Bangladesh honors EPS workers on Int'l Migrants Day in Korea

The Bangladesh Embassy in Seoul honored 26 Bangladeshi Employment Permit System (EPS) workers in six categories at an event held to celebrate the International Migrants Day 2022 last week. Korea introduced the work permit system in 2004 to systematically manage the foreign workforce in Korea and resolve labor shortages at local small and medium-sized companies. The workers were honored for being employed under same employer for the longest period of time; receiving awards from the Korean governm

Dec. 20, 2022

Qatar stresses elevated ties with Korea at national day celebration

  The Qatari Embassy vowed to boost economic and cultural cooperation with Korea during its national day celebrations here last week. Qatar’s national day, which falls on Dec. 18, commemorates the 1878 accession of Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani, who unified the Qatari peninsula, which borders Saudi Arabia and juts into the Persian Gulf. Citing the vision of Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatari Ambassador Khalid Ibrahim al-Hamar said Qatar’s approach focused on c

Dec. 20, 2022

Indian embassy celebrates 49th anniversary of bilateral ties

The Indian Embassy in Seoul hosted an event to mark the 49th anniversary of India-Korea diplomatic relations in Seoul Friday. The event was organized as part of a curtain raiser for yearlong celebrations of 50 years of bilateral ties in 2023. Delivering remarks at the event, Indian Ambassador to Korea Amit Kumar recalled major events and the history between the two countries, stressing India's role during the 1950-53 Korean War and the Special Strategic Partnership forged in 2015. Kumar sai

Dec. 20, 2022

[Photo News] Honorary Ambassador

Figure skater and Olympics gold medalist Yuna Kim (right) poses with Canadian Embassy Charge d' affaires Tamara Mawhinney after she was named honorary ambassador for the 60th anniversary of Canada-Korea diplomatic relations on Monday at the Canadian Embassy in Seoul. Kim who spent some years in Canada for her training will participate in various activities and events celebrating the 60th year of bilateral ties next year.

Dec. 20, 2022

NK leader's sister dismisses doubts about N. Korea's satellite, ICBM technologies

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un issued a statement Tuesday criticizing those who question the secretive regime's assertion of having made significant progress in its satellite and long-range missile development. Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, took issue with a view among experts in the outside world, including those in South Korea, that low-resolution, black-and-white images of Seoul and Incheon, released by

Dec. 20, 2022

Military maintains NK tested missile

The South Korean military on Monday stood by its earlier assessment that North Korea on the previous day tested ballistic missiles, not space rockets -- a launch Pyongyang claims to have taken place as part of its “final push” to develop a spy satellite. “Our joint assessment about the Sunday test that North Koreans had fired two medium-range ballistic missiles remains unchanged,” a spokesman for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said at a briefing, referring to K

Dec. 19, 2022

Game of mouse and cat: why war on NK hacking is still losing battle

This is the final installment of a three-part series shedding light on North Korea’s cryptocurrency thefts and their links to the hermit regime’s nuclear ambitions. -- Ed. The financially-isolated North Korean regime is behind one of the biggest cryptocurrency heists of all time. The North Korean state-run Lazarus Group, for instance, stealthily raked in hundreds of millions of dollars with only one cryptocurrency theft this year which appears to be directly linked to their astronom

Dec. 19, 2022

N. Korea says it conducted 'important' test for developing reconnaissance satellite

North Korea has conducted an "important final-stage" test at its rocket launching facility on putting a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit, with a plan to complete preparations for the project by April next year, according to its state media Monday. The test was conducted at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground on Sunday mainly to "evaluate the capabilities of satellite photography and data transmission system and ground control system," according to the Korean Cent

Dec. 19, 2022

NK fires two mid-range ballistic missiles towards east coast

North Korea fired two medium-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Sunday morning from the site it claimed to have tested a high-thrust solid-fuel engine three days ago, apparently used for developing newer and more advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles. The National Security Office vowed to "take all possible measures" to protect the people from North Korea’s provocations and to boost security alliance with the US and Japan to deter growing threats from Pyongyang.

