Tag: South Korea

Coronavirus May ‘Reactivate’ in Cured Patients, Korean CDC

The coronavirus may be “reactivating” in people who have been cured of the illness, according to Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About 51 patients classed as having been cured in South Korea have tested positive again, the CDC said in a briefing on Monday. Rather than being infected again, the virus may have been reactivated in these people, given they tested positive again shortly after being released from quarantine, said Jeong Eun-kyeong, director-general of the Korean CDC.

“While we are putting more weight on reactivation as the possible cause, we are conducting a comprehensive study on this,” Jeong said. “There have been many cases when a patient during treatment will test negative one day and positive another.” Continue reading.

U.S. military puts Korean workers on unpaid leave as talks over costs continue

Washington Post logoTOKYO — The commander of U.S. troops in South Korea said he was heartbroken on Wednesday after taking the unprecedented step of putting about 4,000 local workers on unpaid leave — in the midst of the coronavirus epidemic — as the allies struggle to reach agreement on sharing defense costs.

The impasse stems from President Trump’s demand that Seoul raise more than fivefold its contribution to the cost of stationing about 28,500 U.S. troops in the country, a demand that South Korea says is politically impossible to meet.

Negotiators have since narrowed the gap between the two sides, and South Korea believes a deal may be close. But with money running out, the U.S. military command in South Korea placed nearly half the South Korean workers at its military bases on unpaid leave on Wednesday, for the first time in the history of the 70-year alliance. Continue reading.

White House debated halting travel from South Korea, Italy

Axios logoSenior Trump administration officials discussed shutting down travel from Italy and South Korea as the coronavirus outbreak worsened in those countries, but ultimately decided the virus is spreading too quickly to be contained, sources with direct knowledge of the discussions tell Axios.

Why it matters: It’s extremely difficult to contain a viral outbreak in a globalized society, and if such a strategy isn’t likely to be much help, it’s even harder to justify the diplomatic, logistical and economic consequences.

What we’re hearing: Several federal agencies, including the State and Defense departments, were concerned about cutting off travel from those countries because the U.S. has a strong military presence in South Korea and Italy’s central location in the European Union would complicate restrictions, the sources said. Continue reading.

U.S. postpones military exercises with South Korea in nod toward North Korea

Defense Secretary Mark Esper says it is part of “a good-faith effort” to lessen tensions.

BANGKOK — U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Sunday the United States and South Korea have indefinitely postponed a joint military exercise in an “act of goodwill” toward North Korea.

The move comes even as Japan’s defense minister, whose country feels threatened by repeated North Korean missile launches, told Esper “no one could be optimistic about” changing the North’s behavior.

The statement by Japan’s defense chief, Taro Kono, was a stark illustration of the difficulties facing the U.S. and its international allies and partners as they struggle to get North Korea back to negotiations to eliminate its nuclear weapons and missiles. Talks launched by President Donald Trump in 2018 have stalled with no resumption in sight. Continue reading.

Apple and 7-Eleven show why Trump’s threat to sever China trade over Korea rings hollow

The following article by Greg Wright was posted on the Conversation website September 5, 2017:

President Donald Trump tweeted on September 3 that the U.S. “is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea” after it performed a nuclear test.

Though North Korea currently trades with nearly 100 countries, this threat was almost certainly aimed at China, by far its biggest trading partner.

And it is technically something that a U.S. president can do. Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, the president can impose trade restrictions in the face of an “unusual and extraordinary threat.”

Continue reading “Apple and 7-Eleven show why Trump’s threat to sever China trade over Korea rings hollow”

Trump preparing withdrawal from South Korea trade deal, a move opposed by top aides

The following article by Damian Paletta was posted on the Washington Post website September 2, 2017:

President Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in enter the White House Rose Garden in Washington on June 30. (Calla Kessler/The Washington Post)

President Trump has instructed advisers to prepare to withdraw the United States from a free-trade agreement with South Korea, several people close to the process said, a move that would stoke economic tensions with the U.S. ally as both countries confront a crisis over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

Withdrawing from the trade deal would back up Trump’s promises to crack down on what he considers unfair trade competition from other countries, but his top national security and economic advisers are pushing him to abandon the plan, arguing it would hamper U.S. economic growth and strain ties with an important ally. Officials including national security adviser H.R. McMaster, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and National Economic Council director Gary Cohn oppose withdrawal, said people familiar with the process who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal White House deliberations. Continue reading “Trump preparing withdrawal from South Korea trade deal, a move opposed by top aides”