[코리아헤럴드=김아린 기자] 신원식 국방부 장관은 김정은 북한 국무위원장이 차기 미국 대통령으로부터 원하는 것을 얻을 수 있다면, 언제든지 연내에 핵실험을 감행할 수 있다고 밝혔다. 22일 신 장관은 본지와 인터뷰에서 김 위원장이 미국 대선 정국을 기습해 의도적인 위기 고조를 통해 미국의 대북 정책 전환을 도모할 수 있다고 전망했다. 그는 김 위원장이 “벼랑 끝 효과를 달성해 미국의 차기 정부가 북한이 원하는 바를 주겠다는 정책으로 전환을 하는 데에 (7차 핵실험이) 도움이 된다고 판단하면, 언제든지 할 수 있다고 본다”고 했다. 그러면서 김 위원장이 “핵을 가지고 가장 좋았던 시절”이 도발을 단행해 북한에 유리한 상황을 조성하는 게 가능했던 2018년이라면서, 미국 대선을 기점으로 “2025년을 ‘어게인 2018(again 2018)’으로 만들려는 시도를 할 것”이라고 말했다. 최근 계속되는 북한

한국어판 Jan. 28, 2024

The Ministry of National Defense in Seoul on Sunday denied reports that the South Korean military was still putting off drills near the shared border, as per the 2018 inter-Korean agreement that North Korea withdrew from earlier. “Our military can hold drills according to its own plan, only there aren’t such plans yet,” a senior defense ministry official told The Korea Herald. “There is no official decision or guidance in place that is preventing our military from conduct

Defense Jan. 28, 2024

North Korea on Sunday morning fired several cruise missiles into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The JCS said in a message to reporters that the missiles landed at around 8 a.m. in waters near the North Korean port city of Sinpo, South Hamgyong Province, on the eastern coast. “Our military is closely coordinating with the US side amid heightened vigilance and surveillance, and watching for further signs and activities

Defense Jan. 28, 2024

[코리아헤럴드=김아린 기자] 최근 김정은 북한 국무위원장의 2013년생 딸 김주애가 유력한 후계자로 지목되면서, 북한 정권의 안정성에 대한 궁금증이 높아지고 있다. 국회에 따르면 국가정보원은 지난 2일 제출한 자료에 김주애가 현 시점에서 “유력한 후계자”라고 밝혔다. 여성 후계자 가능성에 회의적이던 기존 입장을 바꾼 것이다. 이는 김 위원장의 딸을 유력한 후계자로 볼 수 있다는 우리 정보 당국의 첫 공식 판단이다. 아직 어린 김주애를 ‘조기 등판’시킨 것을 두고, 김 위원장이 본인의 건강에 이상을 느껴 4대 세습을 앞당겨 준비하는 것 같다는 해석이 나온다. 양욱 아산정책연구원 연구위원은 “후계자를 일찍 내세우고 자리 잡게 한단 것은 그 만큼 김정은 본인이 자기 건강이나 안위에 자신 없다는 신호”라고 말했다. 그러나 북한 정권의 가부장제적 특성을 생각했을 때, 아직까지는 “(후계자로 확신할) 근거가 미약한 것

한국어판 Jan. 25, 2024

The missiles North Korea launched toward the sea west of the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday had been its new strategic cruise missiles, according to its official media. The state official Korean Central News Agency said Thursday that it had test-fired the new strategic cruise missile, whose name Pulhwasal-3-31 means fire arrow in Korean, for the first time the previous day. North Korea’s Missile General Bureau said the first testing of the cruise missiles came as a “part of the proces

Defense Jan. 25, 2024

South Korean spy agency on Wednesday reported a significant uptick in attempts of cyber attacks by foreign sources last year, waged mainly by North Korea and China. Chinese attacks tended to inflict more severe damage than North Korean ones, despite the latter being more frequent. The National Intelligence Service said cyber attacks against the public sector increased by 36 percent overall last year compared to the year before. North Korea accounted for 80 percent of those attacks, and China, 5

