The United States has vowed to continue the alliance with South Korea to tackle threats from North Korea, after Moon Jae-in, a liberal human rights lawyer and the son of a refugee from North Korea, declared victory in the South Korean presidential election Tuesday.

But experts told VOA that Moon's victory could lessen South Korean resolve to confront North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs, which is a concern among American leaders.

In a statement, the White House said it looked "forward to working with President-elect Moon to continue to strengthen the alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea and to deepen the enduring friendship and partnership between our two countries."

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said President Donald Trump "looks forward to meeting" with Moon and "talking about our shared interests."

"In working with allies, partners and others" and using "all means at our disposal," Deputy Secretary of State nominee John Sullivan told American lawmakers Tuesday that "our goal is to have a denuclearized Korean Peninsula."

In the nomination hearing, Sullivan told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that all options are on the table, including "other means at our disposal with the Defense Department," a position reflecting Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's view on North Korea.

A departure from former President Park Geun-hye's hawkish stand against Pyongyang's nuclear and missile provocation, Moon favors greater dialogue with North Korea.

Moon also has been critical of the U.S. deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in South Korea, arguing that Washington should have waited for a new president to make the final decision to install it.

Moon had traded words with Trump over who should pay for deployment of the $1 billion system.

"There will almost certainly be tensions and rifts with the U.S. over North Korea," Atlantic Council senior fellow Robert Manning told VOA.

"If Moon reopens the Kaesong industrial zone unconditionally, undermining sanctions and providing hard currency to Pyongyang, that would be a source of contention," he added.

Manning said that while Moon was likely to take some steps toward dialogue with North Korea, he was unlikely to revive fully the "Sunshine Policy," a policy of engaging with Pyongyang initiated in the early 2000s, because North Korea's aggressive missile and nuclear tests would "curb his enthusiasm."

Former senior U.S. officials cautioned Seoul to maintain a "united stance" with Washington.

"I would hope that President Moon will take the time to have in-depth discussions with the United States before making any decisions on reopening a dialogue with North Korea," Dennis Wilder, a former senior director for East Asian affairs at the National Security Council under President George W. Bush, told VOA.

In a statement, Representative Eliot Engel, a New York Democrat who is the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called on Seoul's new government to work with Washington "to leverage the strength of our alliance and maintain close cooperation" to address the growing threat posed by North Korea.

While the government change in Seoul may have introduced a level of volatility, some argue it will not change the U.S.-South Korea-Japan alliance significantly.

"Washington and Tokyo can make the most of it by keeping in close coordination with Moon's team to create a 'good cop, bad cop' dynamic," said James Schoff from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Schoff added "the key for Washington and Seoul is to make sure they coordinate closely" so that Pyongyang or Beijing cannot exploit the division between them.

John Pollack, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told VOA that while generally there is strong support from South Korea to maintain the alliance with the U.S., Seoul does not like to be instructed by Washington about what to do and what not to do.

"It underscores the importance of an early face-to-face meeting" between Trump and Moon, Pollack told VOA in a teleconference.

Pollack said tweets from a president are "not the way to explain policy" among the leadership circle, and if there's already damage caused to bilateral relations, a face-to-face meeting can keep the damage at "a minimal level."</s>SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean liberal human rights lawyer Moon Jae In won the presidency in an election on Tuesday (May 9), exit polls showed, ending nine years of conservative rule.

Following are some of Moon's policy positions and promises he made during the campaign:

Moon has outlined a more moderate approach to North Korea and aims to revive a "sunshine policy" of engagement, pledging to ease tension and work to denuclearise the Korean peninsula by reviving six-party talks - involving the two Koreas, China, the United States, Russia and Japan.

He also aims to expand economic and social exchange between the two Koreas. Moon has said he would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un if a summit could help ease tension.

Moon aims to reform the chaebols, the family-run conglomerates that dominate Asia's fourth-biggest economy. He says the chaebols stifle smaller companies and are detrimental to the economy and has called for transparency and democratic management.

But there are questions about how radical his reforms might be and how far he will go in addressing the demands of the chaebols' critics, who urge sharply higher corporate taxes or even dismantling of the conglomerates.

Moon has said he will restrict presidential pardons for chaebol founding members in jail, and force chaebol to relinquish control of financial firms to cut inappropriate funding from financial affiliates to other related businesses.

