Korea ( South & North ) 01 (May 08 - Nov 10)

[kennynah]

not surprising... they sold out their northern brethrens to the americans...that's just my biased view...

they've lost much of their asian identity 2 decades ago

[millionairemind]

Jul 26, 2010
S.Korea Q2 GDP growth slows
SEOUL - SOUTH Korea's economic growth slowed less than expected in the second quarter, central bank data showed on Monday, offering some respite to investors worried that the global recovery was losing steam.

Gross domestic product for the April-June period rose by a seasonally adjusted 1.5 per cent from the previous quarter and by 7.2 per cent from a year earlier, the Bank of Korea's first official estimates showed.

The data follows slightly softer-than-expected growth and output figures from China and signs that the US recovery was losing steam, though a survey on Thursday last week suggested the euro zone was holding up better than thought.

Median forecasts from a Reuters survey were for Asia's fourth-largest economy to grow a seasonally adjusted 1.1 per cent in the second quarter over the previous three months and by 6.7 per cent over the comparable 2009 period.

In the first quarter, South Korea's economy grew a seasonally adjusted 2.1 per cent over the previous three months and by 8.1 per cent over a year before. -- REUTERS

[millionairemind]

Aug 12, 2010
S.Korea freezes key rate
SEOUL - THE Bank of Korea kept its key interest rate unchanged at 2.25 per cent on Thursday, a month after unexpectedly raising it, but warned further rises could be on the cards as the economy picks up.

'The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Korea decided on Thursday to maintain the base rate at its current level (2.25 per cent),' the bank said in a statement.

The bank last month lifted up the base rate from a record low of two per cent, ending 16 straight months of standstill, in a bid to help curb mounting inflationary pressure. It said the domestic economy has entered an 'accelerating' phase, forecasting 5.9 per cent growth this year, the highest rate in eight years.

While consumer prices remain low, rising 2.6 per cent year on year in July, analysts predict inflation to hit the top end of the Bank of Korea's 2-4 per cent target by the end of the year.

Globally, it said emerging market economies had sustained their favourable performance, while major advanced countries were largely continuing their recovery trend.

However, it warned that despite unrest on international financial markets easing, the heightened volatility of economic activity in major countries could pose a risk to the global recovery, the bank said.

'The upward trend of domestic business activity has been maintained,' it said, adding exports have continued rising as domestic demand has steadily increased. 'The domestic economy is expected to continue on an upward track, even in the presence of external risk,' it said.

Consumer price inflation has so far remained below three percent, but in the future, upward pressures are expected to build continuously, owing to an increase in demand, the bank said. -- AFP

[winston]

Maybe the Remote Viewers are correct ie. the South will start the next Korean war rather than the North ..

South Korean president proposes plan to reunite with North Korea
By the CNN Wire Staff

(CNN) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has proposed a plan to reunite his country with North Korea and suggested a tax to prepare for the costs expected if the two countries come together, South Korea's state media said Sunday.

"Today inter-Korean relations demand a new paradigm," Lee said in a speech to mark the 65th anniversary of Korea's independence from Japanese colonial rule, Yonhap reported.

Lee said the two countries should form a "peace community," and stressed the importance of the denuclearization of North Korea, Yonhap reported. He added that inter-Korean exchanges are needed to help build North Korea's economy, according to Yonhap.

"It is imperative that the two sides choose coexistence instead of confrontation, progress instead of stagnation. The two of us need to overcome the current state of division and proceed with the goal of peaceful reunification," Lee said, according to Yonhap.

The president's Grand National Party took a beating in recent local elections, which analysts see as a referendum on his response to the sinking of a South Korean warship.

The South Korean naval ship Cheonan sank March 26, killing 46 sailors and raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea has denied charges it fired a torpedo that sank the Cheonan.

[winston]

N.Korea develops camouflage tactics

North Korea has developed camouflage materials such as stealth paint to hide warships, tanks or fighter jets from foreign reconnaissance satellites and aircraft, reports said Monday.

A confidential field manual used by the communist North's military showed the isolated regime has also built a network of foxholes and caves, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported.

The newspaper said the manual quoted North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il as saying: "Modern warfare is stealth warfare. We can say that victory or defeat will be determined by how we carry out stealth warfare."

The handbook, printed in 2005, was smuggled out of the North by a source through Caleb Mission, a South Korean Christian organisation.

It gives detailed instructions on how to make and apply the stealth paint, which absorbs radar waves, Chosun Ilbo said.

Military officials in Seoul declined to confirm the report.

The manual describes how to conceal facilities or equipment and how to make military units look as though they are moving when they are not to deceive South Korean and US reconnaissance.

Chosun Ilbo quoted an unnamed intelligence expert as saying he was surprised to find that the North's military has done "more intensive and careful research into stealth tactics than we thought".

Yonhap news agency carried a similar report.

The handbook describes concealing long-range artillery equipment by applying radar-reflective materials, it said.

The North's military was also ordered to pave fake aircraft runways to deceive foreign prying eyes, Yonhap said.

Source: AFP Global Edition

[kennynah]

Philadelphia Experiment II

[winston]

Wonder how many times he has been to Korea ?

Seven Reasons to Buy South Korean Equities by Louis Basenese

Here are seven other reasons why South Korea represents a good destination for your money...

