South Korean plane skids off the runway at Hiroshima airport

A South Korean Asiana Airlines Airbus 320 skidded off the runway while landing at the Hiroshima airport, Japan.

The plane skidded of the runway and came to rest on the edge of the green area around the side of the runway. 74 passengers and seven crew members used emergency chutes to evacuate with 20 passengers having minor injuries.

Transport ministry officials said a plane wheel may have clipped a radio facility near the runway on landing. The structure, known as the localiser, helps aircraft find the landing strip. A fragment was found on the plane's left wheel.

Read more about it at: BBC
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Couple falls into sink hole in South Korea

Screenshot from the CCTV footage

A sink hole that appeared mysteriously in Seoul, South Korea, swallowed two passengers as they disembarked from a bus and stepped on the pavement.

A CCTV caught the moment as the two passengers were swallowed up by the 10ft sink hole. Sink hole reported to have appeared next to a construction site in the city.

View the CCTV footage below:

The couple were later pulled out with minor injuries and taken to hospital for observation.

Read more about it at: Daily Mail
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US Vice President Biden flies to China to Ease Tensions over Air Defence Zone

US Vice President Biden has arrived in Beijing for meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang over the newly enforced air defence zone by China over the East China Sea.

However, Chinese state media warned that Joe Biden should not repeat "erroneous remarks" on China's new air zone.

Mr Biden has arrived from Tokyo, where he reaffirmed the US alliance with Japan.

It may be added that China announced a new Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) last month, and said aircraft flying through the zone must follow its rules, including filing flight plans. The ADIZ covers islands claimed and controlled by Japan, and a submerged rock claimed by South Korea.

Read more about it at: BBC News
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China sends War Planes to its Newly Declared Air Defence Zone in East China Sea

While there is much hue and cry about China's newly declared air defence zone over East China Sea and its defiance by Japan and South Korea, it is learnt that China has sent war planes to the area to ensure strict enforcement.

The vast zone, announced last week, covers territory claimed by China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. The zone includes a groups of islands known as Diaoyu in Chinese and Senkaku by Japan

China's state news agency Xinhua quoted air force spokesman Col Shen Jinke as saying several fighter jets and an early warning aircraft had been deployed to carry out routine patrols as "a defensive measure and in line with international common practices".

In the wake of the new development, the dispute in an already tense region has raised concerns it could escalate into an unplanned military incident.

Read more about it here
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War with South Imminent: Cautions North Korea

The war of the words seems to adding to the looming shadows of war as the North cautiosn South of an imminent war.

It is reported that North Korea is to cut the last channel of communications with the South because war could break out at "any moment", it said on Wednesday, days of after warning the United States and South Korea of nuclear attack.

The move is the latest in a series of bellicose threats from North Korea in response to new U.N. sanctions imposed after its third nuclear test in February and to "hostile" military drills under way joining the United States and South Korea.

It may be added that the North has already stopped responding to calls on the hotline to the U.S. military that supervises the heavily armed Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and the Red Cross line that has been used by the governments of both sides.

Read more about it at: Huffington Post
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South Korea 'MAY' Extend Range of Ballistic Missiles: Says US

The United States has 'agreed to allow' South Korea to extend the range and payload of its ballistic missiles, the government here said on Sunday while announcing a revised bilateral missile pact that tries to balance Washington’s fear of a regional arms race with its ally’s concern over growing military threats from North Korea.

After two years of closely monitored negotiations that tested their alliance, the United States also agreed to let South Korea develop and deploy more powerful unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, that can carry more reconnaissance gear and weapons.

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Until now, South Korea has been barred from deploying ballistic missiles with a range of more than 300 kilometers, or 187 miles, and a payload of more than 500 kilograms, or 1,100 pounds — a capacity officials here believed was not enough to protect their country from North Korea’s rapidly expanding nuclear and missile capabilities. The South was also banned from deploying drones that can carry more than 500 kilograms of weapons or equipment.

Read more: The NY Times

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Samsung wants iPhone 5 added to patent case against Apple

South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. says it has filed a motion with a U.S. court to add Apple's iPhone 5 to their ongoing patent battle.

Samsung says it filed the motion Monday with the California court, alleging that Apple's new phone infringes on eight of its patents.

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Samsung released a statement Tuesday saying, "We have always preferred to compete in the marketplace with our innovative products, rather than in courtrooms. However, Apple continues to take aggressive legal measures that will limit market competition."

Read more: NDTV

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North Korea threatens to reduce Seoul to ashes with 'unusual methods'

North Korea's military yesterday made an extraordinary threat of "special actions" soon to turn parts of the South Korean capital to ashes, accusing Seoul's conservative government of defaming its leadership.

The North said its targets were "the Lee Myung-Bak group of traitors, the arch criminals, and the group of rat-like elements including conservative media destroying the mainstay of the fair public opinion".

It said the actions "will reduce all... to ashes in three or four minutes... by unprecedented peculiar means and methods of our own style".

Read more: Herald Sun

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Oil Warfare: U.S. presses China, Japan, South Korea to trim Iran oil imports

[ via LA Times ] 10 Jan

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner faces a challenge as he asks those nations to help Washington use sanctions to pressure Tehran over its nuclear program.

The Obama administration is pressing those countries to help squeeze Iran financially, hoping to compel the Middle Eastern nation to abandon what Washington and allies say is a plan to develop nuclear weapons. 

China has so far rebuffed the overtures, arguing there should be no link between trade with Iran and its nuclear program. Iran insists its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only.

Read more: LA Times

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USA asks South Korea to Cut Petrochemical Imports from Iran

[ The New York Times ] 5 Dec

A senior American diplomat urged South Korea on Monday to suspend imports of Iranian petrochemicals as Washington tried to rally international pressure on Iran to stop its nuclear program, reports the NY Times.

South Korean imports of Iranian petrochemicals amount only to $300 million a year. Still, the country fears damaging its other trade ties with Iran, especially crude oil imports. Iran is the fourth-largest source of  crude oil for South Korea, accounting  for 10 percent of its oil imports.

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