Rare inflight presidential briefing, end-of-war declaration response, and copy/pasting our brains
K-NEWS BITES
Mon 2021-09-27
[FULL TRANSCRIPT] Moon holds rare inflight news briefing (7 min read)
Last week Thursday, President Moon Jae-in “held a rare inflight news briefing on his way back home after wrapping up a packed five-day trip to New York and Hawaii.” The article is in a Q&A format covering questions about the UN General Assembly, the end-of-war declaration suggestion, North Korea relations, COVID19, and plans during the last days of his single five year term in office, which ends in May next year. The article contains a photo of the news briefing which was conducted on board the Air Force One presidential jet.
AUKUS comes as pressure on Seoul to join anti-China campaign (3 min read)
“AUKUS, a new trilateral security partnership between the U.K., Australia and the U.S., is placing indirect pressure on South Korea to join Washington's campaign to contain an assertive China, and throwing a new challenge for the Moon Jae-in administration's balancing act between the two superpowers.” Overall, President Moon and his administration appears to be taking a neutral stance on the matter. In contrast, it was also noted that last October, “former Deputy National Security Advisor Kim Hyun-jong… visited the U.S. last October to ask for Washington's cooperation in supplying nuclear fuel [for nuclear submarines]; which was refused.”
PM Kim says no change in plan for phased recovery to normal life despite virus surge (1 min read)
Despite the recent surge in new coronavirus infections, Prime Minister Kim Boo-Kyum said on Sunday, “South Korea will still be able to carry out its plan for a phased return to normal life, starting in late October… By late October, 70 percent of the entire population will have gotten fully vaccinated… That means the space for the coronavirus will have shrunken that much. Then, we will be able to move onto the next stage,” however, wearing masks is likely to continue. The prime minister also “stressed the challenges facing small shop owners and other businesses that have been faltering under stringent distancing restrictions.”
Daily new cases fall below 3,000 amid lingering woes over spreading virus (2 min read)
After millions of South Koreans returned home after Chuseok, which ran from Monday to Wednesday, on Sunday, “the country reported 2,771 new COVID-19 cases... bringing the total caseload to 301,172, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).” This is after a new record high of 3,273 new cases was recorded the previous day (Saturday). “The country added nine more deaths from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 2,450.”
General COVID Information for residents in Korea:
Ministry of Health and Welfare, South Korea
Coronavirus Statistics for South Korea
North Korea says South Korea's call to declare end of Korean War is premature (2 min read)
“South Korea's call to declare a formal end to the Korean War is premature as there is no guarantee it would lead to the withdrawal of "US hostile policy" toward Pyongyang…The US withdrawal of its double standards and hostile policy is the top priority in stabilizing the situation of the Korean peninsula and ensuring peace on it... North Korean state media KCNA reported on Friday, citing Vice Foreign Minister Ri Thae Song.”
Kim Jong-un’s sister says North Korea open to talks with South if Seoul shows ‘respect’ (2 min read)
“An inter-Korean summit between Kim Jong-un and Moon could be held “only when impartiality and the attitude of respecting each other” are guaranteed, Kim Yo-jong said in a statement carried by Pyongyang’s official KCNA news agency.” She also said such a summit, “as well as discussions on a declaration to end the war, could be held “at an early date through constructive discussions… I felt that the atmosphere of the South Korean public desiring to recover the inter-Korean relations from a deadlock and achieve peaceful stability as soon as possible is irresistibly strong… We, too, have the same desire.”
N. Korean leader highlights strong ties with China against 'hostile forces' (1 min read)
“North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said his country's strong relations with China will further grow against "vicious challenges and obstruction by the hostile forces" in a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pyongyang's state media reported Saturday. Kim made the remark in a reply to Xi's earlier letter that offered congratulations on the North's 73rd founding anniversary, where the Chinese leader said he intends to "develop these ties of friendship and cooperation on a long-term basis and in a stable way," according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).”
Samsung presents vision for brain-like neuromorphic chips (2 min read)
“Samsung Electronics introduced a new approach to reverse engineer the brain on a memory chip in a paper co-authored with Harvard University researchers that was published in the journal Nature Electronics… The paper suggests a way to copy the brain's neuronal connection map using a nanoelectrode array… and to paste this map onto a high-density three-dimensional network of solid-state memory chips.” Although the authors admit this is “highly ambitious” they “envision creating a memory chip that approximates the computing traits of the brain, such as low power, facile learning, adaption to the environment and autonomy and cognition.”
LIG Nex1 to develop Korea’s own satellite navigation system (3 min read)
The current “Global Positioning System”, which we depend on, is “provided by a constellation of 31 satellites owned by the US.” Hence, “the country has set out to develop the Korean Positioning System, a local version of GPS, with a 3.7 trillion won ($3.1 billion) budget.” The KPS project aims to have “seven to eight satellites in orbit by 2035, and the first launch planned for 2027.. If successful, the country will join the US, Russia, Europe, China, India and Japan that have their own satellite networks for high-precision positioning, navigation and timing.”
[Weekender] Metaverse: the new gold rush (4 min read)
“A growing number of South Korean companies are turning to the metaverse to offer new services, promote their products and train their staff, ushering in what has been described as the “future of the internet.”... In the metaverse, individuals can interact with each other as avatars using the latest virtual technology such as augmented reality and virtual reality.” Companies such as BGF Retail (CU convenience stores), Coca-Cola, and Netmarble are creating virtual spaces in these, while companies such as Samsung Electronics, SK Telecom and Lotte E&C have started to conduct recruiting drives in these metaverses.” The article contains screenshots of some examples of these online spaces and avatars.
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