Moon has pledged to strengthen diplomatic and economic cooperation with main allies and neighbours the United States, China, Japan and Russia.

At the same time, he has promised a "National Interest First" approach and wrote in a book published in January that South Korea should learn to "say no to America".

Moon said the new administration should make a final decision on the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system known as Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD). Moon will also seek a summit with China to resolve a dispute over the system, which China sees as a threat to its security.

He has also vowed to enhance a self-reliant defence capability. Plans include the transfer of wartime operational control of the South Korean military from the United States during his presidency and the early deployment of a pre-emptive strike system "Kill Chain", and a homegrown missile defence system called Korea Air and Missile Defense.

Moon said he will push immediately for a supplementary budget to create jobs. He has said the budget could rise by more than 10 trillion won ($8.80 billion) from a current 400.5 trillion won approved for this year. He said he would aim to boost investment in 10 key sectors.

Moon says he expects to create, on average, more than 500,000 new jobs a year. He aims to create 810,000 jobs in the public sector during his five-year term, including 514,000 in service sectors across welfare agencies, schools and in police stations. Some temporary positions at public agencies will be turned into regular positions, to improve working conditions and job security.

He has promised to increase the minimum wage to 10,000 won (S$12.40) an hour by 2020, from 6,470 won. He has also called for a cut in working hours to about 1,800 a year, from an average of 2,113 hours as of 2015.

Moon has pledged to raise the basic pension to 300,000 won a month from a maximum of 206,050 won, from the age of 65. The pension will be given out to 70 per cent of the elderly classified as low-income. He also pledged to double a subsidy given to mothers in the first six months of maternity leave to up to 2 million won a month, from 1 million won.

Moon has pledged to phase out coal and nuclear energy to address public concerns over air pollution and safety, and has set a target to increase the share of renewables to 20 percent of total power generation by 2030.

Moon promised to relocate the presidential office to a government complex in central Seoul, in an overhaul of presidential powers. He argues that the seclusion of the presidential complex known as the Blue House prevents communication with the public. He says he will fully disclose his day-by-day schedule to ensure the public knows what their president is doing.</s>SEOUL (Reuters) - Liberal politician Moon Jae-in decisively won South Korea’s presidential election on Tuesday, television networks declared, an expected victory ending nearly a decade of conservative rule and bringing a more conciliatory approach toward North Korea.

Moon’s victory will end months of political turmoil that led to parliament’s impeachment of conservative former President Park Geun-hye over an extensive corruption scandal, which a court upheld in March. Park became the first democratically elected leader in South Korea to be removed from office, triggering a snap election to choose her successor.

Climbing a temporary stage set up in the main square in downtown Seoul, a beaming Moon surrounded by his Democratic Party leaders, vowed to usher in a new era for a country badly bruised by the scandal in a midnight victory speech.

“I will make a just, united country,” he told a crowd gathered to see the former human rights lawyer who entered politics just five years ago. “I will be a president who also serves all the people who did not support me.”

With 80 percent of the votes counted at 1705 GMT, Moon was ahead with 40 percent, according to the National Election Commission. A conservative challenger, former prosecutor Hong Joon-pyo, was next with 25.5 percent followed by centrist candidate Ahn Cheol-soo with 21.4 percent.

A plurality of votes is enough for victory.

The results were in line with an exit poll by South Korea’s three biggest broadcasters, which showed Moon, 64, capturing 41.4 percent of the votes in a field of 13 candidates.

“If exit polls are true, I will accept the results and just be satisfied with the fact that the Liberty Korea Party will be restored,” a downcast Hong told members of his conservative party.

Ahn said he would “humbly accept” the result.

Voter turnout was 77.2 percent, the highest in 20 years, but short of the expected 80 percent mark, as voters headed to the polls in drizzly weather.

The White House congratulated Moon on his election win, saying it looked forward to working with him to strengthen the longstanding U.S.-South Korea alliance.

A U.S. official said Moon’s election could add “volatility” to ties with Washington, given his questioning of deployment of a U.S. missile defense there and his advocacy of engagement with North Korea when the Trump administration seeks to step up pressure on Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile programs.

But the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Moon may moderate his stance on installation of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system once he is in office and is not expected to significantly alter the alliance.

FRACTURED PARLIAMENT

Moon is expected to be sworn in for a five-year term later on Wednesday. He has said he would skip a lavish inauguration ceremony and start work straight away.

