1. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, in response to the escalated tensions on the Korean Peninsula, South Korea and the United States have begun a combined naval exercise in the East Sea on Friday for two days. 

2. On Thursday night, South Korea’s ruling People Power Party’s ethics committee decided to suspend former chairman Lee Jun-seok from the party for one year in addition to the six-month suspension announced in July.

3. According to the latest data released by the Bank of Korea on Friday, South Korea posted a current account deficit of roughly 3 billion US dollars in August for the first time in four months amid soaring import prices.