http://www.voanews.com Voice of America is an international news and broadcast organization serving Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia, the Middle East and Balkan countries http://www.voanews.com/img/voa/rssLogo_VOA.gif http://www.voanews.com en-US 2012 - VOA 60 Wed, 22 May 2013 02:53:27 -0400 Pangea CMS – VOA North Korea says it has put its rocket units on the highest combat readiness level. The announcement includes fresh threats to strike U.S. military bases and South Korea. The official North Korean news agency and state radio Tuesday afternoon carried the latest announcement from the army's supreme command that all field artillery units, including those armed with strategic rockets and long-range artillery, are now at the top level of "combat-ready posture."   The announcer ... http://www.voanews.com/content/north-korea-threatens-attacks-on-guam-hawaii-us-mainland/1628645.html http://www.voanews.com/content/north-korea-threatens-attacks-on-guam-hawaii-us-mainland/1628645.html Tue, 26 Mar 2013 03:21:38 -0400 Asia Steve Herman (Seoul, South Korea) http://www.voanews.com/content/north-korea-threatens-attacks-on-guam-hawaii-us-mainland/1628645.html#relatedInfoContainer South Korean defense officials say a new contingency plan with the U.S. military will allow them to immediately and decisively counter any fresh provocations from North Korea. The Combined Counter-Provocation Plan signed Friday comes amid one of the latest periods of high tension on the Korean peninsula since an armistice 60 years ago ended armed conflict between the North and the South. South Korean officials say the new plan does not alter U.S. forces' wartime operational control of ... http://www.voanews.com/content/us-south-korea-announce-new-counter-attack-plan/1627869.html http://www.voanews.com/content/us-south-korea-announce-new-counter-attack-plan/1627869.html Mon, 25 Mar 2013 04:45:43 -0400 Asia Steve Herman (Seoul, South Korea) http://www.voanews.com/content/us-south-korea-announce-new-counter-attack-plan/1627869.html#relatedInfoContainer The government of North Korea on Friday condemned a  U.N. committee's unanimous decision to investigate it for human rights abuses, calling it "an act of political fraud." The foreign ministry in Pyongyang, in a statement released through the Korean Central News Agency, said it completely rejects the resolution of the UN Human Rights Council and will ignore it. The council, meeting in Geneva Thursday, voted to examine what it calls North Korea's "systematic, ... http://www.voanews.com/content/north-korea-mum-on-un-human-rights-probe/1626511.html http://www.voanews.com/content/north-korea-mum-on-un-human-rights-probe/1626511.html Fri, 22 Mar 2013 06:56:29 -0400 Asia Steve Herman (Seoul, South Korea) http://www.voanews.com/content/north-korea-mum-on-un-human-rights-probe/1626511.html#relatedInfoContainer North Korea has issued a new military threat against the United States. Also Thursday, Pyongyang’s central broadcasting station sounded an air raid warning.   North Korean media quote a spokesman for the country's army command threatening “corresponding military action” against American bases in the region.   The fresh threat is tied to Pyongyang's anger over nuclear-capable planes and submarines participating in an annual joint exercise with South Korean forces.   An ... http://www.voanews.com/content/nkorea-threatens-us-bases-in-japan-and-guan/1625691.html http://www.voanews.com/content/nkorea-threatens-us-bases-in-japan-and-guan/1625691.html Thu, 21 Mar 2013 02:12:38 -0400 Asia Steve Herman (Seoul, South Korea) http://www.voanews.com/content/nkorea-threatens-us-bases-in-japan-and-guan/1625691.html#relatedInfoContainer South Korean police and government agencies are attempting to determine who is responsible for a malicious act that caused widespread computer outages affecting television channels and banking services.  South Korea's communications commission (KCC) says a distributed denial of services (DDos) attack, a common way to overload computer servers making websites unreachable, was not the reason computers at broadcasters and banks became paralyzed. The manager of the commission's ... http://www.voanews.com/content/skorea-investigates-possible-cyberattack-following-widespread-network-outage/1624951.html http://www.voanews.com/content/skorea-investigates-possible-cyberattack-following-widespread-network-outage/1624951.html Wed, 20 Mar 2013 03:39:42 -0400 Asia Steve Herman (Seoul, South Korea) The South Korean recording artist Park Jae-sang, better known as Psy, has told VOA there is some misunderstanding about his upcoming follow-up recording to the record-breaking “Gangnam Style.”   