Think twice' before you 'Thunder': N Korea threatens to scrap Trump summit

North Korea abruptly canceled talks with South Korea and warned the U.S. to “think twice” about the fate of President Donald Trump’s planned meeting with Kim Jong Un next month, tamping down hopes of a breakthrough at the historic summit.

North Korea told South Korean authorities that it was “indefinitely” suspending minister-level talks planned for Wednesday, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said. North Korea cited the annual South Korean-U.S. “Max Thunder” air defense drills in its decision to call off the meeting, which was intended to discuss implementing last month’s peace declaration with South Korea.

“The U.S. will have to think twice about the fate of the DPRK-U.S. summit now on high agenda before a provocative military racket against the DPRK in league with the south Korean authorities,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency said Wednesday, using an abbreviation for North Korea’s formal name. “We will closely watch the ensuing behavior of the U.S. and the South Korean authorities.”

World's busiest air routes: Tiny South Korean island beats London, New York

The world’s busiest air route isn’t London to Paris or New York to Los Angeles, but the trip between Seoul and a tiny island off the coast of South Korea.

Planes made 65,000 trips between the Korean capital and Jeju island -- a journey of little more than an hour -- in 2017, equivalent to 178 flights a day, according to data from OAG Aviation Worldwide Ltd. That’s almost double the 35,000 trips on the busiest North American route: Los Angeles to San Francisco.

Asian cities dominated the list, cementing the region’s status as the world’s fastest-growing travel market. Among the 10 busiest routes in the world last year, Los Angeles-San Francisco was the only North American entry and there wasn’t a single European destination. The top European route in OAG’s rankings was Dublin-London Heathrow with about 14,500 flights.
Jeju-Seoul

The beaches and resorts of Jeju, an island off the southernmost tip of the Korean peninsula, have drawn local holiday-makers for decades. These days, Japanese and Chinese tourists are joining the South Koreans on the sand.

Melbourne-Sydney

Unless you have 10 hours to spare and love driving, a 90-minute flight is the best way to shuttle between Australia’s two biggest population centers. Weekday rush-hour connections are the domain of suited bankers and business travelers. Shoppers, sports fans and tourists take the cheaper seats.

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I too have a 'Nuclear button': Trump warns 'food-starved' North Korea's Kim

United States President Donald Trump has hit back at North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, saying that he too has a nuclear button on his desk which was much bigger and powerful than his.

"North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the 'Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times'. Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!" Trump said on twitter on Tuesday.

Trump's tweet came days after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned the United States that "the nuclear button is always on the desk of my office".

"The entire mainland of the US is within the range of our nuclear weapons and the nuclear button is always on the desk of my office. They should accurately be aware that this is not a threat but a reality," he said, according to a CNN translation of his speech, during his national New Year's address.

He also declared that North Korea was "a responsible nuclear nation that loves peace" and that "the US cannot wage a war" against it.

Rising tensions between the U.S. and North Korea, which conducted its largest nuclear test in September and fired off a powerful ICBM in late November, have raised concerns worldwide.
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Beijing slams US sanctions on Chinese firms trading with North Korea

China today rejected new United States sanctions targeting Chinese traders doing business with North Korea as "wrong", and urged the US to share any "solid" evidence.

"We consistently oppose any country adopting unilateral sanctions based on its own domestic laws and regulations and the wrong method of exercising long-arm jurisdiction," foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters.
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Qualcomm rejects Broadcom's $103-bn takeover bid, says offer undervalued

Mobile chipmaker Qualcomm Inc on Monday rejected rival Broadcom Ltd's $103-billion takeover bid, saying the offer "dramatically" undervalued the US company.

Shares of Qualcomm were up 1 per cent at $65.25 in premarket trading, while those of Broadcom fell 0.7 per cent to $263.

"After a comprehensive review, conducted in consultation with our financial and legal advisors, the Board has concluded that Broadcom's proposal dramatically undervalues Qualcomm and comes with significant regulatory uncertainty," Qualcomm's Presiding Director Tom Horton said in a statement.

Broadcom made an unsolicited bid last week in its efforts to become the dominant supplier of chips used in the 1.5 billion or so smartphones expected to be sold around the world this year.

Reuters reported on Sunday that Qualcomm would rebuff the $70 per share offer, citing people familiar with the matter.

Broadcom could not immediately be reached for comment.

The offer also comes at a time when Qualcomm is trying to close its pending $38-billion acquisition of automotive chipmaker NXP Semiconductors NV.

Broadcom has indicated it is willing to buy Qualcomm irrespective of whether it closes the NXP deal.
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Amid tensions with North Korea, US to test anti-missile system in Alaska

The US military is preparing to conduct another test of a missile-intercept system in Alaska, the Pentagon said today, amid continued tensions with North Korea over its ballistic missile program.

Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said a routine test of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system had been scheduled to go ahead "soon".

"These tests are done as a routine measure to make sure that the system is ready," he said.

"They are scheduled well in advance of any other real world geopolitical events going on."

A notice to mariners put out by the US Coast Guard said the test could occur as soon as Saturday.

THAAD is designed to intercept and destroy short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles during their final phase of flight.

THAAD is not designed to stop an ICBM -- that job is left primarily to the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) interceptor system.
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'Foolish daydream': North Korea's jibe at Japan's bid to grab Tok Islets

North Korea on Thursday slammed Japan for trying to lay claim to the Tok Islets by presenting them as Japanese territory in teaching materials for schools.

According to Xinhua news agency, the official daily Rodong Sinmun said in a commentary that such acts are being committed by "Japanese reactionaries with robber-like intention".

"The Japanese reactionaries persistently assert that the Tok Islets are inviolable parts of their territory and imbue rising generations with ambition for the Tok Islets. Their purpose is to use their youngsters as a shock brigade for grabbing the Tok Islets and re-invading Korea in the future," said the newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.

It also accused Japan of frequently staging combat drills for capturing the islets by mobilising the Self-Defence Forces and preparing the country for a state of war.

"No matter how desperately Japan may assert the Tok Islets belong to its territory, it can convince no one. Japan's bid to grab the Tok Islets is a foolish daydream," it said.

The Japanese government decided to write into official school textbooks that the Tok Islets are part of Japan, a claim denounced by both Pyongyang and Seoul.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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