1. Stocks Are Cheap and Trending Higher:

Three months ago, Korea's stock market (the Kospi Index) was trading close to its late 2008 lows, based on a forward price-to-earnings ratio. At the same time, stocks were valued at about eight times forward earnings, which was a full standard deviation away from the historical average.

In short, a reversion to the mean was in order. And it's materializing. Over the past three months, the Kospi has rallied by 11%, compared to a 5% decline for the S&P 500 index.

But even after the move, South Korean stocks are still undervalued. They currently trade for less than 10 times forward earnings and less than one times sales, on average. And the only thing better than cheap stocks are cheap stocks with positive momentum on their side.

2. The South Korean Economy is Growing Solidly:

Based on estimates from The Economist and International Monetary Fund, South Korea's GDP is likely to grow by at least 5.75% this year.

3. Inflation is in Check:

Consumer prices were only up 2.6% in July, year-over-year. But the Bank of Korea (BOK) is already on the scene to prevent inflation from topping 4%. In fact, the bank announced a surprise interest rate hike to 2.25% in July.

4. The Currency is Undervalued:

Any way you look at it, the South Korean won is undervalued relative to the U.S. dollar. In fact, Barclays estimates the discount at approximately 35%. Meanwhile, The Economist's Big Mac Index pegs the discount around 20%. Even if stock prices stagnate, we can profit from an appreciating currency.

5. The South Korean Government's Balance Sheet is Solid:

Unlike some countries, South Korea didn't overeat at the debt buffet. Public spending only accounts for about 25% of GDP, compared to 115% in Greece and 192% in Japan. Moreover, the country is enjoying a current account surplus, thanks to strong exports, particularly of semiconductors and automobiles.

6. South Korea is on the Verge of a Promotion:

When MSCI reviewed countries for reclassification this year, South Korea narrowly missed getting promoted from emerging market to developed status.

As MSCI put it, South Korea "continues to meet most developed markets criteria... notably economic development, market size and liquidity."

An easily convertible currency and widespread access to stock market data are the only criteria holding it back. But improvements are being made on both fronts. And rest assured, when the promotion comes, it will legitimize the opportunity, bringing with it more investment capital and boosting equity prices. For now, South Korea remains one of the most developed emerging markets out there (i.e. - it's less risky).

7. Mark Mobius is on Our Side:

When it comes to emerging markets, no investor has a better track record than Mark Mobius. He's notoriously the first to sniff out opportunities. And he has positive things to say about South Korea, including that he's "encouraged" by the recent pickup in new orders for South Korean manufacturers.

Even better, he's backing up his talk with capital. South Korea represents one of the top 10 countries for investment in his closed-end Templeton Emerging Markets Fund (NYSE: EMF).


Source: Investment U

[kennynah]

bloomberg - 9/9

Bank of Korea Leaves Interest Rate Unchanged as Recovery Slows

The Bank of Korea unexpectedly left its benchmark interest rate unchanged, a sign of concern that slowing external demand will hurt exports in Asia’s fourth- biggest economy.

[winston]

N.Korea beefs up arsenal near border with South: report

North Korea beefed up its military arsenal near its border with the South last year despite a severe economic downturn, a government source in Seoul was quoted as saying Sunday.

The communist country deployed some 200 additional units of 240-mm multiple-rocket launchers along the heavily-fortified border, Yonhap news agency reported.

The 240-millimetre, which can shoot up to 22 rounds every 35 minutes and has a range of 60 kilometres (37 miles), is considered by the South's military as a "core threat" to the capital city of Seoul and populous suburbs, Yonhap said.

Seoul, about 50 kilometres south of the tense border, has a population of 10.4 million people, more than one fifth of the nation's total population.

The US has 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea as a deterrent against the North, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a ceasefire.

The source said Pyongyang also deployed 2,100 new artillery guns and 300 tanks, adding that the communist state is now known to have some 10,600 projectile weapons and 4,200 tanks.

The South's defence ministry said in a 2008 white paper that Pyongyang is armed with about 8,500 artillery guns and 3,900 tanks.

North Korea's increased military arsenal, despite its ailing economy and acute food shortage, "proves that its intention of military threat to the South remains unchanged", the source was quoted as saying.

An defence white paper to be published in early October will contain figures on the North's latest military capability, the defence ministry said.

Despite its ailing economy and severe food shortage, the North's military totals 1.2 million personnel and is one of the world's largest.

Cross-border ties has been icy since Seoul accused Pyongyang of attacking a South Korean warship in March and killing 46 sailors.

The North angrily denied the charge, further heightening tension in the relations already strained since the South's conservative government took hardline policies on Pyongyang.

But Pyongyang recently made a series of conciliatory gestures by returning the crew of a detained South Korean boat, offering to hold a new round of reunions for families separated by the peninsula's division and accepting flood aid from Seoul.

Aid groups say the North's food crisis is expected to worsen this year because of floods and a poor harvest.

But the North has stockpiled almost one million tons of rice for its military by storing rice aid from overseas for the military and releasing older rice to the people, a South Korean ruling party lawmaker said Friday.

Source: AFP Asian Edition

[kennynah]

wont hoot one lah.... wana hoot, long time ago hoot liao....