The leaders of South Korea and Japan will discuss regional security, technology and science partnerships, as well as cultural and youth exchanges at a summit planned in Seoul on Sunday, marking the two nations’ “shuttle diplomacy” becoming fully operational, the presidential office said Thursday. According to presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon, who quoted Japanese National Security Adviser Takeo Akiba, the decision for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit was m

Politics May 4, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Tuesday that South Korea should be grateful to the United States for the fact that Washington has been an important ally assisting Seoul's development from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War, as he was speaking of his diplomatic achievements during his state visit last week. "The 70-year history of the South Korea-US alliance is not a given result, of course,” said Yoon, who presided over the first Cabinet meeting after his state visit to the US

Foreign Affairs May 2, 2023

South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol returned to Seoul on Sunday to face a growing number of partisan challenges, in addition to criticism from the country’s main opposition party over the results of his summit with US President Joe Biden. While Yoon was away in Washington, the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea said the party would propose a bill regulating the role of a presidential spouse, in criticism of the first lady’s public appearances in the US. “We need a bill

Politics May 1, 2023

South Korean rival political parties have diverged on their assessments of the gains and losses of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s summit with US President Joe Biden. While political opponents at home have blasted Yoon for “returning from Washington empty-handed,” the ruling party has defended Yoon for upgrading the security alliance to a new level. Park Jie-won, who headed South Korea’s National Intelligence Service during the Moon Jae-in administration, told The

Politics April 30, 2023

More than 1,000 Russian nationals applied for refugee status in the first three months of this year in South Korea, surpassing last year’s total. According to Ministry of Justice statistics, out of the 4,057 refugee applications lodged between January and March, 26 percent, or 1,056, were made by Russians. This is more than the 1,038 received from Russians over the whole of last year. South Korea has completed a review of 1,685 applications for recognition of refugee status out of the 4,05

Politics April 30, 2023

[코리아헤럴드=김아린 기자] 국회 정보위원회 국민의힘 간사인 유상범 의원이 문재인 정부 시절 국가정보원이 대북 정보· 감청 대신 남북 간 대화를 위한 도구로 이용됐다고 주장했다. 유 의원은 지난 18일 서울 여의도 국회의원회관에서 진행된 본지와의 인터뷰에서 “대북 정보기관 본연의 업무는 외면하고 ‘북한 올인’ 정책을 뒷바라지하는 존재로 전락했던 것이 문재인 정부의 국정원”이라며 지난 정부가 “보이지 않는 곳에서 국가 안보를 위해 헌신해야 할 국정원 요원들을 대북 지원이나 북한 고위급 방문단 수행에 활용했다”고 말했다. 그러면서 “간첩 수사와 대북 공작을 담당했던 직원들을 ‘적폐’ 취급하며 퇴직 시키거나 일선 업무에서 배제해 조직을 무력화 시켰다”며 “‘정보 기관’을 ‘남북 대화 창구’로 변질 시킨 문재인 정부 핵

한국어판 April 27, 2023

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s only publicly seen child, Ju-ae, is stirring up ire among local people there for her extravagant clothing and well-fed appearance, according to Rep. Yoo Sang-bum, the executive secretary of the National Assembly intelligence committee. South Korea's National Intelligence Service believes that Kim’s daughter, officially referred to by the North Korean government as the “most beloved child,” is becoming increasingly resented by many in

Politics April 25, 2023

The Pentagon leak suggesting the US was eavesdropping on top South Korean officials is being overblown by the opposition for domestic political gains ahead of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s White House visit, according to the National Assembly intelligence committee’s Executive Secretary Rep. Yoo Sang-bum. Speaking to The Korea Herald at his office in Seoul’s Yeouido, Yoo of the ruling People Power Party said that a “closed-door” approach to the leak would be appropriate

Politics April 24, 2023

The Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers on Thursday slammed the National Intelligence Service for declining to comment on the leak of classified US documents detailing an internal conversation between top South Korean officials. The party's lawmakers used their majority to convene a plenary session on the Assembly’s intelligence committee unilaterally and accused the NIS of failing to provide an adequate explanation for the alleged US spying on the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol. R

Politics April 20, 2023

South Korea lawmakers on Wednesday condemned North Korea’s cyberattacks outside the North Korean Embassy in the UK. The member-lawmakers on the International Parliamentarians’ Coalition for Asian Human Rights -- Reps. Ha Tae-keung, Yang Jung-suk and Yun Chang-hyun -- issued an open letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, read outside the embassy. “We ask Kim Jong-un to stop the hack attacks against the international community immediately. You are mobilizing all of your resou

Politics April 20, 2023

Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers on Monday urged President Yoon Suk Yeol to fire principal deputy national security adviser Kim Tae-hyo over his response to a recent US intelligence leak. In a written request submitted to the presidential office, the party’s lawmakers accused Kim of failing to apply sufficient verification before concluding that the leaked Pentagon documents had been forged. “The Yoon administration, which has consistently kept up its kowtowing diplomacy, passed o

Politics April 17, 2023

South Korea’s two main parties came together Sunday to remember the sinking of the Sewol ferry on April 16, 2014, which left 304 dead -- many of them high school students on a field trip. “Nine years have passed but the memories of the tragedy are still with us. That day, all of us were praying for everyone’s safe return,” the ruling People Power Party chief spokesperson Rep. Kang Min-kuk said in a statement mourning the victims. “Our deepest condolences to the bere

Politics April 16, 2023

Kim Jin-pyo, the speaker of South Korea’s National Assembly, said the success of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s bid to improve ties with Japan hinges on reciprocation from his counterpart, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Speaking with The Korea Herald and its sister publication, Herald Business, on Wednesday, Kim said that Yoon’s deal with Japan in the summit with Kishida last month reflected “significant resolve” on the part of the South Korean president. “It is a d

Politics April 14, 2023

Kazuhiro Araki, the head of a support group for families of Japanese abducted by North Korea, on Thursday met with Lee Rae-jin, the older brother of the South Korean official who was slain near the inter-Korean sea border in September 2020. Araki, who is visiting Seoul, spoke with Lee and his lawyer Kim Ki-yun for about two hours at People Power Party Rep. Ha Tae-keung’s office to discuss plans for a meeting with Japanese families of the missing. “I think it will be empowering for vi

Politics April 13, 2023

The presidential office said Monday it would request "appropriate measures" from the US if necessary after the two countries finish assessing allegations that the US intelligence agency had wiretapped the South Korean government. The US reports that brought the spying allegations to light are "not confirmed fact," a senior official from the presidential office told reporters, stressing that fact-checking must come first. It is also difficult to rule out the possibility that i

Politics April 10, 2023