CIA had secret office in Seoul, Spot robot moves like Jagger, and don’t cheat in your TOPIK exam
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K-NEWS BITES
Mon 2021-11-01 (KST)
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CIA ran previously undisclosed office in Seoul until last year: sources (1 min read)
“The existence of the office, which was used to collect open-source intelligence on South Korea as part of the CIA's Open Source Enterprise, became known after three former employees sued the US government for firing them, according to the sources. The plaintiffs, all South Koreans, were hired between 2005 and 2009 and laid off around February and March of last year. They claimed in their lawsuit that their dismissal was unfair because there were no urgent business grounds for it… The CIA reportedly closed all of its overseas open-source intelligence offices in June last year.”
Moon asks Pope Francis to visit N. Korea (1 min read)
“South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday asked Pope Francis to visit North Korea to bring peace on the Korean Peninsula, and the pope positively reacted to the offer, saying he is willing to do so if he receives an invitation from the North, an official said… No pontiff has ever visited North Korea, which has no formal diplomatic relations with the Vatican. The pope has called for peace on the peninsula and previously expressed a willingness to visit North Korea.”
'Living with COVID-19' begins amid virus resurgence (3 min read)
“Despite a recent resurgence in the number of daily COVID-19 infections, Korea is taking its first step in return to normalcy from Monday with its living with COVID’ strategy... With the limit on the size of private gatherings and operating hours for business set to be eased or lifted, worries about a possible spike in the number of daily infections remain... According to the health authorities’ plan, the first phase of changes is mainly focused on lifting restrictions for businesses that suffered from operating hour limits under the highest level of social distancing measures since July.”
New virus cases over 2,100 for 3rd day ahead of lifting of virus curbs (2 min read)
“The country added 2,104 new COVID-19 cases, including 2,089 local infections, raising the total caseload to 362,639... The death toll rose by 13 to 2,830 on Friday. The fatality rate stood at 0.78 percent... The number of fully vaccinated people came to 38.29 million, or 74.6 percent.”
General COVID Information for residents in Korea:
Ministry of Health and Welfare, South Korea
Coronavirus Statistics for South Korea
How China-US Competition Factors Into Moon’s Final Inter-Korea Push (9 min read)
“The bottom line is that Moon wants more strategic autonomy for South Korea to decide for itself how best to balance between the U.S. and China, even while both superpowers are trying to consolidate their allies and partners into stronger and more formalized arrangements. Recently Moon appears to have bravely tilted toward the U.S. side, in hopes of advancing his KPI [Korea Peace Intiative] with an end-of-war declaration… The alliance with the United States will remain the cornerstone of South Korea’s defense policy, but the U.S. will be less dominant within the alliance.”
Seoul Turns to Vatican to Salvage Diplomacy with Pyongyang (3 min read)
“Some former U.S. officials and experts are doubtful that a papal visit would break the current stalemate on the peninsula, where inter-Korean diplomacy and talks between Washington and Pyongyang have been stalled since 2019…. But other experts say a papal visit could create an opportunity for Kim to bring North Korea out of its self-imposed isolation and establish a route toward dialogue… Pope Francis brokered a diplomatic breakthrough between the U.S. and Cuba by sending letters to then-President Barack Obama and then-President Raul Castro and hosting a meeting at the Vatican for them in October 2014.”
North Korean propaganda outlet calls South Korea's Nuri space rocket launch 'failure' (1 min read)
“A North Korean propaganda outlet described South Korea's ‘half-successful’ launch of its first domestically developed space rocket as ‘a definite failure,’ and that the ‘technological skills of Nuri are still 10 to 20 years behind,’ and that the South has ‘a long way to go before it proves its launching ability and competitiveness,’ quoting another expert.… The KSLV II [Nuri] was successfully launched from the country's southwest coast Oct. 21, flying to a target altitude of 700 kilometers. But it failed to put its 1.5-ton dummy satellite into orbit.”
China’s New Land Borders Law Is a Nightmare for North Korean Refugees (3 min read)
“Although the main focus of China’s new land law relates to territorial disputes with neighboring countries like India, it also contains specific language applicable to the influx of outside populations… North Korean refugees, in particular, will face increased challenges” and continue to be rejected, detained, and forcibly repatriated by Chinese law enforcement. “While international organizations such as the United Nations and Human Rights Watch have urged the Chinese government to change its stance toward North Korean refugees, Beijing is unlikely to buckle under pressure, as it continues to view any influx of refugees as a threat to its national security.”
Boston Dynamics wants you to know its Spot robot has moves like Jagger (1 min read)
“In a new solo display, we get to see [‘Spot’ the robot] move to “Start Me Up” from The Rolling Stones in honor of the 40th anniversary of their 1981 album Tattoo You. And if you thought Spot dancing was too close to the uncanny valley, wait until you see it lip-sync… Earlier in the year, Hyundai completed its acquisition of the company, making it the third owner of the firm in the span of a decade. More recently, the automaker detailed how it would put Spot to work at its assembly plants in South Korea.” The article contains a 1 min 25 sec long video of Spot alongside, and perfectly imitating Mick Jagger (and the Rolling Stones).
South Korea to develop its own naval interception system (1 min read)
“South Korea will start developing its own naval interception system in December to protect its ships from hostile aircraft and missiles, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said on Friday. South Korea, which currently imports interception systems from the United States and the Netherlands, expects to develop its own Close In Weapon System-II (CIWS-II) by 2027… The CIWS-II project will be based on the technologies developed in South Korea with the capacity to counter various types of threats, including hostile sea-skimming missiles and high-speed boats, according to the state arms procurement agency.”
29 foreigners caught cheating on Korean language test (1 min read)
“According to the National Institute for International Education, the foreigners either disobeyed supervisors' order to turn in their phones and other mobile gadgets or were caught possessing forbidden electronic devices while taking the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) at a school in Seoul's Gangdong district Sunday. Of them, 13 were Chinese and nine others were Vietnamese nationals. They also included two Kazakhstan nationals and two Japanese people. Additionally, two Korean nationals were also caught cheating on the test. Their test results will be invalidated, the institute said.”
TOPIK to Go Online by 2023, Verbal Test to Be Added Next Year (1 min read)
The Education Ministry aims to “make a complete transition [of TOPIK] to internet-based tests by 2023, allowing participants an opportunity to take a test at least once a month for overseas Koreans and foreigners.The number of TOPIK applicants has increased every year since 2017 but slightly dropped in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic… The Test of Proficiency in Korean, or TOPIK, will be held six times next year, with a verbal test added for the first time in the latter half of 2022.”
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