He is likely to quickly name a prime minister, who will need parliamentary approval. The main cabinet posts, including national security and finance ministers, do not need parliamentary confirmation.

Moon, who narrowly lost to Park in the last presidential election in 2012, favours dialogue with North Korea to ease tension over its accelerating nuclear and missile program. He also wants to reform powerful family-run conglomerates, such as Samsung and Hyundai, and boost fiscal spending to create jobs.

Moon has criticized the two previous conservative governments for failing to stop North Korea’s weapons development. He advocates a two-track policy of seeking dialogue with the North while maintaining pressure and sanctions to encourage change.

His Democratic Party holds 40 percent of the single-chamber, 299-seat assembly, which means he will have to build coalitions to pass legislation.

His victory was bolstered by strong support from younger people, according to the exit polls. Many of his supporters participated in big, peaceful weekend rallies over the last few months of 2016 and early this year, demanding Park step down.

South Chungcheong governor An Hee-jung kisses South Korea's president-elect Moon Jae-in at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, South Korea May 9, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Kyunghoon

Only 22-25 percent of people in their 60s and 70s voted for Moon, exit polls showed, underscoring a long-standing generation gap. Many older people are wary of Moon’s less confrontational stance on North Korea.

SOUTH KOREA FIRST

The election is being closely watched abroad at a time of high tension with North Korea, which is believed to be preparing for a sixth nuclear test and has vowed to test an intercontinental missile.

Britain’s Sky News quoted North Korea’s ambassador to the Britain, Choe Il, as saying in an interview that Pyongyang would go ahead with a nuclear test “at the place and time as decided by our supreme leader, Kim Jong Un,” despite international warnings not to do so.

Moon, whose campaign promises include a “National Interest First” policy, has struck a chord with people who want the country to stand up to powerful allies and neighbors.

He wrote in a book published in January South Korea should learn to say “no to America”.

Moon said in a YouTube live stream on Tuesday that South Korea should take on a more active diplomatic role to curb North Korea’s nuclear threat and not watch idly as the United States and China talk to each other.

Moon was a close friend and confidant of late president Roh Moo-hyun, who served from 2003 to 2008 and advocated a “Sunshine Policy” of engaging North Korea through aid and exchanges.

Moon believes better inter-Korean relations is the best way to provide security. But Washington is worried his moderate stance could undercut efforts to increase pressure and sanctions, senior South Korean officials said.

“Things are not right to resume the so-called Sunshine Policy, as the U.S. and China turned more hostile toward North Korea,” said Koh Yu-hwan, Dongguk University professor of North Korean studies, who is serving as a foreign policy adviser to Moon.

“Still, Moon is expected to engage in discussions, which could improve North-South relations.”

Slideshow (23 Images)

Moon’s election could also complicate the deployment of the THAAD system, which the former government in Seoul and the U.S. military agreed to last year and which U.S. officials said last week had reached initial operating capability.

Moon has said the decision was made too quickly and the next administration should have the final say on whether to deploy the system.

For graphic on South Korea's presidential election, click tmsnrt.rs/2p0AyLf

For graphic on election demographics, click tmsnrt.rs/2pGD25v</s>South Korea's new President Moon Jae In, who was sworn in yesterday after a landslide victory, has pledged to push for national unity while trying to address the country's security and diplomatic crisis "promptly".

In his first speech as President, the former human rights lawyer vowed to defuse tension on the Korean peninsula caused by Washington and Pyongyang trading barbs on military confrontation, as well as resolve disputes with Beijing over the deployment of a US missile shield.

"If needed, I will immediately fly to Washington," he said. "I will also visit Beijing and Tokyo and even Pyongyang under the right circumstances. I remain committed to doing all I can for the settlement of peace on the Korean peninsula."

He also pledged to strengthen South Korea's alliance with the US.

Mr Moon and US President Donald Trump, in a phone call last night, reaffirmed the importance of the alliance and working together to resolve the North Korean threat, according to South Korea's presidential office.

There was no mention of Mr Moon's victory in North Korea's state media yesterday. The 64-year-old won 41.1 per cent of over 33.8 million votes cast on Tuesday, beating his closest rivals Hong Joon Pyo from the conservative Liberty Korea Party (24 per cent) and Ahn Cheol Soo from the centre-left People's Party (21.4 per cent).

