South Korea

Just before North Korea’s foreign minister was due to address the United Nations, the Pentagon announced that U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers escorted by fighter jets flew in international airspace over waters east of North Korea on Saturday, in a show of force which "demonstrated the range of military options available to President Donald Trump." The flight was the farthest north of the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea that any U.S. fighter jet or bomber has flown in the 21st century, the Pentagon added.

The Pentagon announced Friday that it would be launching an investigation into a series of fake messages sent to US soldiers stationed in South Korea and their family members on Thursday. In what probably sent a temporary chill down the spines of recipients, the messages warned that all "non-essential" (i.e. non-combat) personnel must evacuate the Korean Peninusla - suggesting that the long-dormant Korean War was about to explode once again into violence, Reuters reports.

China-based digital currency exchanges have until the end of September to cease operations after Chinese authorities, spooked by the ICO craze, decided earlier this month to crack down on all exchange-based digital currency trading.

Trading volume in China has fallen dramatically since the country’s exchanges briefly halted withdrawals earlier this year as they implemented new AML controls. Now, it appears that at least some of those displaced by China’s crackdown have migrated to South Korea, which today overtook China as the third-largest market for bitcoin trading by volume.

All day Saturday, South Korea braced for a possible new missile test by North Korea as the provocative northern neighbor marked its founding anniversary, just days after its sixth and largest nuclear test rattled global financial markets and further escalated tensions in the region. Throughout the week, South Korean officials warned the North could launch another intercontinental ballistic missile, in defiance of U.N. sanctions and to further provoke the US. As Reuters reports, Pyongyang marks its founding anniversary each year with a big display of pageantry and military hardware.

It is now Sept. 9 in North Korea, meaning the country’s celebration of the 69th anniversary of the creation of the North Korean state has officially begun. Last year, the country celebrated its 68th anniversary with its fifth nuclear test. This year, the US and South Korea are anticipating another demonstration of military strength from the isolated country – most likely another missile test.