The U.S. is continuing to create tensions in the region with its wrong judgments and actions.”

Calling the United States a “source” of instability on the Korean Peninsula, Kim said his country’s most important objective is possessing an “invincible military capability” that no one can dare challenge.

The exhibition, which KCNA says was meant to mark the 76th birthday of the ruling Workers’ Party on Sunday, was the first of its kind since Kim took power in late 2011, according to Seoul officials. North Korean photos showed Kim, clad in a dark suit, walking on a red carpet lined with big missiles mounted on trucks, passing by a multiple rocket launch system and watching jets flying in a formation.

The exhibition featured an array of newly developed weapons, including intercontinental ballistic missiles North Korea has already test-launched or displayed during military parades in recent years, experts say.

Yang Wook, a military expert who teaches at South Korea’s Hannam University, said the weapons in the photos include what appears to be a new ICBM that North Korea disclosed during a military parade last year but hasn’t test-fired, Yang said. That missile mounted on an 11-axel launch vehicle during the parade is considered to be the North’s biggest-yet ICBM.

Other weapons on display were another ICBM that North Korea tested in 2017; ballistic missiles that can be fired from submarines or a train; solid-fueled, short-range missiles; and a developmental hypersonic missile that had its first test-flight last month, said Lee Choon Geun, a missile expert at South Korea’s Science and Technology Policy Institute.

“Basically, North Korea wants to send this message: ‘We’ll continue to develop new weapons and arm ourselves with nuclear force, so don’t slap sanctions with these as we can’t agree on the double standards,’” Yang said.

Seoul’s Defense Ministry said South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities were analyzing the North Korean weapons displayed but didn’t elaborate.

In recent weeks North Korea has sent mixed signals toward its rivals, as it resumed its missile tests after a six-month hiatus but offered conditional talks with South Korea.

During his exhibition speech, Kim accused South Korea of hypocrisy because it criticizes North Korea’s weapons development as provocations while spending heavily to increase its own military capabilities. But he still said his military doesn’t target South Korea.

“I say once again that South Korea isn’t the one that our military forces have to fight against,” Kim said. “Surely, we aren’t strengthening our defense capability because of South Korea. We shouldn’t repeat a horrible history of compatriots using force against each other.”

Some experts say North Korea is attempting to use South Korea’s desire to improve ties to pressure it to convince the United States to relax punishing economic sanctions on the North and make other concessions.

North Korea has long sought improved ties with the United States because it wants sanctions relief and a better security environment to focus on reviving its moribund economy. The high-stakes diplomacy between the countries fell apart in early 2019 after the Americans rejected North Korea’s calls for extensive sanctions relief in return for partial disarmament steps.

The United States has recently repeatedly offered talks with North Korea “anywhere and at any time” without preconditions. Kim has called such an offer “cunning” attempt to conceal U.S. hostility against North Korea, as he wants Washington to ease the sanctions or suspend its regular military drills with Seoul first before the talks can resume.

Despite its recent missile tests, Kim still maintains a 2018 self-imposed moratorium on long-range missile tests directly targeting the American homeland, a sign that he still wants to keep alive chances for future talks with Washington.

In 2017, North Korea conducted three ICBM tests and claimed to have acquired an ability to attack the U.S. mainland with nuclear missiles. Lee, the expert, questioned the North’s claim, saying it needs to conduct several more flight-tests to prove it has overcome the last remaining technological hurdles such as one on protecting a warhead from the extreme heat and pressure after re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere.

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Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.

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Business

Apple and Google’s Fight in Seoul Tests Biden in Washington

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WASHINGTON — For months, Apple and Google have been fighting a bill in the South Korean legislature that they say could imperil their lucrative app store businesses. The companies have appealed directly to South Korean lawmakers, government officials and the public to try to block the legislation, which is expected to face a crucial vote this week.

The companies have also turned to an unlikely ally, one that is also trying to quash their power: the United States government. A group funded by the companies has urged trade officials in Washington to push back on the legislation, arguing that targeting American firms could violate a joint trade agreement.