Mr Moon replaces the disgraced Park Geun Hye, who was impeached and arrested over a corruption and influence-peddling scandal that triggered massive protests. She is awaiting trial on charges including colluding with her civilian friend Choi Soon Sil to extort money from conglomerates such as Samsung, under the guise of donations.

In his speech, Mr Moon vowed to "boldly break from the malpractices of old days", in a reference to the failures of the previous administration. He also pledged to create jobs and reform the powerful conglomerates that dominate the economy.

"Under the Moon Jae In administration, the term describing a cosy relationship between political and business circles will completely disappear," he said.

In a sign of his resolve to improve long-strained ties with Pyongyang, Mr Moon has appointed veterans with experience working on North Korean issues for three key positions in his new administration.

His choice for prime minister is South Jeolla province governor and former journalist Lee Nak Yon, who worked on the Sunshine Policy of engaging the North under two former liberal administrations in the 2000s. Mr Moon then named former spy agency official Suh Hoon, who played a key role in arranging two landmark summits with the North and met its late leader Kim Jong Il, as the head of the National Intelligence Service.

For Chief of Staff, Mr Moon appointed former lawmaker Im Jong Seok, who had visited North Korea as a student activist to meet former leader Kim Il Sung. As a lawmaker, he had helped to revise a law on support for South Korean firms at the joint Kaesong industrial complex, which was closed by the Park administration early last year.

Analysts said Mr Moon's North Korea policy is a pragmatic one taking in recent developments on the Korean peninsula, and not a downright return to the Sunshine Policy.

"If you carefully read his address, he only promised to meet Kim Jong Un under the right conditions. So his position is not that fundamentally different from that of US President Donald Trump," said Dr Bong Young Shik of Yonsei University's Institute for North Korean Studies.

The Trump administration's strategy of "maximum pressure and engagement" uses sanctions to squeeze North Korea while offering dialogue on the condition that Pyongyang give up nuclear weapons.

"Basically he also wants to use big sticks and big carrots, not just carrots. It's not a radically liberal North Korea policy; it is a very pragmatic policy," said Dr Bong.

Meanwhile, Mr Moon is also moving fast to set himself apart from his predecessor, who was deemed uncommunicative and authoritarian.

To stay close to the people, he plans to move the presidential office from the heavily guarded Blue House to the more accessible Gwanghwamun Square.</s>Above moon image via Earth and Moon Viewer

Tonight – May 9, 2017 – the moon might look full to your eye as it beams in the east at dusk and travels across the sky nearly all night long. Strictly speaking, though, it’s a waxing gibbous moon (not a full moon) that lights up the nighttime from dusk May 9 until dawn May 10. The moon will reach the crest of its full phase tomorrow, May 10, at 21:42 UTC; translate to your time zone.

The moon is full at the instant that it’s opposite – or 180o – from the sun in Earth’s sky. In other words, at full moon, the sun, Earth and moon are more or less on a line in space, with Earth in the middle. That’s why the moon at the vicinity of full moon rises in the east around sunset, climbs highest up in the sky around midnight and sets in the west around sunrise.

In the jargon of astronomers, the moon is astronomically full when it is precisely 180o from the sun in ecliptic longitude (also called celestial longitude). The ecliptic, often drawn in on star charts, depicts the sun’s annual path in front of the constellations of the zodiac.

Whenever the moon turns full, the full moon assumes the sun’s position in front of the zodiac for one-half year or six months hence.

So, for example, as the moon turns precisely full on May 10, the sun will be shining in front of the constellation Aries the Ram. But the moon will be shining in front of the constellation Libra the Scales – where the sun will reside some six months from now.

Bottom line: On May 9, 2017, the almost-full waxing gibbous moon is out nearly all night long, as it promenades from east to west across the nighttime sky.</s>Fans of all things celestial might want to keep their eyes on the sky in the very near future as there is another celestial event to take in.

Hot on the heels of the Wolf Moon, Snow Moon, Pink Moon and even the Worm Moon, the Flower Moon is getting ready to make an appearance in the skies above.

It’s the latest in a long line of attractions set to grace us with their presence this year with the likes of the Harvest Moon and Hunters Moon still to come and if you want to be a bit more clued up about the Flower Moon you’re in luck...

What is the Flower Moon?

The moon is also known as Corn Planting Moon, as crops are sown in time for harvest, or Bright Moon because this full moon is known to be one of the brightest.

