Investors eye Korea peninsula, China data

Demand for other safe-haven assets strengthened, with spot gold trading at $1,294.34 an ounce at 8:55 am HK/SIN, hitting a five-month high of $1,295.50 earlier in the session. “Gold has surged (classic geopolitical risk reflex) along with the slump in U.S. Treasury yields (another haven trade) while equities are softer … Nonetheless, emerging markets and higher yielding currencies have not sold off in alarm either, with most emerging market Asia currencies still fairly buoyant,” Mizuho economist Vishnu Varathan said in a Monday morning note. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was lower by 0.5 percent but the Kospi climbed 0.43 percent. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.64 percent while the Shenzhen Composite fell 0.672 percent. Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand…
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Pence lands in Seoul as tension…

Vice President Mike Pence arrived in South Korea on Sunday for a long-planned visit aimed in part at reassuring a nervous ally — a trip that gained new significance over the weekend as North Korea attempted to project its military might.Pence’s first official journey to Asia as vice president came as tensions between North Korea and the United States were already heightened to levels not seen in years. Both countries have exchanged heated rhetoric in recent days about Pyongyang’s advancing nuclear and missile programs.The vice president landed just hours after North Korea launched what security officials believe was a medium-range ballistic missile near the seaside city of Sinbo — a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.The missile test apparently…
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Tensions grow on Korean peninsula ahead…

By Jack Kim and Sue-Lin Wong | SEOUL/PYONGYANG SEOUL/PYONGYANG South Korea said on Thursday it believed it would be consulted by the United States before any possible pre-emptive U.S. strike against Pyongyang, where foreign journalists gathered for “a big and important event”.With a U.S. aircraft carrier group steaming to the area, tensions on the Korean peninsula grew this week amid concern that the reclusive North could soon conduct its sixth nuclear test or more missile launches in defiance of United Nations sanctions.China, North Korea’s sole major ally and benefactor, has called for a peaceful resolution after a sharp rise in rhetoric between the United States and Pyongyang.While U.S. President Donald Trump has put North Korea “clearly on notice” that he…
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China’s Xi tells Trump situation on…

North Korean state media warned on Tuesday of a nuclear attack on the United States at any sign of American aggression. Officials from the North, including leader Kim Jong Un, have indicated an intercontinental ballistic missile test or something similar could be coming. North Korea launched a long-range rocket carrying a satellite on April 13, 2012, marking the anniversary of the birth of North Korea’s founding president Kim Il Sung. Saturday will be the 105th anniversary of his birth. Residents thronged Pyongyang’s boulevards on a sunny spring morning, some practising for a parade to be held on the weekend, with no visible sign of the tension. “So long as we are with our supreme leader Marshall Kim Jong Un we…
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U.S. to Move Carrier Strike Group…

Watch TV shows, movies and more on Yahoo View, available now on iOS and Android. The American show of force is being met with a defiant vow from North Korea to boost its defenses. North Korea says the U.S. airstrikes on Syria is justification for it’s arsenal. NBC Nightly News Watch “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt,” providing reports and analysis of the day’s most newsworthy national and international events.
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Pyongyang fighting words as Korean Peninsula…

The Navy said the Vinson-led carrier strike group will operate in the Western Pacific rather than executing previously planned port visits to Australia. The Vinson can hold more than 80 aircraft at a time, including F/A-18 Super Hornets with precision weapons capable of taking out ground and aerial targets. If anything, the decades-long nuclear ambitions by North Korea are unlikely to dim and could accelerate as the 33-year-old dictator of the regime grows more paranoid to threats everywhere, contend national security and Asia specialists. The thinking is a man who ordered the killing of own family members and rules with little regard for his enslaved and hungry people is hell-bent on maintaining his regime at all costs. Moreover, experts see…
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USS Carl Vinson heads back to…

April 9 (UPI) — The U.S. Navy said it ordered the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier and support ships back to Korean waters amid rising tensions with North Korea. The carrier-led strike group left Singapore on Saturday and was scheduled to go to Australia. “U.S. Pacific Command ordered the Carl Vinson Strike Group north as a prudent measure to maintain readiness and presence in the Western Pacific,” Cmdr. Dave Benham, a spokesman for the command, said in a statement on Saturday. “Third Fleet ships operate forward with a purpose: to safeguard U.S. interests in the Western Pacific. The No. 1 threat in the region continues to be North Korea, due to its reckless, irresponsible, and destabilizing program of missile tests…
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Carrier-led group heads to Korean peninsula

Daniel Barker/U.S. Navy via Getty Images Related content (CNN) – A US aircraft carrier-led strike group is headed toward the Western Pacific Ocean near the Korean Peninsula, a US defense official confirmed to CNN.The move of the Vinson strike group is in response to recent North Korean provocations, the official said.Adm. Harry Harris, the commander of US Pacific Command, directed the USS Carl Vinson strike group to sail north to the Western Pacific after departing Singapore on Saturday, Pacific Command announced. The group had been scheduled to go to Australia.It is not uncommon for aircraft carriers to operate in that area, and the United States regularly deploys military assets, such as aircraft, to the region as a show of force….
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US naval ships head towards Korean…

A US Navy carrier strike group is moving towards the Korean peninsula as the United States boosts its defences against North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. “US Pacific Command ordered the Carl Vinson Strike Group north as a prudent measure to maintain readiness and presence in the Western Pacific,” said Commander Dave Benham, spokesman at US Pacific Command. “The number one threat in the region continues to be North Korea, due to its reckless, irresponsible and destabilising programme of missile tests and pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability,” he said. The strike group includes the Nimitz-class aircraft supercarrier USS Carl Vinson, a carrier air wing, two guided-missile destroyers and a guided-missile cruiser. Originally scheduled to make port calls in Australia, it headed…
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U.S. Reroutes Warships Toward Korean Peninsula…

“North Korea has been engaged in a pattern of provocative behavior,” General McMaster said on “Fox News Sunday.” “This is a rogue regime that is now a nuclear-capable regime. The president has asked to be prepared to give him a full range of options to remove that threat to the American people and to our allies and partners in the region.” Continue reading the main story The White House said in a statement on Sunday that Mr. Trump had spoken to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan the day before on many issues, including the North Korean nuclear threat.Military and intelligence officials said the timing of the ship movements was also intended to anticipate a milestone event coming up on…
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