S Korea faces 'grave' North test

20 December 2012 Last updated at 03:59 GMT Park Geun-hye: "North Korea's launch of a long range rocket has shown the serious reality our security is facing"

South Korea's President-elect Park Geun-hye spoke of a "grave" security challenge from North Korea but called for "trust-based dialogue".

Ms Park, the ruling Saenuri Party candidate, defeated her liberal rival Moon Jae-in in Wednesday's election.

Speaking after a visit to honour late leaders, she pledged again to "open a new era" on the Korean Peninsula.

The North has not yet commented on her victory, but earlier labelled the Saenuri Party "maniacs".

A dispatch from state media outlet KCNA, released on Wednesday, accused the party of escalating tension on the peninsula during President Lee Myung-bak's time in office.

"All facts prove that the Saenuri Party is a group of traitors who stoop to any infamy to realise its ambition to seize power," the story said.

The North launched a rocket that put a satellite into orbit last week, a move condemned by the international community as a banned test of missile technology.

'Strong security'

Ms Park, daughter of former military strongman Park Chung-hee, will become South Korea's first female president.

US President Barack Obama congratulated her, calling South Korea "a lynchpin" of security in Asia.

"Our two nations share a global partnership with deep economic, security and people-to-people ties," Mr Obama said in a statement.

Continue reading the main story Daughter of former President Park Chung-heeServed as South Korea's first lady after her mother was murdered by a North Korean gunman in 1974First elected to the national assembly in 1998; first bid for the presidency in 2007Has promised to redistribute wealth, reform big conglomerates and seek greater engagement with North KoreaThe election race saw high turnout, with 75.8% of the electorate casting their ballots. With more than 99% of the vote counted, Ms Park had won 51.6% of the vote to Mr Moon's 48%.

Economic issues including welfare spending, job creation and inequality had dominated campaigning, while the national security focus fell on North Korea.

"The launch of North Korea's long-range missile symbolically showed how grave the security situation facing us is," Ms Park said after a visit to the National Cemetery to pay her respects to former leaders.

"I will keep the promise I made to you to open a new era on the Korean peninsula, based on strong security and trust-based diplomacy."

Relations with North Korea under Mr Lee - who linked the provision of aid to progress on denuclearisation - have been poor.

Ms Park has promised greater engagement than her predecessor and the possible resumption of aid, but also a robust defence.

South Korea is also one of several nations currently seeking a strong response to North Korea's recent rocket launch in the UN Security Council.

On the economy, the president-elect said she would work "to make the society share economic benefits without anybody isolated from the fruits of the economic growth".

Economic growth has fallen to about 2% after several decades in which it averaged 5.5%.

And in an apparent nod to tensions with Japan over a territorial dispute and historical issues, she said she would work for " greater reconciliation, co-operation and peace in North East Asia based on correct perception of history".

Ms Park's defeated rival, former human rights lawyer Mr Moon, also offered his congratulations, saying he accepted the outcome of the polls.

"I feel so sorry and guilty that I have failed to accomplish my historic mission to open a new era of politics," he said.

Ms Park's campaign was both bolstered and dogged by the legacy of her father, who built South Korea's economy while crushing dissent.

With the country having split almost equally along party lines, the BBC's Seoul correspondent Lucy Williamson says Ms Park will have to work hard to improve relations with her detractors.

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Major jobs boost in UK North Sea

21 December 2012 Last updated at 11:56 GMT The field development concept includes a production, drilling and quarters platform based on a steel jacket, with a floating storage unit Statoil is to invest £4.3bn in a North Sea oil field, bringing hundreds of jobs to the north east of Scotland.

The Norwegian company said the investment in the Mariner field was the largest new offshore development in the UK in more than a decade.

Statoil expects to start production from Mariner in 2017, pending final approval by the UK authorities.

More than 700 jobs will be created, including 200 onshore posts in Aberdeen.

The field is expected to produce for 30 years, with average production of about 55,000 barrels of oil a day from 2017 to 2020.

The Mariner Field is located on the East Shetland Platform of the UK North Sea, about 150km (93 miles) east of the Shetland Isles.

Statoil is the operator of the field, with 65.11% equity. Other partners include JX Nippon Exploration and Production (UK) Limited (28.89%) and Cairn Energy (6%).

The development concept includes a production, drilling and quarters (PDQ) platform based on a steel jacket, with a floating storage unit (FSU).

More than 140 reservoir targets are planned for Mariner.

'Good fit'

Executive vice president for development and production international in Statoil, Lars Christian Backer, said: "Statoil has extensive heavy oil experiences from offshore fields in Norway and Brazil.