Dec. 18, 2022

N. Korea tests enhanced engine amid push to improve missiles

North Korea tested what it called a high-thrust solid-fuel engine Thursday -- the latest move by the isolated country to ramp up its campaign to build better missiles and nuclear weapons while rejecting all efforts for peace deals. The test, made public Friday by the state-run Korea Central News Agency, was overseen by leader Kim Jong-un, who KCNA said “encouraged missile researchers for another new weapon.” The test took place at the country’s Sohae Satellite Launching Ground,

Dec. 16, 2022

N. Korea conducts 'important' test of new strategic weapon: state media

North Korea has successfully conducted a test to verify the "high-thrust solid-fuel motor" features in developing another "new-type strategic weapon system," according to its state media Friday. "An important institute under the Academy of Defence Science succeeded in the static firing test of high-thrust solid-fuel motor with a thrust of 140tf (ton-force), the first of its kind in the country, at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground on the morning of Dec. 15," the

Dec. 16, 2022

EU sanctions NK entities for illegal missile buildup support

The European Union on Monday levied sanctions on eight individuals and four entities, including North Korea’s Ministry of Rocket Industry and its subordinate trading company, for illegally providing support and funds for North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. The EU unveiled a new round of unilateral sanctions aimed at North Korea for the first time since this April in response to the Kim Jong-un regime’s record-breaking number of missile launches. The EU said imposing add

Dec. 13, 2022

PM says N. Korea is ready to conduct nuclear test

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has said North Korea is ready to conduct a nuclear bomb test, but South Korea and its allies have always been prepared for the North's major provocation. "We gather that they are ready," Han told Britain's Sky News in an interview, "although we do not know exactly when" a nuclear test would happen. North Korea has launched a flurry of short- to long-range missile tests so far this year and has widely been expected to carry out what would

Dec. 13, 2022

Tale of North Korea’s cyberterrorists: How they break into ‘unhackable’ crypto platforms and cash out

This is the second installment of a three-part series shedding light on North Korea’s cryptocurrency thefts and their links to the hermit regime’s nuclear ambitions. -- Ed. Early this year, a senior engineer at Axie Infinity, a Vietnamese company that runs a popular blockchain-based play-to-earn game, was encouraged to apply for a lucrative job through LinkedIn. But after the engineer opened a document file with a job offer letter, the network of the Ronin bridge, a platform created

Dec. 12, 2022

N. Korea tightens discipline as economic crisis deepens

North Korea is ramping up its propaganda campaign to increase popular support for the country’s pursuit of a “socialist utopia,” a self-sufficient economy that its leader Kim Jong-un says will be delivered despite international sanctions placed over his nuclear weapons program. The isolated country has suffered tougher sanctions from the United Nations and United States since January 2016, when it carried out a nuclear test. In 2017 and 2018, the economy contracted 3.5 and 4.1

Dec. 11, 2022

N. Korea hails its pandemic response as greatest achievement this year

North Korea's main newspaper on Saturday lauded the country's "victory" over the coronavirus pandemic as its greatest achievement for this year amid ongoing efforts to highlight the leadership of Kim Jong-un. The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers' Party, praised Kim's guidance in presenting "timely and scientific" quarantine policies and effectively controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. "With great foresight and strong determination, he bui

Dec. 10, 2022

US designates NK border guard bureau, others for corruption, human rights violations

The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on a number of individuals and entities, including North Korea's border guard bureau, for serious human rights violations and other crimes. The move came as part of the designation of over 65 individuals and entities in 17 countries by the US to mark International Anti-Corruption Day, which falls on Friday, and Human Rights Day, observed annually on Dec.10th. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the designations partly aim to disrupt and deter

Dec. 10, 2022

Top nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan to meet in Indonesia next week

The chief nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan will meet in Indonesia next week to discuss the North Korea issue, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday. Kim Gunn, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, will have back-to-back bilateral and trilateral meetings with his American and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, respectively, from Monday to Tuesday in Jakarta, according to the ministry. They are expected to share

Dec. 8, 2022

S. Korea warns businesses against hiring NK IT workers

South Korean authorities warned businesses against inadvertently hiring IT staff from North Korea who mask their true identities and take advantage of remote opportunities to skirt international sanctions and earn cash, which is used to bankroll the isolated country’s nuclear and missile programs. “These workers are making millions of dollars annually for the work they do for global IT companies. … And by the day, the money they bring in is making up a bigger part of the dolla

Dec. 8, 2022

South Korea to amend laws to ‘prevent forced repatriation of North Koreans’

South Korea’s Ministry of Unification says it would seek to amend its laws to protect North Koreans who fled their country from being repatriated against their will. The proposal for amendment to laws on the protection of North Korean refugees, posted on Wednesday, requires the Minister of Unification to confirm the settlement intentions of North Koreans who came to South Korea by sea or land or via a third country. The amendment would also give the Minister of Unification authority to all

Dec. 8, 2022