Kim Yo-jong statement a choreographed move to create tension: US intelligence official

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's recent missile provocations and statement from leader Kim Jong-un's sister about the possible use of nuclear weapons are highly "choreographed" tactics to create an acquiescent South Korea, a US intelligence official said Thursday. Sydney Seiler, national intelligence officer for North Korea at the National Intelligence Council, also said the North uses US-South Korea joint military drills as a pretext for its provocations while it continues to conduct much

April 8, 2022

Complete, verifiable denuclearization of N. Korea difficult but must achieve goal: Goldberg

WASHINGTON -- The United States and its allies must resolutely pursue a complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization (CVID) of North Korea, the nominee for US ambassador to South Korea said Thursday. Philip Goldberg also said North Korea may stage additional provocations amid suspicions that Pyongyang may be preparing to conduct a nuclear test. "Comprehensive, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization -- those are difficult goals, but they fit very well with our non-proliferation

April 8, 2022

Chinese envoy says S. Korea, China can overcome differences over THAAD

South Korea and China can overcome their differences over the former's hosting of a US THAAD anti-missile system, Beijing's top envoy here said Thursday, noting the thorny issue has hurt public sentiment in both countries. Amb. Xing Haiming made the remarks during a forum amid concerns the THAAD issue could resurface as a thorn in bilateral ties, as South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol advocated for the deployment of additional THAAD units during his campaign. "As bilateral ties hav

April 7, 2022

State spy agency offers cyberthreat info to crypto exchanges

South Korea's state intelligence agency said Thursday it has started providing real-time information on hacking attempts to the country's major cryptocurrency exchanges amid growing cyberthreats. The country's major crypto exchanges -- Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit and Coinone -- now have access to the agency's information on online security threats, such as the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of the hacking attempts, according to the National Intelligence Service. It stressed the importance of tackli

April 7, 2022

S. Korea holds FM talks with Sweden, Finland

South Korea's top diplomat had one-on-one talks with his Swedish and Finnish counterparts in Brussels on bilateral ties, the war in Ukraine and Korean Peninsula affairs, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong is on a visit there to attend a meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) foreign ministers. He is the first South Korean foreign minister to join such a high-profile NATO session, as the country has been invited as an Asia-Pacific partner of the

April 7, 2022

Brunei voices support for S. Korea's push to join CPTPP

Brunei on Thursday expressed support for South Korea's push to join a mega free trade deal in the Asia-Pacific region, Seoul's trade ministry said. Brunei's second finance minister, Mohd Amin Liew Abdullah, voiced the support during a virtual meeting with South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo. The meeting came as South Korea is working to submit an application this month for membership to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), according to the Minis

April 7, 2022

US will continue to maintain appropriate defense capabilities on Korean Peninsula: Kirby

WASHINGTON -- The United States is in constant consultation with South Korea to ensure the allies have adequate capabilities to counter any aggression from North Korea and will continue to do so, Department of Defense spokesperson John Kirby said Wednesday. The Pentagon press secretary, however, declined to comment on whether the US may consider deploying strategic military assets to South Korea to help prevent further provocations by the North. "We are going to continue to work with our So

April 7, 2022

US prepared to deal with any N. Korean provocation, including nuclear test: Sung Kim

WASHINGTON -- The United States and its allies are prepared to deal with any further provocations by North Korea, US special envoy for North Korea said Wednesday, noting the recalcitrant state may conduct a nuclear test in the future. Sung Kim also urged the North to return to dialogue, saying the US is prepared to discuss "any concerns" it may have. "I don't want to speculate too much, but I think it could be another missile launch. It could be a nuclear test," Kim said when

April 7, 2022

US reinvigorating trilateral cooperation with S. Korea, Japan to promote security: Sherman

WASHINGTON -- The United States seeks to ensure peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region partly by reinvigorating its trilateral cooperation with South Korea and Japan, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Wednesday. Sherman also highlighted the importance of the Indo-Pacific region, noting it is home to more than half of the global population and over 60 percent of the global economy. "The United States is a proud Indo-Pacific nation. Our future is entwined more closely wit

April 7, 2022

US, Chinese nuclear envoys discuss ways to restart dialogue with N. Korea: State Dept.