There has been intense interest in Psy's next release, after his 2012 horse-dancing parody of Seoul's trendy Gangnam district became the most-ever watched video on YouTube, which has drawn 1.4 billion views as of Monday. Arriving at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul Sunday, Psy noted ... http://www.voanews.com/content/south-korean-artist-psy-tells-voa-via-twitter-next-single-will-not-carry-offensive-title/1623536.html http://www.voanews.com/content/south-korean-artist-psy-tells-voa-via-twitter-next-single-will-not-carry-offensive-title/1623536.html Mon, 18 Mar 2013 08:31:05 -0400 Arts & Entertainment Steve Herman (Seoul, South Korea) http://www.voanews.com/content/south-korean-artist-psy-tells-voa-via-twitter-next-single-will-not-carry-offensive-title/1623536.html#relatedInfoContainer A top U.S. defense official is visiting South Korea, where he says North Korea's recent provocations are only further isolating Pyongyang from the rest of the world. Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests, as well as recent threats to launch a nuclear strike and attack frontier islands in the South, are not going to soften attitudes abroad towards the reclusive and impoverished country. "If the North Koreans think this kind of thing is ... http://www.voanews.com/content/us-official-sees-north-korean-threats-backfiring/1623468.html http://www.voanews.com/content/us-official-sees-north-korean-threats-backfiring/1623468.html Mon, 18 Mar 2013 06:39:51 -0400 Asia Steve Herman (Seoul, South Korea) After it suffered a two-day outage of all of its websites based in the country, North Korea is accusing the United States and South Korea of conducting a cyber attack against it. North Korea's state news agency says the country's “internet service bases” were hit by “concentrated and persistent virus attacks” for several days this week. The Korean Central News Agency blames the United States and South Korea, saying they “will have to take the responsibility for the whole ... http://www.voanews.com/content/north-korea-blames-us-south-for-cyber-attack/1621952.html http://www.voanews.com/content/north-korea-blames-us-south-for-cyber-attack/1621952.html Fri, 15 Mar 2013 05:10:04 -0400 Asia Steve Herman (Seoul, South Korea) http://www.voanews.com/content/north-korea-blames-us-south-for-cyber-attack/1621952.html#relatedInfoContainer North Korea has made its first reference to South Korea's new president, amid escalated tension on the peninsula. Meanwhile, South Korea says the military hotline to the North is still operational, but another communications link remains severed for a third day. The latest combative vow of retaliation against South Korea and the United States is being attributed to North Korea's armed forces ministry. A spokesman's statement, read by an announcer during Wednesday radio ... http://www.voanews.com/content/north-korea-makes-first-mention-on-south-new-president/1620554.html http://www.voanews.com/content/north-korea-makes-first-mention-on-south-new-president/1620554.html Wed, 13 Mar 2013 07:10:35 -0400 Asia Steve Herman (Seoul, South Korea) http://www.voanews.com/content/north-korea-makes-first-mention-on-south-new-president/1620554.html#relatedInfoContainer North Korea's official media is quoting its leader, Kim Jong Un, using the most threatening language yet during a visit to a front-line unit poised to attack a South Korean frontier island. Meanwhile, a major conservative daily newspaper in Seoul quotes a government official saying American nuclear weapons will remain in South Korean waters following current drills, to deter the North. South Korea's Ministry of National Defense says a fresh threat by North Korea's leader against ... http://www.voanews.com/content/south-korea-says-north-leader-threats-psychological-tactics/1619819.html http://www.voanews.com/content/south-korea-says-north-leader-threats-psychological-tactics/1619819.html Tue, 12 Mar 2013 06:42:29 -0400 Asia Steve Herman (Seoul, South Korea) http://www.voanews.com/content/south-korea-says-north-leader-threats-psychological-tactics/1619819.html#relatedInfoContainer South Korean officials say Pyongyang seems to have made good on a threat to sever the hotline at the Panmunjom truce village as South Korea and the United States commence a joint military exercise Monday.  