In response to North Korea’s demolition of an inter-Korean liaison office, China called for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. Beijing’s Foreign Ministry sent out the message, less than two hours after the unprecedented aggression escalated military tensions on the peninsula. “South and North Korea are one people. As their neighbor, we hope for continued peace and stability on the peninsula,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. China, which shares a

North Korea June 16, 2020

There has been no talk whatsoever of scaling back the number of US troops stationed here, a Defense Ministry official confirmed Tuesday. The issue resurfaced here after the US announced it was reducing its military presence in Germany. “Nothing has been discussed on that matter,” the Seoul official said under customary condition of anonymity, echoing what South Korea’s chief negotiator for the defense cost-sharing negotiations with the US had said earlier. US President Dona

Defense June 16, 2020

South Korea on Sunday vowed to honor reconciliatory inter-Korean agreements and called on the North to do likewise, while reiterating a staunch military readiness against any potential provocation by Pyongyang. Seoul’s top security advisers, led by Chung Eui-yong, chief of the National Security Office, reviewed the recent flare-up in tensions on the peninsula, following the North’s threats to sever ties with the South and even use military force. “National Security Council m

North Korea June 14, 2020

North Korea, which recently cut off all communication with the South, was seen moving several missiles, a local newspaper reported Friday, citing unidentified US authorities familiar with the matter. Several missiles were spotted atop transporter erector launchers, the road-mobile vehicles that elevate missiles to the firing position, in South Pyeongan Province, north of Pyongyang, where the North test-fired its first ICBM in 2017, the Donga Ilbo said. It added the US authorities suspect, fro

North Korea June 11, 2020

North Koreans need food and clean drinking water now more than ever before, but the situation is set to worsen, Elisabeth Byrs, spokesperson for the World Food Program, said Tuesday, urging the international community not to look away. More than 10 million people -- nearly 40 percent of the country’s population – are in need for humanitarian assistance, she told reporters, adding that about the same number also lacked access to safe water supplies. Children as well as pregnant an

North Korea June 10, 2020

After Washington’s decision to cut its military presence in Germany, local experts said Monday that it is unlikely the United States will pursue a similar course of action here. But the South Korean government should be ready for anything given US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable style, they added. 　 In a surprise move, Trump ordered the Pentagon to reduce the number of US troops in Germany by roughly a third, to 25,000, according to the Wall Street Journal on Friday. Seoul

Defense June 8, 2020

Nearly 120 South Korean soldiers who perished during the Korean War may return home later this month, ending a long journey from North Korea via the United States. Their remains have been kept for nearly two years now at the US Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency since arriving from the North in July 2018, when Washington received from Pyongyang its war remains that also included Korean soldiers, following their historic first summit in June the same year. Their belated homecoming, if realized,

Defense June 6, 2020

The South Korean government’s latest move to ban anti-Pyongyang leaflet launches by civic groups following North Korea’s strong complaints has stirred up controversy over the freedom of expression. Seoul’s Unification Ministry revealed Thursday a plan to legislate a law banning the leaflet launches, describing them as “tension-building acts,” with the presidential office Blue House vowing stern responses if the launches pose a danger to national security. The leaf

North Korea June 5, 2020

Seoul’s Unification Ministry said Thursday it was considering legislative measures to ban the contentious anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaign, just hours after North Korea threatened to scrap a bilateral military pact, saying the campaign raises hostilities prohibited by their prior agreement. “We were already looking into ways to prevent tension hikes at the border. Plans for legislative change had been under way,” Unification Ministry spokesperson, Yoh Sang-key said, adding that

North Korea June 4, 2020

South Korea is seeking to revise a law on inter-Korean affairs to allow North Korean-run businesses in its territory, in spite of international sanctions currently placed on the North, the Unification Ministry said Monday. The revised South-North Exchange and Cooperation Act would also allow local municipalities to run businesses with the North without an intermediary while giving greater freedom to South Koreans to interact with their Northern peers. “We’re aware that the new cha

North Korea June 1, 2020

A total of 25,000 masks will be delivered to Korean independence fighters who engaged in military and diplomatic campaigns against Japan’s 1910-45 occupation of the Korean Peninsula, to help them combat the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Patriots and War Veterans said Monday. About 500 fighters and bereaved families in 15 countries will receive the supplies with a letter of gratitude from the minister. The ministry has been assisting independence fighters and war veterans to cop

Defense June 1, 2020

US President Donald Trump’s surprise invitation Saturday to South Korea to the expanded Group of 7 summit in September, along with three other countries, hints at Korea’s elevated status, and is also a double-edged sword amid the deepening rivalry between the US and China, experts here said Sunday. They called on Seoul to draw up a strategy so as not to risk upsetting its security alliance with Washington or economic ties to Beijing, because the summit could shift to a US-led,

Foreign Affairs May 31, 2020

The view that authoritarian states will do a better job of responding to the coronavirus than democracies has been proven wrong, said renowned US scholar Joseph Nye -- best known for pioneering the “soft power” theory -- pointing to South Korea as a positive example. “Authoritarian leaders have used COVID-19 as an excuse to deepen their power and control,” Nye said in an online forum broadcast live on YouTube on Wednesday, whereas in “notable democracies” su

Foreign Affairs May 28, 2020

South Korea should make sure that inter-Korean exchanges proceed in parallel with North Korea’s denuclearization, the US State Department said Tuesday, reiterating its earlier stance made public several times. The department, asked by Voice of America about Seoul’s latest decision to ease restrictions on engagement with Pyongyang, said Washington supports inter-Korean cooperation, but that it should be in “lockstep with progress on denuclearization.” On Tuesday, Seoul&

North Korea May 27, 2020

Both Koreas breached their armistice agreement when they exchanged gunfire at the border on May 3, the United National Command said Tuesday, after a weeklong investigation by its multinational team. The UN Command, which administers the Demilitarized Zone separating both Koreas and enforces the armistice that halted the 1950-53 Korean War, said it could not definitively determine whether North Korea opened fire on a South Korean guard post intentionally or by mistake. Seoul expressed regret

North Korea May 26, 2020