The South Korean legislation would be the first law in the world to require companies that operate app stores to let users in Korea pay for in-app purchases using a variety of payment systems. It would also prohibit blocking developers from listing their products on other app stores.

How the White House responds to this proposal poses an early test for the Biden administration: Will it defend tech companies facing antitrust scrutiny abroad while it applies that same scrutiny to the companies at home?

Washington has a longstanding practice of opposing foreign laws that discriminate against American firms, sometimes even when doing so conflicts with domestic policy debates. But President Biden wants a consistent approach to his concerns about the tech giants’ incredible power over commerce, communications and news. In July he signed an executive order to spur competition in the industry, and his top two antitrust appointees have long been vocal critics of the companies.

The approach the White House chooses may have widespread implications for the industry, and for the shape of the internet around the world. A growing number of countries are pursuing stricter regulations on Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, fragmenting the rules of the global internet.

American officials have echoed some of the industry’s complaints about the proposal, saying in a March report it appeared to target American companies. But trade officials have yet to take a formal position on it, said Adam Hodge, a spokesman for the United States Trade Representative. He said officials were still considering how to balance the claim that the legislation discriminates against American companies with the belief among tech critics in South Korea and America that the legislation would level the playing field.

“We are engaging a range of stakeholders to gather facts as legislation is considered in Korea, recognizing the need to distinguish between discrimination against American companies and promoting competition,” Mr. Hodge said in a statement.

Apple said that it regularly dealt with the United States government on a range of topics. During those interactions it discussed the South Korean app store legislation with American officials, including at the U. S. Embassy in Seoul, the company said in a statement.

The company said the legislation would “put users who purchase digital goods from other sources at risk of fraud, undermine their privacy protections, make it difficult to manage their purchases” and endanger parental controls.

A Google spokeswoman, Julie Tarallo McAlister, said in a statement that Google was open to “exploring alternative approaches” but believed the legislation would harm consumers and software developers.

The proposal was approved by a committee in the Korean National Assembly last month, over the opposition of some in the Korean government. It could get a vote in the body’s judiciary committee as soon as this week. It would then require a vote from the full assembly and the signature of President Moon Jae-in to become law.

The proposal would have a major impact on Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store.

The Google store accounted for 75 percent of global app downloads in the second quarter of 2021, according to App Annie, an analytics company. Apple’s marketplace accounted for 65 percent of consumer spending on in-app purchases or subscriptions.

One way software developers make money is by selling products directly in their apps, like Fortnite’s in-game currency or a subscription to The New York Times. Apple has insisted for years that developers sell those in-app products through the company’s own payment system, which takes up to a 30 percent cut of many sales. Last year, Google indicated it would follow suit by applying a 30 percent cut to more purchases than it had in the past. Developers say that the fees are far too steep.

After South Korean lawmakers proposed the app store bill last year, the Information Technology Industry Council, a Washington-based group that counts Apple and Google as members, urged the United States Trade Representative to include concerns about the legislation in an annual report highlighting “barriers” to foreign trade. The group said in October that the rules could violate a 2007 accord that says neither country can discriminate against firms with headquarters in the other.

Apple said that it was not unusual for an industry group to provide feedback to the trade representative. The company said the government had explicitly asked for comment on potentially discriminatory laws. In a statement, Naomi Wilson, the trade group’s vice president of policy for Asia, said that it encouraged “legislators to work with industry to re-examine the obligations for app markets set forth in the proposed measure to ensure they are not trade-restrictive and do not disproportionately affect” American companies.

When the trade representative’s report was published in March — just weeks after Mr. Biden’s nominee to the position was sworn in — it included a paragraph that echoed some of the tech group’s concerns. The report concluded that the South Korean law’s “requirement to permit users to use outside payment services appears to specifically target U.S. providers and threatens a standard U.S. business model.”

The American report did not say the law would violate the free trade agreement with South Korea. But in July, the managing director of a group called the Asia Internet Coalition, which lists Apple and Google as two of its members, pointed to the report when he told Korea’s trade minister that the law “could provoke trade tensions between the United States and South Korea.”

