North Korea said Monday staying vigilant against the coronavirus outbreak is a top priority in its 80-day campaign aimed to jump-start its faltering economy. “We must hold ourselves responsible for and commit ourselves to finding where we stand most vulnerable to infection and come up with responding measures,” the official state newspaper said in a commentary, urging the party members as well to join the effort. The isolated country claims it has yet to report an infection, though

North Korea Oct. 19, 2020

Chairman Lee Nak-yon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea met with the chief of South Korean drugmaker Celltrion on Sunday and was briefed on the latest developments from the firm that has recently gained regulatory approval for phase 3 clinical trials of an experimental COVID-19 treatment. “If Celltrion and their peers here come up with a way to mass-produce the treatment, we could be the first country in the world free of the coronavirus,” Lee said at a meeting held in the comp

Social Affairs Oct. 18, 2020

The amount of money expected to be spent on coronavirus patients -- from the pre-diagnosis stage through recovery -- is expected to total close to 320 billion won ($280 million), the National Health Insurance Service said Sunday. About one-third of the cost would be taken up at the pre-diagnosis stage, including coronavirus tests, it added. The total number of coronavirus patients here is projected to reach 33,995 by the end of this year, 8,796 more than Sunday’s tally of 25,199, t

Social Affairs Oct. 18, 2020

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, reaffirmed his country’s continued commitment to providing extended deterrence to South Korea against a nuclear-armed North Korea, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday. The top US general discussed the defense strategy involving the US nuclear umbrella and strategic assets with Gen. Won In-choul, chairman of the JCS here, at an annual military committee meeting held online. The two allies also discussed 

North Korea Oct. 14, 2020

South Korea’s Defense Minister Suh Wook traveled to the United States on Tuesday to discuss the plan for Seoul to take over wartime operational control from Washington at an annual security meeting. Breaking with convention, Suh made the trip to Washington on Korea’s Multi Role Tanker Transport, an aerial refueling tanker, partly to display the Air Force’s growing prowess and partly to reduce the risk of contracting the coronavirus on a civilian flight. “The handover o

Defense Oct. 13, 2020

North Korea has revealed newer ballistic missiles, but experts are divided over whether the regime has secured the latest technology to mount multiple warheads atop the missiles. “It depends a little bit on how big it really is, but I would say this represents certainly the ability to put multiple nuclear warheads on a missile like this,” Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in the US told Voice of America on Monday. Pyongyang unveiled Saturday an inte

North Korea Oct. 12, 2020

As K-pop juggernaut BTS takes the global K-pop craze to new heights, South Korea is again debating whether or not to conscript the seven young men for their mandatory active duty. Talk of special treatment resurfaced on Sept. 3, two days after the latest single “Dynamite” claimed the coveted top spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart -- a first in the history of Korean music and a “splendid feat” that boosted national pride, according to President Moon Jae-in.

Defense Oct. 10, 2020

North Korea is preparing events for the Workers’ Party’s founding anniversary this Saturday, and a military parade is one of the choices to stage a show of force with new strategic weapons, South Korea’s Defense Minister Suh Wook told a parliamentary audit Wednesday. Suh did not provide get into detail regarding what weapons the North would unveil, but added that the isolated country appears poised to remain in wait-and-see mode. North Korean experts expect the regime to unvei

Defense Oct. 7, 2020

North Korea on Monday celebrated its economic achievements as it geared up for the anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers’ Party on Saturday, at a time when its economy is faltering under UN-led sanctions, the coronavirus pandemic and the aftereffects of recent floods. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency and its state newspaper released extensive coverage of what it called a “remarkable” recovery from the floods, saying hundreds of new homes and pu

North Korea Oct. 5, 2020

South Korea’s Air Force is looking for a name for its next-generation fighter jet, known by the project name KF-X. Citizens can submit one candidate name each by the end of this month, and three winners will receive the Air Force Chief’s recognition awards and model aircraft. The KF-X project is the largest undertaking ever by the Korean military, with some $15 billion earmarked for investment until production. The prototype will be released early next year, with another five year

Defense Oct. 4, 2020

South Korean and US intelligence have spotted North Korea moving an intercontinental ballistic missile, along with four mobile launchers, at an auto plant on the outskirts of Pyongyang, a Seoul official told a local media outlet on Saturday. “The missile is larger than the one they fired in 2017 and we believe they will showcase that at a military parade on Oct. 10,” the official said. North Korea fired its first ICBM, Hwasong-15, in 2017 and appears set to stage a show of force on

North Korea Oct. 4, 2020

Chuseok has traditionally been a time for families to gather, enjoy time together and share good food. Many visit their rural hometowns for ancestral rituals and reunions with other family members and relatives. But this year, as long-distance trips and large gatherings are being discouraged as part of efforts to contain the coronavirus, many have been forced to adjust their plans. For some, that is not such a bad thing. Those yearning for respite from work, in particular, look forward to

Social Affairs Sept. 29, 2020

A day after South Korea’s presidential office described North Korea’s killing of a Seoul fisheries official as a violation of the “spirit” of the inter-Korean military pact and not the accord itself, experts on Friday heaped strong criticism on the top office. North Korea on Tuesday shot dead the official in the West Sea north of the inter-Korean maritime border and is thought to have burned the body there. South Korean intelligence suspects the man was attempting defect

North Korea Sept. 25, 2020

President Moon Jae-in called for help to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War in his UN address, but the US appeared wary, with the State Department highlighting “unified response” to North Korea, and a former US security official describing the overture as “out of sync” with the US stance. “We are committed to close coordination on our unified response to North Korea,” the State Department told Voice of America on Wednesday, without elaborating if Washin

North Korea Sept. 24, 2020

South Korea’s Defense Minister Suh Wook will attend an annual security meeting with the US in mid-October, military sources confirmed Wednesday. He is expected to facilitate the stalled defense cost-sharing negotiations and review the plan for Seoul to take over wartime operational control from Washington. Despite a year of negotiations, Korea and the US have yet to conclude an agreement for the upkeep of US troops here, largely because they have failed to work out differences over Washin

Defense Sept. 23, 2020