The North is responding to the exercise by claiming it will abrogate the 1953 Armistice Agreement and threatening a preemptive nuclear strike. As more than 13,000 American and South Korean military personnel began the Key Resolve annual joint drill, no one on the northern side of the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/us-south-korea-begin-annual-military-drills-amid-threats-from-north-korea/1619027.html http://www.voanews.com/content/us-south-korea-begin-annual-military-drills-amid-threats-from-north-korea/1619027.html Sun, 10 Mar 2013 23:18:42 -0400 Breaking News Steve Herman (Seoul, South Korea) http://www.voanews.com/content/us-south-korea-begin-annual-military-drills-amid-threats-from-north-korea/1619027.html#relatedInfoContainer South Korea is expressing concern and frustration with North Korea's continuing bellicose rhetoric, which includes threats of a preemptive nuclear strike. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman has details from Seoul. South Korean president Park Geun-hye, speaking to graduating military cadets Friday, informed them she will “deal strongly with North Korea's provocations.” The president says the “current security situation is very grave” as Pyongyang presses ahead with nuclear and missile ... http://www.voanews.com/content/south-korea-warns-the-north-about-attack-threats/1617594.html http://www.voanews.com/content/south-korea-warns-the-north-about-attack-threats/1617594.html Fri, 08 Mar 2013 05:15:21 -0500 Asia Steve Herman (Seoul, South Korea) http://www.voanews.com/content/south-korea-warns-the-north-about-attack-threats/1617594.html#relatedInfoContainer For the first time, North Korea is threatening to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike.  This is the latest in an increasing series of bellicose rhetoric from Pyongyang in recent days. The threat, attributed to a spokesman from North Korea's foreign ministry, was carried by the country's central news agency and also broadcast Thursday. The ministry spokesman is quoted as saying that because "the United States is about to ignite a nuclear war, our revolutionary armed forces ... http://www.voanews.com/content/north-korea-threatens-preemptive-nuclear-attack-on-us/1616792.html http://www.voanews.com/content/north-korea-threatens-preemptive-nuclear-attack-on-us/1616792.html Thu, 07 Mar 2013 05:25:40 -0500 Asia Steve Herman (Seoul, South Korea) http://www.voanews.com/content/north-korea-threatens-preemptive-nuclear-attack-on-us/1616792.html#relatedInfoContainer A human rights group says new satellite imagery indicates North Korea is blurring the lines between its prison camps and the surrounding population.    Commercial satellite images obtained by Amnesty International reveal North Korea has apparently expanded the perimeter of a sprawling prison camp, 70 kilometers north of Pyongyang, in South Pyongyan province.   Amnesty International released a report Thursday accompanied by the images of the Camp 14 area. It says they ... http://www.voanews.com/content/nkorean-prison-camp-perimeter-spills-into-villages/1616761.html http://www.voanews.com/content/nkorean-prison-camp-perimeter-spills-into-villages/1616761.html Thu, 07 Mar 2013 01:20:39 -0500 Asia Steve Herman (Seoul, South Korea) South Korea is responding firmly to North Korea's threat to abrogate next Monday the peninsula's truce agreement and resume military action. "If North Korea conducts any provocations that threaten the life and safety of South Koreans then it should be clear there will be strong and decisive punishment not only against the source of the aggression and its support forces, but also the commanding element," South Korean army general Kim Yong-hyun told reporters Wednesday at the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/skorea-vois-retaliation-if-nkorea-breaks-truce/1616057.html http://www.voanews.com/content/skorea-vois-retaliation-if-nkorea-breaks-truce/1616057.html Wed, 06 Mar 2013 02:58:46 -0500 Asia Steve Herman (Seoul, South Korea) http://www.voanews.com/content/skorea-vois-retaliation-if-nkorea-breaks-truce/1616057.html#relatedInfoContainer North Korea's latest threat to nullify a 1953 armistice agreement with