“The Biden administration has already signaled its concerns,” the director said in a written comment in July.

American diplomats in Seoul also raised questions about whether the legislation could cause trade tensions.

“Google said something like that, and a similar opinion was expressed by the U.S. Embassy in Korea,” said Jo Seoung Lae, a lawmaker who backs the legislation. He added that the embassy had been in touch with his staff throughout June and July. Park Sungjoong, another lawmaker, also said that the embassy had expressed trade concerns about the law.

Mr. Jo said that a Google representative had visited his office to express opposition to the proposal, and that Apple had also “provided their feedback” opposing the legislation.

Mr. Jo said that he had requested that the United States provide its official position, but he said he had not received one yet.

American trade officials sometimes defend companies even when they are criticized by others in the administration. While former President Donald J. Trump attacked a liability shield for social media platforms, known as Section 230, his trade representative wrote a similar provision into agreements with Canada, Mexico and Japan.

But Wendy Cutler, a former official who negotiated the trade agreement between South Korea and the United States, said that it would be difficult for America to argue that the Korean rules violate trade agreements when the same antitrust issues are being debated stateside.

“You don’t want to be calling out a country for potentially violating an obligation when at the same time your own government is questioning the practice,” said Ms. Cutler, now the vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute. “It weakens the case substantially.”

South Korean and American app developers have run their own campaign for the new rules, arguing it would not trigger trade tensions.

In June, Mark Buse, the top lobbying executive at the dating app company Match Group and a former board member of a pro-regulation group called the Coalition for App Fairness, wrote to Mr. Jo, the Korean lawmaker, supporting the proposal. He said that the Biden administration knew about concerns around the tech giants, making trade tensions less likely.

Later that month, Mr. Buse attended a virtual conference about the app store legislation hosted by K-Internet, a trade group that represents major Korean internet companies like Naver, Google’s main search competitor in South Korea, and Kakao.

Mr. Buse, who traveled to Seoul this month to press the case for the legislation on behalf of the Coalition for App Fairness, made it clear that his employer considered it a high-stakes debate. He listed the many other countries where officials were concerned about Apple’s and Google’s practices.

“And all of this,” he said, “is following the leadership that the Korean assembly is showing.”

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Entertainment

Here’s why BTS’ Permission To Dance banned in Seoul gyms

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BTS might have gifted us with Permission To Dance, but there’s no permission to work out to the song in gyms. According to the latest reports, the new BTS track along with other K-pop hits such as Drunk-Dazed by Enhypen, are being banned from being played in gyms in Seoul.

Authorities believe that working out to fast-paced tunes with over 120 beats per minute could pose a risk, especially during group workouts. Apart from the tunes being played in gyms, authorities have also capped the maximum treadmill speed at 6 km/h. Apparently, these techniques are to prevent people at the gym from breathing too quickly or splashing sweat on others, and hence preventing virus pores from spreading.

Gym owners are rather disgruntled with this change. Kang Hyun Ku, the owner of a gym in Seoul told Reuters, “My biggest question is whether playing classical music or BTS songs has proven to have any impact on spreading the virus.”

The city’s health officials say that they examined several viewpoints before deciding to ban songs with more than 120 beats per minute. Meanwhile, President Moon Jae In has apologised to citizens and requested them to bear with him.

Gym members usually bring their own headphones and music devices, which leave owners no control over their workout speed. The good news is that BTS’ Butter and Blackpink’s Rose On The Ground, which are favourites on the Billboard right now, are not part of the list of banned tunes.

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World

Seoul heads for lockdown as infections spiral in South Korea | Coronavirus

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South Korea posted its highest ever number of new daily Covid-19 infections within 24 hours, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has said, in a third consecutive day of record high new infections.

Starting on Monday, coronavirus curbs will be tightened to the strictest level possible in Seoul and neighbouring regions for the first time.

