A South Korean protester attempted ritual suicide on Wednesday amid rising anger over Japan’s decision to launch an ocean survey in disputed waters between the two countries. Defying South Korean warnings, Tokyo dispatched two ships to the area claimed by both countries, renewing a feud tied to colonial history that has festered for decades.
North Korea unveiled a new economic blueprint this week that sets the impoverished Stalinist state the target of becoming a high-technology powerhouse within two decades. Military spending remains the biggest budget item and a top priority for North Korea, one of the world’s poorest countries that fields the fifth biggest army.
South Korean electronics giant Samsung will unveil its new portable music player on Sunday in a direct challenge to the now iconic iPod, one of the world’s best-selling products from United States rival Apple. Samsung’s new flash memory MP3 player, called the YP-Z5, will be released first in the United States on the home turf of its rival.
A United States envoy confirmed on Wednesday that North Korea has begun preparations for a nuclear test as the Stalinist state claimed it has taken a key step towards the manufacture of more atomic bombs. North Korea is believed to have as many as eight nuclear weapons, according to estimates, but has not tested one so far.