the United States marks an escalation of its long-standing rhetoric against Washington. Pyongyang has threatened before to scrap the armistice that ended the Korean War, but Tuesday's warning broadcast on North Korean state television appeared to be more significant, both in detail and the way it was presented. In the broadcast, Korean People's Army spokesman Kim Yong Chol read a statement criticizing the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/un-security-council-to-discuss-north-korea-sanctions/1615283.html http://www.voanews.com/content/un-security-council-to-discuss-north-korea-sanctions/1615283.html Mon, 04 Mar 2013 23:02:50 -0500 Asia Steve Herman (Seoul, South Korea), Michael Lipin http://www.voanews.com/content/un-security-council-to-discuss-north-korea-sanctions/1615283.html#relatedInfoContainer Transcript: VOA's Steve Herman sat down with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida to discuss regional territorial disputes and other issues. (The following questions were asked in English; answers are translated from Japanese.)   VOA: Mr. Foreign Minister, members of this Abe administration and some of your own diplomats have, in the past, expressed a desire for Japan to pursue a foreign policy more independent of Washington. How is it possible to do this while, at the same ... http://www.voanews.com/content/full-voa-interview-transcript-japanese-foreign-minister-fumio-kishida-pyongyang-nuclea-senkaku-diaoyu/1611796.html http://www.voanews.com/content/full-voa-interview-transcript-japanese-foreign-minister-fumio-kishida-pyongyang-nuclea-senkaku-diaoyu/1611796.html Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:41:04 -0500 Asia Steve Herman (Seoul, South Korea) http://www.voanews.com/content/full-voa-interview-transcript-japanese-foreign-minister-fumio-kishida-pyongyang-nuclea-senkaku-diaoyu/1611796.html#relatedInfoContainer Japan is holding out hope that a combination of more sanctions and the opportunity to return to dialogue will keep North Korea from further pursuing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.  That emerged from an exclusive interview VOA correspondent Steve Herman conducted Wednesday with Japan's foreign minister in Tokyo. While Japan expects the U.N. Security Council to enact fresh, tougher sanctions against North Korea, Japan's foreign minister, Fumio Kishida, voices continued ... http://www.voanews.com/content/japans-foreign-minister-urges-tougher-sanctions-on-north-korea/1611714.html http://www.voanews.com/content/japans-foreign-minister-urges-tougher-sanctions-on-north-korea/1611714.html Wed, 27 Feb 2013 09:30:33 -0500 Asia Steve Herman (Seoul, South Korea) http://www.voanews.com/content/japans-foreign-minister-urges-tougher-sanctions-on-north-korea/1611714.html#relatedInfoContainer South Korea has inaugurated its first female president. She is Park Geun-hye, the daughter of a former president with a controversial legacy. Before a crowd of 70,000 people, Madame Park Geun-hye, dressed in an olive green coat and wearing a violet-colored scarf, took the oath of office as her country's 11th president since its inception in 1948. She then saluted as a military band marched and cannons fired to celebrate her inauguration. Challenges ahead In her inaugural address, ... http://www.voanews.com/content/south-korea-swears-in-first-woman-president/1610036.html http://www.voanews.com/content/south-korea-swears-in-first-woman-president/1610036.html Sun, 24 Feb 2013 22:36:10 -0500 Asia Steve Herman (Seoul, South Korea) South Korea's top national security official, in an exclusive VOA interview, says there is no cause for alarm amid a fresh North Korean threat to destroy the South. National Security Adviser, Chun Yung-woo, says he is disappointed but not alarmed by a North Korean diplomat's bombastic threat. Chun told VOA's Korean Service Wednesday that Pyongyang routinely resorts to “violent vocabulary and expressions” to issue threats of war and retaliation. So such rhetoric unleashed at an ... http://www.voanews.com/content/south-korea-brushes-off-norths-final-destruction-threat/1607099.html http://www.voanews.com/content/south-korea-brushes-off-norths-final-destruction-threat/1607099.html Wed, 20 Feb 2013 07:04:40 -0500 Asia Steve Herman (Seoul, South Korea) http://www.voanews.com/content/south-korea-brushes-off-norths-final-destruction-threat/1607099.html#relatedInfoContainer