North Korea fired a long-range ballistic missile off its eastern coast toward Japan on Wednesday morning, when the leaders of South Korea and Japan were set to hold a separate summit later in the day on the sidelines of a NATO summit. The intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, was fired from the area of the capital city of Pyongyang toward the East Sea at around 10 a.m., South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The missile was fired at a lofted angle and traveled around 1,000 kilome

North Korea July 12, 2023

VILNIUS, Lithuania/SEOUL -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol condemned North Korea's latest intercontinental ballistic missile launch and urged a stronger collective message from NATO in a summit held Wednesday in Vilnius, Lithuania. Yoon decried the launch as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions and a threat to global peace, calling on the international community to stand firmly against such provocations. Hours before the summit of NATO and its partners, North Korea launched

North Korea July 12, 2023

The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday referred to Seoul as the "Republic of Korea," South Korea's official name, in two statements, signaling a change in its decadeslong strategy to unify the Korean Peninsula under North Korea's lead, according to observers. The name change in Kim Yo-jong's statements -- which were issued in both Korean and English -- may indicate that Pyongyang has started to recognize Seoul as a separate state in a hostil

North Korea July 11, 2023

ANSEONG, Gyeonggi Province – Hanawon has proactively expanded its primary role by offering a diverse array of vocational training programs in order to empower North Korean defectors and equip them with the skills necessary to pursue in-demand careers as baristas, estheticians, manicurists and pet groomers. Before embarking on their journey of assimilation in South Korea, a destination once distant but deeply yearned for, every North Korean defector must pass through a crucial checkpoint: t

North Korea July 10, 2023

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will embark on a six-day trip Monday to attend the NATO summit in Lithuania and visit Poland, but the focus will be on his meeting with the Japanese leader, where the two are expected to discuss Tokyo's plan to release treated wastewater into the sea. The South Korean presidential office confirmed Sunday that the summit between Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will take place on the sidelines of the NATO Vilnius Summit on Tuesday and Wednes

Foreign Affairs July 9, 2023

The head of South Korea's Military Manpower Agency on Wednesday said he opposes the idea of expanding military conscription to female citizens and extending the mandatory military service period for eligible male citizens as potential solutions to address manpower shortages within the military. "It seems impractical to extend the shortened period of military service. In my opinion, it's impossible," said Lee Ki-sik, the commissioner of the Military Manpower Administration, du

Defense July 5, 2023

The deputy foreign ministers of South Korea and China met in Beijing on Tuesday amid mounting tensions between the two countries over the Chinese ambassador to Korea's open criticism of Seoul's foreign policy last month. South Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister Choi Young-sam and his Chinese counterpart Sun Weidong held an in-person meeting and the two agreed that meticulous efforts are necessary to enhance bilateral relations based on "mutual respect and reciprocity," Sout

Foreign Affairs July 5, 2023

South Korea and the United States have assessed that the reconnaissance satellite launched by North Korea in May has "no military utility" because its imaging equipment lacks the required resolution, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday. The JCS announced the results of the analysis conducted on the debris of North Korea's spy satellite and space launch vehicle that the South Korean military salvaged in the West Sea. "The major components of North Korea

Defense July 5, 2023

North Korean state media reports suggest that the country has lifted its COVID-19 mask mandate across the country, effective from this month. The state-run Korean Central Television, primarily catering to North Korean audiences, began broadcasting news showing people working at factories and going about their daily lives mask-free on Sunday. The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, also began featuring photographs of unmasked North Korean people on Monday. Six indi

North Korea July 4, 2023

The Yoon Suk Yeol government is seeking to restructure the Unification Ministry to focus on human rights issues in North Korea and analysis of the Kim Jong-un regime, de-emphasizing its role of facilitating inter-Korean dialogue and other projects aimed at the reconciliation of the two Koreas. Yoon, following his unconventional, concurrent appointments of a hard-liner on Pyongyang as the minister and a veteran diplomat as the vice minister, reiterated on Sunday that the ministry should not prima

North Korea July 3, 2023

South Korea enacted a new law on Tuesday to establish a drone operations command aimed at conducting both defensive and offensive missions, including striking North Korean drones infiltrating South Korean airspace. The law was proclaimed six months after President Yoon Suk Yeol's order to establish a drone operations command. The order was in response to an incident in which five North Korean drones intruded South Korean airspace, and flew over Seoul and the western inter-Korean border area

Defense June 27, 2023

South Korea's Navy will deploy women officers aboard 3,000-ton submarines for the first time starting next year, breaking the longstanding glass ceiling within the country's military after 31 years since the Navy commissioned its first-ever Jang Bogo submarine in 1993. Seven non-commissioned female officers were selected earlier this month out of a pool of 22 applicants to serve on submarines, the Navy announced Monday. The Navy had initially planned to select four non-commissioned fem

Defense June 26, 2023

South Korea's prime minister on Sunday called for the establishment of genuine peace by further strengthening the military, saying that North Korea's persistent missile and nuclear threats are driven by an outdated mindset and perceptions stemming from the Korean War. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo delivered a speech during a ceremony commemorating the 73rd anniversary of the start of the Korean War on June 25. The Korean War began 73 years ago in 1950 when North Korea launched a sudden a

Defense June 25, 2023

At the age of 16, Lee In-bum made his way to Gangneung, Gangwon Province, in July 1951 amid the chaos of the Korean War, which had broken out the year before and torn the nation into pieces. Although he was too young to enlist officially in the South Korean military, he was set on finding a way to help defend his homeland against the forces of North Korea and China. Through his service, the war veteran said he bore witness to the making of the "blood alliance" between South Korea and t

Defense June 22, 2023

YECHEON, North Gyeongsang Province — A team of Polish pilots is bidding farewell to its Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets. They are instead transitioning to South Korea's FA-50 light combat aircraft, with training support and guidance from the South Korean Air Force. Two groups, each comprising four Polish pilots, have undergone monthslong training in Korea. The primary aim of this training is to provide them with the essential skills and knowledge required to operate the FA-50 light com

Defense June 21, 2023