North Korea's rhetoric was reaching fever pitch again. Unused roads and rail links to the South had just been blown up in a spectacular display of belligerence. The North had labeled the South "a hostile state" and its leaders as "gangsters" and "scum.

Already, the rumors are severely hurting his approval ratings and providing political munition to his political rivals.

Economists trimmed their growth forecasts for South Korea again and brought forward their rate cut views in a survey that comes ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House with protectionist policies that may further weigh on the major exporter’s outlook.