The leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan will meet together for the first time in around five years on the sidelines of the upcoming NATO summit to discuss coordinated ways to address North Korea’s mounting threats, the South Korean presidential office announced Sunday. But President Yoon Suk-yeol will not have bilateral face-to-face talks with his Japanese counterpart, although he plans to participate in a total of 14 meetings during the multilateral summit. Yoon is sch

Foreign Affairs June 26, 2022

The North Korean military on Wednesday discussed how to revise an operational plan and missions of front-line units at a key meeting, which experts view as preparations that would allow tactical nuclear weapons to be deployed along the inter-Korean border. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un convened the multiday meeting of the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea, which continued after kicking off Tuesday, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Thursday. &

Defense June 23, 2022

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un convened the first meeting of the Central Military Commission in one year to discuss and decide on “crucial and urgent tasks” to bolster its military, the state media reported Wednesday. The third enlarged meeting of the eighth Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea kicked off Tuesday, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said. The first and second meetings were held respectively in February and June 2021. Members of t

North Korea June 22, 2022

South Korea’s Unification Minister will push to expeditiously establish a North Korean human rights foundation which has been postponed for more than six years, but he also clarified that the government will not use the human rights issue as a means to apply pressure on the Kim Jong-un regime. Unification Minister Kwon Young-se on Tuesday proposed the priority issues he aims to resolve during his term, speaking at his first news conference since his inauguration in May. Kwon’s go

North Korea June 21, 2022

South Korea’s air force on Monday kicked off a large-scale aerial military exercise to enhance combat readiness and prepare for possible “enemy provocations,” including a surprise invasion. The theater-level “Soaring Eagle” combat training exercise is being staged over five days through Friday at the 29th Tactical Fighter Weapons Group located at an air base in the central city of Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. South Korea’s air force has conducted

Defense June 20, 2022

The United States conveyed its concern to China over a possible North Korean nuclear test during the recent high-level bilateral talks, top White House officials said on Thursday. US national security advisor Jake Sullivan and top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi met on Monday in Luxembourg and discussed regional and global security issues and key pending issues in US-China relations. Speaking at an online event hosted by the Washington-based Center for a New American Security, Sullivan said a m

North Korea June 17, 2022

North Korea appears to be at work to reactivate another unused tunnel at the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site, and has completed preparations for an oft-speculated nuclear test in Tunnel No. 3, a Washington-based think tank said Wednesday. Commercial satellite images acquired Tuesday show new indications of construction activity below the entrance to Tunnel No. 4 at the nuclear test site in Punggye-ri in Kilju County of North Hamgyong Province. A new caisson wall is under construction and cons

North Korea June 16, 2022

The US has not yet finalized how to adjust its military posture in the case of a nuclear test from North Korea and other contingencies, but close consultation with South Korea and Japan will precede a final decision, a senior Pentagon official said Tuesday. “I think the final decisions have not been made,” Colin Kahl, the US undersecretary of defense for policy, said at an event hosted by the Washington-based Center of a New American Security when asked to elaborate on the top US d

Defense June 15, 2022

South Korea’s Navy will join a Pacific Dragon multilateral ballistic missile defense exercise and separately conduct a live-fire drill to test the ability and performance of surface-to-air missile interceptors. The two separate military drills will be staged during the US-led biennial Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC, exercise, multiple South Korean military officials, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed to The Korea Herald on Wednesday. The 28th RIMPAC exercise, the world’s l

Defense June 14, 2022

SINGAPORE -- South Korea is willing to have an earnest discussion to “normalize bilateral security cooperation” with Japan despite unresolved pending issues to better address North Korea’s escalating missile and nuclear threats, Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup said Sunday at the Shangri-La Dialogue. Lee set the direction and gist of the newly inaugurated Yoon Suk-yeol government’s approach to North Korea in his speech delivered at the International Institute for Strategic

Defense June 12, 2022

SINGAPORE -- South Korea, Japan and the US on Saturday agreed to regularize and publicize trilateral missile defense exercises and come up with further trilateral actions to deter North Korea’s ballistic missile threats. 　 South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup had the 50-minute trilateral talks with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi at noon local time. The rare in-person meeting was held on the sidelines of the three-day Shangri-La Dialogue A

Defense June 11, 2022

SINGAPORE -- The South Korean and the US defense chiefs on Saturday agreed to flesh out their plans to step up combined military exercises and enhance the viability of the US extended deterrence against North Korea’s mounting threats. South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup had his first in-person encounter with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in the morning on the sidelines of the three-day Shangri-La Dialogue Asian security summit that runs until Sunday in Singapore. The 30-minute

Defense June 11, 2022

SINGAPORE -- South Korean and Chinese defense chiefs on Friday committed to rejuvenating military exchanges and cooperating in resolving North Korean issues during a bilateral meeting held in around three years. South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup had his first encounter with his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe in the afternoon on the sidelines of the three-day Shangri-La Dialogue Asian security summit that runs until Sunday in Singapore. Reinvigorating military exchanges Lee and Wei

Defense June 10, 2022

SINGAPORE -- The South Korean and Canadian defense chiefs on Friday discussed North Korean threats, their envisioned Indo-Pacific strategies and bilateral defense cooperation at a critical juncture, as Canada has called for South Korea to lend support to fill its depleted weapons stock sent to Ukraine. South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and his Canadian counterpart Anita Anand held a 30-minute meeting from 11:30 local time on Friday on the sidelines of the three-day Shangri-La Dialogue

Defense June 10, 2022

The Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s North Korea policy and Indo-Pacific strategy will be revealed at the Shangri-La Dialogue, where Seoul’s Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup will seek closer cooperation with the US and other aligned nations. The international event will serve as the stage for Lee’s first bilateral and trilateral meetings with defense chiefs -- including those of Japan and the US -- where he will discuss ways to enhance security cooperation in tackling regional cha

Defense June 8, 2022