Tag Archives: korea

Business/Economics, International

Iran and Germany sign Gas deal, so much for U.S. backed UN sanctions

Germany has agreed to provide Iran with the latest technology and training, to take advantage of the South Pars natural gas fields in Iran.

Iran is also working with several European countries for similar deals: “We are in talks with many foreign companies to attract U.S.$20 billion of investment.”-Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh, Managing-Director of the National Iranian Offshore Oil Company

Iran has already signed a deal with South Korea.

Iran had signed a deal with the French, but said the French failed to live up to their end of the bargain.

Iran hopes to push production of the South Pars gas fields up to 1.1 billion cubic meters per day.

International

Volcano coming back to life, Korea to hold second round of talks about what to do

A couple of weeks ago the governments of North and South Korea met over the resurrection of a dormant volcano, Mount Paekdu (Baekdu).  The Korean volcano stirred to life after the 9.0 quake off the Pacific Coast of Japan on March 11.  The last time it erupted was in 1903.

Korean officials have decided the situation is urgent enough to have another meeting about it. The volcano sits on the border of North Korea, and China.

South Korea’s National Institute of Environmental Research said that an eruption now could drop temperatures by two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) for two months, devastating agriculture.

International, Opinion, U.S.

Obama willing to sell out U.S. troops to South Korean Command, sign of declining U.S. Empire

In an unprecedented move, the United States has agreed, in principal, to put U.S. forces under the direct command of South Korea. Details are still being worked out.

“It is an unprecedented measure since the U.S. military is characteristically reluctant to place troops under the command of other countries.”–The Chosun Ilbo, Korean newspaper

Officially the move is to help South Korea in case of attack by North Korea. But isn’t that why our troops are there to begin with? Why do they have to be placed under direct control of the South Koreans?  Never in United States history has another country controlled our military forces! Even the Russians didn’t do that after the fall of the Soviet Union.  Is it another sign of the decline of the U.S. Empire?

 

International

Concerns over volcano may unite North & South Korea

The 9.0 quake/tsunami has officials in North and South Korea concerned over possible eruption of the Baekdu volcano in North Korea.

The last time it erupted was in 1903.

The increase seismic activity in the area, including volcanic activity in Japan and Eastern Russia, has Korean officials worried so much that it has become part of their unification discussions.  However, both sides are downplaying it.

Korea is directly due west of the Japanese state of Honshu.

Fukushima

South Korea agrees to send Boric Acid to Japan

South Korea is willing to send Japan 53 tons of Boric Acid to Japan, to help fight the nuclear disaster.

That amount of boric acid is almost all that South Korea has.

Boric acid is an antiseptic, insecticide, flame retardant, and it’s used in nuclear power plants to control the fission rate of uranium.

TEPCO officials want to use it at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.  They said they will test a one kilogram sample from Korea on Wednesday.