Relations between the two Koreas are set to go farther downhill as no fresh reconciliatory gestures are coming out of the North’s ongoing party congress, while defiant leader Kim Jong-un has reasserted the country’s commitment to nuclear weapons. The unrelenting tension, which intensified after Pyongyang’s latest nuclear and missile tests early this year, poses a deepening challenge to President Park Geun-hye as she may conclude her five-year term without a solid legacy in cross-border ties -- d

North Korea May 9, 2016

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong reiterated the country’s commitment to its nuclear program on Thursday, calling it the only means to counter U.S. nuclear threats magnified by joint war games with South Korea. He delivered a keynote speech at a high-level meeting of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals at the U.N. in New York, amid prevalent concerns that the communist state will carry out a fifth nuclear test ahead of a major party congress and in protest against recent international

North Korea April 22, 2016

South Korea plans to provide Ecuador with humanitarian assistance totaling $700,000, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, joining global efforts to support the Latin American country’s search and rescue operations following a massive earthquake. Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck (Yonhap)Saturday’s 7.8-magnitude tremor was the nation’s worst disaster in decades, leaving more than 480 killed and thousands wounded or missing. In all, the quake has affected some 450,000 Ecuadorians, with aro

Foreign Affairs April 20, 2016

The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday announced a roster of new ambassadors to 15 countries including Vietnam, Singapore, Uzbekistan and Finland as part of a regular reshuffle of senior envoys. Lee Hyuk, ambassador for international relations to Incheon City and former representative to the Philippines, was tapped to head the embassy in Vietnam. Lee Sang-deok, former director general for Northeast Asian affairs at the ministry, was appointed the new ambassador to Singapore. President Park Geun-hye (

Foreign Affairs April 20, 2016

Despite global monitoring efforts led by the U.N., the human rights situation in North Korea appears to have barely improved, a Seoul-based think tank said Monday, pointing to unabated torture, public executions and political oppression. The Database Center for North Korean Human Rights unveiled its findings after analyzing 52,735 cases included in its archive according to nine areas specified in the U.N. Commission of Inquiry report, seeking to find any development over the two years following

North Korea April 18, 2016

Work appears to be continuing at North Korea’s nuclear site, Seoul’s military officials said Sunday, prompting speculation that the communist state is counting down to a fresh underground blast to celebrate the birthday of its late founding father and a forthcoming party congress. The South Korean military has in recent weeks been bolstering surveillance as they had detected a sharp rise in the movement of labor, vehicles and other equipment in and out of the Punggye nuclear site in the country’

North Korea April 17, 2016

“We will make sure to get rid of our arrogance and self-righteousness by gravely reflecting upon the warning issued by the people through this election,” read a group text message a defeated Saenuri Party candidate sent to his constituents on Thursday.Such humble words were echoed by a number of his colleagues, as the ruling party was reeling from the crushing defeat that stripped it of the status of majority and No.1 parliamentary party. Indeed, protracting economic doldrums, the party’s factio

Politics April 14, 2016

Following the opposition camp‘s election sweep, the government is expected to face mounting calls for an overhaul of North Korea and other diplomatic and security policy, as well as a far-reaching Cabinet reshuffle, to include the foreign minister. Cheong Wa Dae appeared devastated the day after the Wednesday vote, which deprived President Park Geun-hye’s Saenuri Party of not only the majority, but also the largest share of the 300-strong National Assembly, with one official saying, “I can’t fig

Foreign Affairs April 14, 2016

South Korea has joined hands with the U.N. and other international organizations to launch a table tennis project for people with disabilities in Nepal, as part of efforts to support the South Asian country in the aftermath of a massive earthquake last year. Dozens of senior diplomats, officials from the involved institutions and Nepalese citizens gathered for the launching ceremony of the “NepAll” initiative in Kathmandu on April 6, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Monday.  Wilfried Lemke (third f

Foreign Affairs April 12, 2016

A ranking official at North Korea’s military spy agency and two diplomats working outside the country have defected to the South, the government confirmed Monday, days after the joint arrival here of 13 workers from a North Korean restaurant in China. The colonel-level intelligence officer came to Seoul last year and gave a “detailed testimony” on the Reconnaissance General Bureau’s espionage operations against the South, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing an unnamed source with knowledge on th

North Korea April 11, 2016

A ranking official at North Korea’s military spy agency and two diplomats working outside the country have defected to the South, the government confirmed Monday, days after the joint arrival here of 13 workers from a North Korean restaurant in China. The colonel-level intelligence officer came to Seoul last year and gave a “detailed testimony” on the Reconnaissance General Bureau’s espionage operations against the South, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing an unnamed source with knowledge on th

North Korea April 11, 2016

In the wake of last week’s mass defection, additional exoduses may come about among North Koreans working overseas as the impact of U.N. resolutions and unilateral sanctions takes shape, top Seoul officials said Sunday. A group of a male manager in his 30s and 12 female employees in their early 20s who had served at a North Korean restaurant arrived in Seoul on Thursday, the Unification Ministry announced late Friday. Officials declined to unveil the detailed time line of their journey or the lo

North Korea April 10, 2016

President Park Geun-hye and her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping displayed their commitment to an “outright, full” enforcement of the latest U.N. sanctions on North Korea, during their first meeting on Thursday in Washington since Pyongyang’s fourth nuclear test. The two presidents’ seventh one-on-one talk came as part of Park’s relay meetings with leaders of the U.S., Japan and other countries on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit, focusing on consolidating a united front against the No

Foreign Affairs April 1, 2016