Some people refer to it as Milk Moon.

It won’t be passing any planets the way April’s Pink Moon met Jupiter in the night sky last month.

When can you see it?

It is set to rise at 9.42pm (very precise) GMT on Wednesday, May 10 and will appear full for about a day before and after.

Where are the best places to see it in the North East?

The region is blessed with all manner of good stargazing spots, here is a guide....</s>Some almanacs like to give each month a special full moon name. Other almanacs like to reference full moons relative to seasonal markers, as defined by equinoxes and solstices. Is one way better than the other? No. Both have their roots in folklore. Of course, both the monthly names and the seasonal names necessarily favor either the Northern or Southern Hemisphere. That’s because the moon has different characteristics in the two hemispheres, at opposite times of year. For example, the Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. So it falls in September or October for the Northern Hemisphere, and it falls in March or April for the Southern Hemisphere.

When is the next Blue Moon?

Northern Hemisphere full moon names by month:

 January: Old Moon, Moon After Yule

 February: Snow Moon, Hunger Moon, Wolf Moon

 March: Sap Moon, Crow Moon, Lenten Moon

 April: Grass Moon, Egg Moon, Pink Moon

 May: Flower Moon, Planting Moon, Milk Moon

 June: Rose Moon, Flower Moon, Strawberry Moon

 July: Thunder Moon, Hay Moon

 August: Green Corn Moon, Grain Moon

 September: Fruit Moon, Harvest Moon

 October: Harvest Moon, Hunter’s Moon

 November: Hunter’s Moon, Frosty Moon, or Beaver Moon

 December: Moon Before Yule, or Long Night Moon

Southern Hemisphere full moon names by month:

 January: Hay Moon, Buck Moon, Thunder Moon, Mead Moon

 February (mid-summer): Grain Moon, Sturgeon Moon, Red Moon, Wyrt Moon, Corn Moon, Dog Moon, Barley Moon

 March: Harvest Moon, Corn Moon

 April: Harvest Moon, Hunter’s Moon, Blood Moon

 May: Hunter’s Moon, Beaver Moon, Frost Moon

 June: Oak Moon, Cold Moon, Long Night’s Moon

 July: Wolf Moon, Old Moon, Ice Moon

 August: Snow Moon, Storm Moon, Hunger Moon, Wolf Moon

 September: Worm Moon, Lenten Moon, Crow Moon, Sugar Moon, Chaste Moon, Sap Moon

 October: Egg Moon, Fish Moon, Seed Moon, Pink Moon, Waking Moon

 November: Corn Moon, Milk Moon, Flower Moon, Hare Moon

 December: Strawberry Moon, Honey Moon, Rose Moon

About once every 19 years, February has no full moon at all.

Moreover, in 7 out of every 19 years, two full moons will fall in the same calendar month. And in a year where February has no full moon at all, like in the year 2018, you can actually have two full moons in January and two full moons in March, in which case you have 8 calendar months with 2 full moons in one 19-year lunar cycle. The second of the month’s two full moons is popularly referred to as a Blue Moon. Read about the next Blue Moon.

Full moon names by season (Northern or Southern Hemisphere):

 After the winter solstice:

 Old Moon, or Moon After Yule

 Snow Moon, Hunger Moon, or Wolf Moon

 Sap Moon, Crow Moon or Lenten Moon

After the spring equinox:

 Grass Moon, or Egg Moon

 Planting Moon, or Milk Moon

 Rose Moon, Flower Moon, or Strawberry Moon

After the summer solstice:

 Thunder Moon, or Hay Moon

 Green Corn Moon, or Grain Moon

 Fruit Moon, or Harvest Moon

After the autumnal equinox:

 Harvest Moon, or Hunter’s Moon

 Hunter’s Moon, Frosty Moon, or Beaver Moon

 Moon Before Yule, or Long Night Moon

There are usually three full moons in between an equinox and a solstice, or vice versa. Seven times in 19 years, four full moons fall in a single season. In that case, the third of a season’s four full moons is also called a Blue Moon. The next Blue Moon by this definition is happening on May 21, 2016.

Possible to have only 2 full moons in a single season?