The country reported 1,378 new Covid-19 cases as of midnight on Friday, up from Thursday’s record of 1,316.

South Korea has so far fared better than many industrialised nations in infections and deaths, with a mortality rate of 1.22% and the number of severe cases at 148 as of Friday, which is much lower than the previous peak in late December.

However the rising trend has prompted a warning that new case numbers may nearly double by the end of July.

That has led to tougher curbs by the government including people being advised to stay home as much as possible and social gatherings restricted to two people after 6pm from four earlier in the day.

About 11% of South Korea’s 52 million people have completed vaccination, including receiving both shots for vaccines requiring two doses, while 30% have received one dose, KDCA said in a statement.

The country aims to reach herd immunity before November by inoculating 70% of the public with at least one shot by September.

South Korea’s total Covid-19 infections to date stand at 166,722 with 2,038 deaths.

The Delta variant is responsible for a growing wave of new cases in the region, which had previously managed the pandemic with some success, and the slow pace of vaccinations in countries including South Korea, Australia and Thailand is causing concern.

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World

South Korea puts Seoul under tightest COVID curbs amid new case records

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People wait in line for a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test at a testing site which is temporarily set up at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, July 7, 2021. REUTERS/ Heo Ran

  • 1,316 new cases on Thursday, 80% in metro Seoul area
  • No lockdown, but 2 weeks of top-level curbs start on Monday
  • Businesses, schools, sport, nightlife subject to restrictions
  • Delta variant spreading; hospitalisation, death rates stable

SEOUL, July 9 (Reuters) – From Monday South Korea will for the first time tighten coronavirus curbs to the strictest level possible in Seoul and neighbouring regions, as alarm spreads with new COVID-19 cases setting a second consecutive daily record nationwide.

South Korea, which has so far fared better than many industralised nations in case numbers and deaths, reported 1,316 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Thursday, up from Wednesday’s previous record of 1,275.

Helped largely by vaccinations of older people, there has yet to be a significant increase in hospitalisations or deaths, with a mortality rate of 1.23% and the number of severe cases at 148 as of Thursday remaining far below levels seen during the previous peak in late December.

But on Thursday a top health official warned the new case numbers may nearly double by the end of July and Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum announced two weeks of tougher curbs – level 4 is the most severe on South Korea’s scale, short of a full lockdown – during a televised government meeting. read more

Experts said the government’s COVID-19 strategy is to avoid the hit to the economy that has been seen in full lockdowns elsewhere.

“The government strategy is to steer away from lockdown fearing negative impact on the economy. Level 4 is the harshest it can get,” said Kim Dong-hyun, former president of Korean Society of Epidemiology.

Under the new curbs, people are advised to stay home as much as possible, schools are recommended to switch to remote learning, social gatherings are restricted to two people after 6.00 p.m. from four earlier in the day, and rallies are banned.

No spectators are allowed to attend sports matches, while hotels can only operate at two-thirds of full capacity. Movies and concerts are not allowed after 10 p.m, and nightclubs and bars are to shut, while restaurants and cafes would be allowed limited seating and only take-out services after 10 p.m.

Employers are advised to increase flexible staffing with 30% of staff working remotely.

500 CASES A DAY IN SEOUL

South Korea’s total COVID-19 infections to date stand at 165,344, with 2,036 deaths. It has only given both shots in the dual vaccination process to just over 10% of its 52 million population, while 30% have received at least one dose, the majority of whom are aged over 60.

The country aims to reach herd immunity before November by inoculating 70% of the public with at least one shot by September.

“Seoul alone saw 500 confirmed cases for the third day,” Prime Minister Kim said during Friday’s government meeting. “Four out of five infections are from the metropolitan Seoul area.”

While the new will be imposed on Monday, Kim also advised the public to refrain from any private gatherings starting Friday.

He also said that during the two-week semi-lockdown the government will suspend a programme introduced earlier this year that allowed mask-free outdoor gatherings for citizens vaccinated with at least one COVID-19 shot.