WASHINGTON -- The top nuclear envoys of the United States and China met Tuesday in Washington for talks on ways to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, the US Department of State said. The meeting between US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim and China's Liu Xiaoming was held in Washington. "Special Representative Kim and Special Representative Liu discussed opportunities to advance our shared goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and how to encourage the DPRK to engage in

April 6, 2022

N. Korea poses 'real' threats to US and allies: Gen. Milley

WASHINGTON -- North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs pose a real danger to the US homeland, as well as US allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday. Milley also said the North shows no signs of giving up its efforts to further advance its military capabilities. "The Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) continued weapons testing and development poses real threats to our allies and partners in the

April 6, 2022

S. Korean FM to attend NATO meeting in Brussels

South Korea's top diplomat will participate in a meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) foreign ministers to be held in Belgium, his office said Tuesday. Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong will head to Brussels later in the day for the session to open Thursday, which will be presided by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and attended by 30 nations, it said. The upcoming gathering is expected to focus on the coordinated international response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and ot

April 5, 2022

Yoon faces familiar dilemma over restoring Japan relations

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s pledge to restore relations with Tokyo appears likely to experience difficulties, with the issue of distorting history in Japanese textbooks reemerging. Yoon stressed Seoul-Tokyo relations as a priority during his campaign, and expectations have risen since his election win. Yoon is reportedly considering sending a delegation to Japan for policy coordination and to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida around May. Before Yoon could put his word

April 4, 2022

Zelenskyy to deliver virtual address to S. Korean lawmakers

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will deliver a virtual address to South Korean lawmakers next week, the chairman of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee said Monday. Zelenskyy's speech will be delivered virtually at the National Assembly Library at 5 p.m. on April 11, Rep. Lee Kwang-jae of the ruling Democratic Party said on MBC radio. "We need to clearly raise our voice (against Russia's invasion of Ukraine) in the international community," he said. "Parliamentary

April 4, 2022

S. Korean NGOs, lawmakers push initiatives to embrace, empower youth K-diaspora

South Korea civic groups and lawmakers put their heads together to find ways to embrace and empower young ethnic Koreans residing overseas, who are as-yet-untapped but critical resources for the country. The Korea Herald on Friday co-hosted a forum to push forward the “Korean Youth Diaspora Project,” with independent lawmaker Rep. Yang Hyang-ja, the Godowon Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to youth mentoring, and the Blue Tree Foundation, a nongovernmental organizatio

April 1, 2022

Air Force chief to visit US for talks on NK threats, space security

South Korea's Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Park In-ho will visit the United States next week for talks on security cooperation following North Korea's long-range missile launch last week, his office said Friday. During his seven-day stay there starting Sunday, Park plans to meet key US military officials in Washington and Colorado to reinforce the bilateral alliance and space security cooperation, according to the Air Force. In Washington on Wednesday, Park is set to meet his US counterpart, Ge

April 1, 2022

S. Korea, Bangladesh seek closer ties on ICT, infrastructure

Senior diplomats of South Korea and Bangladesh held policy consultations on strengthening cooperation in technology, infrastructure and other fields, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday. First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun met with his Bangladesh counterpart, Masud Bin Momen, in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka on Thursday (local time) to discuss ways to expand substantive economic cooperation between the two nations, according to the ministry. The two sides agreed to broaden their economi

April 1, 2022

Satellite imagery shows 'unusual' movement of N. Korean ballistic missile submarine: US monitor

WASHINGTON -- New satellite imagery of Sinpo South Shipyard has shown "unusual movement" of North Korea's experimental ballistic missile submarine that may indicate a possible submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test in the future, a US monitor said Wednesday. "Satellite image collected on March 22 shows unusual movement of the 8.24 Yongung (August 24th Hero) experimental ballistic missile submarine (SSBA) within the secure boat basin," Beyond Parallel, a project of t

March 31, 2022

UCLG Secretary General Saiz to visit Daejeon to check preparations for 2022 UCLG World Congress

United Cities and Local Governments Secretary-General Emilia Saiz will visit the city of Daejeon to check preparations for the 2022 UCLG World Congress in October, the city government said Wednesday. Saiz and other representatives from the UCLG will stay in South Korea from Sunday to April 7 to meet with the working group here to discuss detailed plans for the upcoming event and undertake field tours to inspect related venues. The UCLG World Congress is a large-scale international event, thr

March 30, 2022

US still analyzing latest N. Korean missile test, but remains concerned

WASHINGTON -- The United States is still analyzing the nature of North Korea's last missile test that probably involved an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), a Pentagon spokesperson said Tuesday, amid reports that Pyongyang may have falsely claimed success in developing a new ICBM. John Kirby, however, said the US continues to remain concerned about North Korea's efforts to advance its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities. "We are still analyzing this last test," the depa

March 30, 2022