"The Mariner field was discovered in 1981 and Statoil entered the licence as operator in 2007 with the aim of finally unlocking the resources.

Continue reading the main story

The North Sea is a core area for Statoil, and we look forward to taking a leading role in further developing also the UK part of this basin”

End Quote Lars Christian Backer Statoil "We are satisfied that we now are able to make an investment decision for a profitable development of the Mariner field."

He added: "The Mariner project is a good strategic fit for Statoil.

"We are the world's largest offshore operator and have a portfolio of attractive projects in some of the most prolific basins in the world.

"The North Sea is a core area for Statoil, and we look forward to taking a leading role in further developing also the UK part of this basin."

Industry body Oil and Gas UK welcomed Statoil's announcement.

Economics director Mike Tholen said: "The largest offshore development in the UK for a decade, Mariner requires pioneering technology and will bring hundreds of high-skilled, long-lasting jobs across the country, hundreds of millions of pounds in additional tax revenues, as well as crucial security to our energy supplies.

"Expected to produce oil and gas for 30 years, this project - and others recently given the go-ahead on the UK continental shelf - will help to boost production and stem the decline we have seen in recent years, so helping the full economic benefit of our reserves to be realised in time."

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North Iraq bomb attacks kill 25

17 December 2012 Last updated at 16:54 GMT Two bombs exploded in a Shia district of Tuz Khurmatu At least 25 people have been killed in a series of bomb blasts across Iraq, officials and medical workers say.

Car and truck bombs were detonated mainly in ethnically diverse towns and villages in northern Iraq.

The area is a source of dispute between the Iraqi government and the Kurdish minority, which governs an autonomous region in the north.

The attacks mark a second consecutive day of violence in the region, though it is unclear who is behind them.

The bloodiest attack was in a village near the city of Mosul, when a truck bomb exploded killing seven people, officials said.

The village is inhabited by families from the Shabak ethno-religious minority group.

Two car bombs also exploded in a Shia district of Tuz Khurmatu, a town 70km (45 miles) south of Kirkuk, killing five people and wounding at least 24 others.

There were also reports of bombings targeting Shia pilgrims heading to city of Samarra, as well as deadly bomb attacks in the capital Baghdad.

Disputed territories

On Sunday at least nine people were killed and dozens wounded when blasts struck three Shia Muslim targets in the city of Kirkuk and an office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in the town of Jalula, to the south-east.

Kirkuk and Jalula are in oil-rich territories that border the area administered by the Kurdish regional government, which claims rights over them.

They have been a potential flashpoint since the last US troops left a year ago.

Last month, both the government and Kurdish authorities sent troops to reinforce military positions in the disputed territories.

No groups have claimed responsibility for the bombings, but the mayor of Tuz Khurmatu Shalal Abdul told Reuters: "The bombers are trying to stir tensions, but we are telling them we will be more unified by these attacks."

Although sectarian violence has decreased in Iraq since the height of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007, attacks are still common.

Gun and bomb attacks on a Shabak family near Mosul and Shia in Tuz Khurmatu left several dead and injured on a single day in October.

The Shabak, who number about 50,000 and live between the Mosul plane and Baashiqa, have their own distinct language and belief system.

They are sometimes described as Ahl al-Haqq, a sect which venerates Ali. Others believe they are Shia or followers of Yarsanism, sharing its belief in seven good and evil spirits. They are also said to believe in a universal spirit and practise some Christian rites.

The Shabak are said to be of Turkic, Persian or Kurdish ethnic origin. Some speak Gorani, a dialect of Kurdish, while others speak a Turkic dialect. In recent decades, many Shabak have become Arabised.

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North Korea says US man arrested

21 December 2012 Last updated at 10:46 GMT North Korea says it arrested a US citizen for unspecified alleged crimes on 3 November.

Pae Jun Ho entered the country as a tourist, state media reported.

Some reports from South Korea have said the man is a Korean American who operates a travel company and went to the North guiding a group of tourists.

In recent years North Korea has arrested and released several US citizens, including journalists and Christians accused of proselytism.

State media said Pae Jun Ho was subject to criminal proceedings.

"In the process of investigation, evidence proving that he committed a crime against the DPRK was revealed," state news agency KCNA reported. "He admitted his crime."

It also said the man had met officials from the Swedish embassy. Sweden represents US interests in North Korea because Washington and Pyongyang do not have diplomatic relations.

The arrest comes amid tension between the US and North Korea over a recent North Korean rocket launch.

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