Of the locally acquired cases, 78% were concentrated in the greater Seoul area, and the detection rate of highly transmissible Delta variant surged nearly three-folds in a week, Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol said in a briefing on Friday.

Kwon did not provide the number of cases believed to be linked to the Delta variant.

President Moon Jae-in on Monday will convene a meeting with top officials of the greater Seoul area to address the measures, presidential spokeswoman Park Kyung-mee told reporters.

Reporting by Sangmi Cha; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Kenneth Maxwell

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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World

North Korea says it won’t participate in Tokyo Olympics

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea became the first country to drop out of the Tokyo Olympics because of coronavirus fears, a decision that underscores the challenges facing Japan as it struggles to stage a global sporting event amid a raging pandemic.

A website run by North Korea’s Sports Ministry said its national Olympic Committee during a meeting on March 25 decided not to participate in the Games to protect athletes from the “world public health crisis caused by COVID-19.”

The pandemic has already pushed back the Tokyo Games, which were originally scheduled for 2020, and organizers have scrambled to put in place preventive measures, such as banning international spectators, to ensure the safety of athletes and residents.

However, there’s still concern that the Olympics could worsen the spread of the virus and Japan’s rising caseload and slow vaccine rollout have raised public questions about whether the Games should be held at all.

Japan’s Olympic Committee said Tuesday that North Korea has not yet notified it that it wouldn’t participate in the Tokyo Games.

Katsunobu Kato, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, said the government hopes many countries will join the Olympics and he promised ample anti-virus measures.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry expressed regret over the North’s decision, saying it had hoped that the Tokyo Olympics would provide an opportunity to improve inter-Korean relations, which have declined amid a stalemate in larger nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang.

Choi Young-sam, a South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said the government supports Japan’s efforts to push ahead with the Olympics while taking safety measures. Choi said there was still time for the North to reverse its decision and participate in the event.

North Korea sent 22 athletes to the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, along with government officials, performance artists, journalists and a 230-member all-female cheering group.

At the Pyeongchang Games, the North and South Korean athletes jointly marched under a blue map symbolizing a unified Korean Peninsula, while the red-clad North Korean cheerleaders captivated global attention. The Koreas also fielded their first combined Olympic team in women’s ice hockey, which drew passionate support from crowds despite losing all five of its games by a combined score of 28-2.

Those games were also much about politics. The North Korean contingent included the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who conveyed her brother’s desire for a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, a move that helped the North initiate talks with South Korea and the United States.

Diplomatic efforts have been at a stalemate since, and North Korea’s decision to sit out the Tokyo Olympics is a setback for hopes to revive it.

While North Korea has steadfastly claimed to be coronavirus-free, outsiders have expressed doubt about whether the country has escaped the pandemic entirely, given its poor health infrastructure and a porous border it shares with China, its economic lifeline.

Describing its anti-virus efforts as a “matter of national existence,” North Korea has severely limited cross-border traffic, banned tourists, jetted out diplomats and mobilized health workers with quarantine tens of thousands of people who had shown symptoms.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga previously said he expected to invite U.S. President Joe Biden to the Olympics and was willing to meet with Kim Jong Un or his sister if either attended the Games. Suga, however, did not say if he will invite either of them.

Experts say pandemic border closures have further shocked North Korea’s economy, already broken by decades of mismanagement, aggressive military spending and crippling U.S.-led sanctions over its nuclear weapons program.

The economic setbacks have left Kim with nothing to show for his ambitious diplomacy with former President Donald Trump, which derailed over disagreements in exchanging the release of sanctions and the North’s nuclear disarmament steps.

Kim in recent political speeches has pledged to bolster his nuclear deterrent in face of U.S.-led pressure, and his government has so far rejected the Biden administration’s overture for talks, demanding that Washington abandon its “hostile” policies first.

The North ended a yearlong pause in ballistic testing activity last month by firing two short-range missiles off its eastern coast, continuing a tradition of testing new U.S. administrations with weapons demonstrations aimed at measuring Washington’s response and wresting concessions.

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AP writers Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to the report.

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