Seoul

South Korea has been keeping its military on high alert since the North began to increase the frequency of its ballistic missile tests and threaten the region [Xinhua]
Newly elected South Korean President Moon Jae-in is set to overhaul Seoul’s foreign policy with particular emphasis on easing tensions with the North.
On Wednesday, Moon appointed prominent university professors Lee Sang-Chul and Kim Ki-jung to the top security advisory positions to help him formulate new policies.

(COMMONDREAMS) In a potential sign of escalating tensions, North Korea has accused the United States and South Korea of having conspired to assassinate its leader, Kim Jong-un, with “biochemical agents.”

21st Century Wire says…
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, [China] “is ready to protect its interests“. This is not only a statement towards bellicose North Korea and their recent spate of ‘activity’, but as a warning to the United States. Smoke is billowing forth from the nose of the Dragon, and that’s not good for anyone.

(ANTIWAR) Any hope that the Trump Administration is hacking away from its bellicose footing with North Korea evaporated Monday morning, with Vice President Mike Pence visiting South Korea, and declaring the “era of strategic patience” toward North Korea to have ended, vowing that the US would achieve their “objectives” in North Korea by whatever means are necessary

The leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un (front) has vowed to speed up the nuclear and ballistic missile programs [Xinhua]
China’s foreign ministry has said that the current crisis in the Korean Peninsula can only be resolved through direct negotiations which ensure the benefit of all parties involved.