A day after Seoul and Tokyo pulled off a compromise in their sex slavery row, the U.S., the U.N. and other actors in the international community churned out praise and support, displaying hopes for an end to the decades-old historical animosity. While acknowledging the need for Japan to follow through on its promises, they stressed the significance of what is supposed to be a “final and irreversible” closure of the dispute that has long plagued relations between the two neighbors and staunch U.S

Foreign Affairs Dec. 29, 2015

Despite a much-touted breakthrough with Japan on sex slavery, criticism is simmering over Seoul’s apparently rushed negotiations that led to its failure to consult beforehand with the victims, leaving room for potential diplomatic blunders and political backlash at home. Monday’s announcement came as a surprise to many because the bilateral director-general-level talks had made little headway during the 11 rounds since April 2014. Even early this month, diplomatic sources remained skeptical of t

Foreign Affairs Dec. 29, 2015

The strains of “Arirang,” Korea’s unofficial national anthem, filled the air as President Park Geun-hye smiled at the National Marionette Theatre in Prague early this month, followed by Czech folk song “Humoresques.“Titled “In the Attic,” the puppet show was the product of collaboration between the two countries’ artists ― traditional Korean pansori piece “Sugungga” formed the central music and story line under the command of a Korean director, while the rabbit and turtle marionettes playing the

Foreign Affairs Dec. 27, 2015

The U.S. Forces Korea has conducted 16 rounds of clandestine experiments involving dead anthrax samples and one plague test since 2009, a joint investigation panel said Thursday, upending Washington’s previous claim that last May’s anthrax shipment marked its first-ever trial here. In late May, 22 U.S. servicemen were found to have possibly come into contact with the lethal bacteria sent to Osan Air Base in Gyeonggi Province from a military laboratory in Utah. Though the USFK said that none of t

Foreign Affairs Dec. 17, 2015

The government Wednesday picked U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin as the new contractor for its project to renovate the aviation electronic systems of KF-16 fighters that has sat dormant for months due to demands for a cost hike by a previous partner. Under the 1.84 trillion won ($1.58 billion) program, the Maryland-based company will exchange and upgrade the radar, armament and other integrated electronic systems of 134 KF-16s currently operated by South Korea’s Air Force. During a defense acq

Defense Dec. 16, 2015

The war of words is heating up between the government and Seoul City over the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs’ plans to raise the national flag at the heart of downtown in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the country’s liberation from Japan this year. The tit-for-tat over how long and where the giant flag pole should be installed represents a fresh standoff between the conservative government of President Park Geun-hye and the progressive municipality run by Mayor Park Won-soon

Defense Dec. 15, 2015

With delays in the expansion project of the U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, the relocation of the bulk of troops from central Seoul and other northern regions due to conclude in 2016 will take another year, the commander of the 8th U.S. Army said Thursday. Under the plan, initially slated to take place in 2008 but delayed until 2012, Camp Humphreys will be home to some 42,000 U.S. forces and their families as they shift in stages, said Lt. Gen. Bernard Champoux, who is also

Foreign Affairs Dec. 13, 2015

GAESEONG, North Korea -- The two Koreas held a rare high-level meeting Friday in the North Korean border town of Gaeseong, seeking to mend fences worn by a flare-up in military tensions last summer and a perennial standoff over sanctions, stalled tours and other issues. The South’s delegation, led by Vice Unification Minister Hwang Boo-gi, left for the city that houses a joint factory park early in the morning to join his counterpart Jon Jong-su, a vice director of the North’s Committee for Peac

North Korea Dec. 11, 2015

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has claimed the communist state has developed a hydrogen bomb, which may signal a significant advancement in its nuclear capabilities, though Seoul officials remain dubious of the claim’s veracity. While inspecting a historic arms factory site in Pyongyang on Wednesday, Kim lauded its founder and his late grandfather Kim Il-sung for testing some of the country’s maiden weapons some 70 years ago, which made possible its transformation into a “powerful nuclear weapo

North Korea Dec. 10, 2015

Washington has agreed in principal to transfer the 21 sets of technologies essential for Seoul’s drive to introduce its own fighter jets, officials here said Wednesday, though uncertainties remain over some undecided subcategories. A delegation of officials from South Korea’s defense and foreign ministries and state arms procurement agency held meetings with their U.S. counterparts in Washington last week to drum up their support for the KF-X program, after the State Department vetoed export lic

Defense Dec. 9, 2015

President Park Geun-hye reiterated her calls Tuesday for the National Assembly to pass the pending bills on labor reforms, lambasting the political bickering among lawmakers which she said “only magnifies the pain of the young generation.”Presiding over a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, she also stressed the need for legislation designed to head off possible terrorist attacks on the back of the surge of the Islamic State extremist group and its threats against Seoul as a staunch U.S. ally. “Wh

Politics Dec. 8, 2015