Defense Jan. 24, 2024

[코리아헤럴드=김아린 기자] 신원식 국방부 장관은 병력 감소 문제의 해법이 될 수 없다며 여성 징병제를 반대하는 입장을 밝혔다. 신 장관은 22일 본지와 인터뷰에서 병력 부족의 대안으로 거론되고 있는 여성 징병제에 대해 “국방부의 정책으로 전혀 고려하거나 검토하고 있지 않다”며 선을 그었다. 이어 여성 의무 복무는 “매우 신중한 접근과 사회적 합의가 필요하다”면서, “여성이 지원할 수 있는 폭을 넓혀 여군 비율을 확대하려 굉장히 노력하고 있지만, 의무를 지우는 것은 완전히 다른 차원”이라고 말했다. 다만 국방부는 “인구감소에 따른 병역자원의 감소가 안보위기로 이어질 수 있다는 상황을 엄중하게 인식하고, 이를 타개해 나가기 위한 정책들을 추진하고 있다”고 덧붙였다. 최근 정치권을 중심으로 여성 징병제를 논의해야 한다는 주장이 다시 제기됐는데, 이를 두고 신 장관은 “공론장에선 정책에 찬성하

한국어판 Jan. 24, 2024

Shin Won-sik, the minister of national defense of South Korea, says North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could carry out a nuclear weapons test at any time this year if he believes he could gain what he wants from the next US president by doing so. In an interview with The Korea Herald on Monday, the South Korean defense chief said North Korea’s Kim may seek to leverage the US presidential election in November to get the incoming administration in Washington to accede to his demands. North Kore

North Korea Jan. 23, 2024

The South Korean presidential office on Sunday said North Korea’s claims of having carried out a test of an underwater nuclear weapons system were probably overstated. In a primary analysis on North Korea’s announcement on Friday, an official with the presidential office in Seoul said that the purported test was “likely to be exaggerated and fabricated.” The development of an underwater nuclear-based weapons system is one of the key tasks outlined in North Korea’s f

Defense Jan. 21, 2024

North Korea says it is ready to host Russian President Vladimir Putin for a state visit. The state official Korea Central News Agency on Sunday said that Putin has expressed his willingness to visit Pyongyang, reporting the results of its Foreign Minister Choe Sun-hui’s recent trip to Moscow. “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea warmly welcomes the state visit of comrade president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, to our country. We are ready to receive the best friend of the Ko

North Korea Jan. 21, 2024

South Korea on Thursday reported a recent increase in defections of elite and younger North Koreans, who say they left because they are anti-regime. The Ministry of Unification in Seoul overseeing inter-Korean affairs said the number of defectors to the South hit 196 in 2023, which is about the triple the number of the two preceding years -- 2022’s 67 and 2021’s 63 -- when COVID-19 was still raging. According to the ministry, the defections of members of the North Korean elite seen l

North Korea Jan. 18, 2024

Cho Tae-yong was sworn in on Wednesday as President Yoon Suk Yeol’s second director of the National Intelligence Service, filling the vacancy since his predecessor, Kim Kyou-hyun, left the post about two months ago. In his first address Wednesday as the NIS chief, Cho vowed to turn the NIS into an agency “worthy of the trust of the South Korean people” during his tenure -- in an apparent reference to the internal power struggle at the agency, which had spilled over into public

Politics Jan. 17, 2024

North Korea fired a mid-range ballistic missile into the sea east of the Korean Peninsula on Sunday afternoon, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. This was the North’s first ballistic missile launch of the year, with the previous one on Dec. 18. “At approximately 2:55 p.m. on this day, a single intermediate-range ballistic missile was fired from the vicinity of Pyongyang toward the east coast, flying for about 1,000 kilometers before landing in the water,” t

Defense Jan. 14, 2024

The victory of Lai Ching-te of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party in the presidential election on Saturday will put the relationship between South Korea and China to the test, given Seoul's unique geopolitical position and the need to strike a balance between Beijing and Washington, according to experts in Seoul on Sunday. As China effectively refused to accept the result of the high-stakes election, concerns are mounting as South Korea's Yoon Suk Yeol administration has been

Foreign Affairs Jan. 14, 2024

The former leaders of two rival parties spoke over coffee Sunday morning on possibly uniting against establishment politics ahead of the April general election to fill the National Assembly. Lee Nak-yon and Lee Jun-seok -- who once led the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party, respectively -- met at a Starbucks near the National Assembly in Yeouido, central Seoul, for a brief chat on their potential political union. Rep. Kim Jong-min, who quit the Democratic Party last week, was

Politics Jan. 14, 2024