Bottom line: Northern and Southern Hemisphere full moon names, listed first by month and then by season.</s>The Trump administration claims it’s considering all options, including military force, to restrict and reverse North Korea’s nuclear-weapons program. It has promised to apply “maximum pressure” on Kim Jong Un’s government by, among other things, ratcheting up sanctions, pressuring China to cut off economic support to the North, and rapidly installing the THAAD missile-defense system in South Korea. One slight problem with this plan is that North Korea’s neighbor, a U.S. ally for more than six decades, just chose a leader who opposes much of it.

Much of it, but not all of it: Moon Jae In, the winner of South Korea’s presidential election on Tuesday, agrees with the American president that North Korea’s expanding nuclear arsenal constitutes a grave threat. Moon, like Donald Trump, believes sanctions on the North should be maintained. Like Trump, he’s willing to talk directly with Kim Jong Un.

But they diverge on the sequencing. The Trump administration advocates isolating North Korean officials so that they’ll be forced to make concessions ahead of negotiations. Moon, by contrast, favors outreach right away, so long as North Korea doesn’t carry out major acts of aggression. As the chief of staff to former President Roh Moo Hyun, Moon helped implement the “Sunshine Policy,” an effort from 1998 to 2008 to woo North Korea with humanitarian assistance, diplomatic dialogue, cultural exchanges, and increased economic relations. Moon now wants to bring back the Sunshine Policy. He’s proposed reopening an industrial park and tourist destination jointly run by North and South Korea, as a first step in the gradual economic and political “unification” of the peninsula.

Moon has also criticized the U.S. military’s hurried installation of a missile-defense system in South Korea in recent weeks, scoffing at Trump’s suggestion that the South Korean government pay $1 billion for the system and calling for a thorough review of the deployment. (One of Moon’s motivations here might be his desire for better relations with China, which suspects that THAAD could be used to undermine the Chinese military’s capabilities. South Korea is caught between China, its most important trading partner, and the United States, its most important military partner.)</s>Image of May full moon via US Naval Observatory

Tonight – May 10, 2017 – the moon is full. Here’s something fun about this May full moon, and, in fact, about most full moons. That is, it won’t undergo an eclipse. In fact, the May 10 full moon swings a whopping 5o (10 moon diameters) north of the ecliptic, the plane of Earth’s orbit around the sun. So it misses being in Earth’s shadow by a wide margin.

Some full moons come closer to passing through Earth’s shadow – that is, closer to being in eclipse without actually doing so – but the fact is that most full moons fail to reside at the antisolar point, the point that’s directly opposite the sun. It’s only when the moon passes through or very close to the antisolar point that we see a total eclipse of the moon.

The next two full moons – June and July 2017 – will pass to the north of the ecliptic and the antisolar point, too. So there will be no lunar eclipse in June or July 2017.

The August 2017 full moon will sweep less than one degree north of the ecliptic. The relatively close pass will bring the southern part of the lunar disk into the northern part of the Earth’s dark umbral shadow. So, if you’re on the right place on Earth, you’ll see a partial lunar eclipse on August 7, 2017.

It’ll come just two weeks before the much-anticipated total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017, first total solar eclipse to be viewed from the contiguous United States since 1979.

Read more: Why no eclipse at every full and new moon?

This May full moon is the second full moon after the March equinox. In North America, we’ll call it the Flower Moon, Planting Moon or Milk Moon. Meanwhile, in the Southern Hemisphere, this full moon is called the Beaver Moon or Frost Moon.

Read more: What are the full moon names?

For general reference, we can say the moon is full all night. But, technically speaking, the moon is full only at the instant that it’s 180o from the sun in ecliptic longitude. The moon turns full on May 10 at 21:42 UTC, which at North American time zones translates to 6:42 p.m. ADT, 5:42 p.m. EDT, 4:42 p.m. CDT, 3:42 p.m. MDT and 2:42 p.m. PDT.

For North America, the moon will turn exactly full when the sun is above the horizon and the moon is still below it.

Because the moon stays more or less opposite the sun in our sky at the vicinity of full moon, tonight’s moon will rise in the east around sunset and climb highest up for the night around midnight (midway between sunset and sunrise). That’s true as seen from around the globe.

Then, around sunrise on May 11 – as seen from around the world – the moon will set in the west.

Bottom line: The moon is full on May 10, 2017. It swings a whopping 5o (10 moon diameters) north of the plane of Earth’s orbit around the sun and misses being in Earth’s shadow by a wide margin.
Moon Jae-in pledges to make South Korea "a just, united country."