The number of people who switched their mobile carriers plunged to a 13-year low last year after a series of government measures designed to prevent subscribers from receiving hefty subsidies for changing their telephone numbers. 　According to statistics released by the Korea Telecommunications Operations Association on Wednesday, the number of people who changed their mobile providers stood at 5,660,601 in 2018, 19.3 percent lower than the year before. This translates to a monthly average of 4

Technology Jan. 2, 2019

　North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday urged South Korea to “completely halt” military exercises with the United States, a move that analysts see as a way of increasing pressure on Seoul and Washington to make reciprocal gestures in response to the North’s moratorium on nuclear and missile tests. 　In his New Year’s address, Kim demanded that the South Korean government stop holding combined military drills and accepting US strategic assets, describing these actions as sources of tension on

Defense Jan. 1, 2019

The government has finalized plans for alternative service for conscientious objectors, but controversy over the matter looks likely to continue. On Friday, the Ministry of National Defense announced plans to introduce 36 months of service at correctional facilities for conscientious objectors who refuse to serve in the military. The measure was drawn up as the country’s top court has recognized conscientious objection as a valid reason for rejecting mandatory military service.According to the M

Defense Dec. 30, 2018

South Korea’s conscripted soldiers will soon be allowed to go off base and to use cellphones in barracks after working hours, the country’s military said Thursday, as part of efforts to improve basic rights for rank-and-file soldiers. 　The Ministry of National Defense also said that starting next year, the military will ease restrictions on vacation destinations for soldiers, who have been prohibited from going to places deemed too far for them to return to the barracks on time. 　Every Korean ab

Defense Dec. 27, 2018

North Korea may no longer be described as South Korea’s official enemy in the government’s soon-to-be-published defense white paper, with the two Koreas accelerating efforts to reduce cross-border military tension and improve socioeconomic ties.　According to defense officials here on Wednesday, the Ministry of National Defense will seek to have its 2018 defense white paper stop referencing the North Korean military as an enemy to South Korea. 　Instead, the term “enemy” is likely to be applied to

North Korea Dec. 26, 2018

Controversy persists over the decision by the main opposition party’s interim leadership to reduce the clout of lawmakers who were close to former President Park Geun-hye, as well as that of other conservative powerbrokers. 　The Liberty Korea Party’s emergency committee said Saturday that 21 incumbent lawmakers will be ineligible to lead the party’s powerful district committees. The purpose of the measure, the interim leadership said, is to overhaul the conservative party following the ouster of

North Korea Dec. 16, 2018

Controversy has erupted over a Seoul-based research institute’s report on the draft version of a hypothetical peace treaty with North Korea, with conservatives saying it is too early to discuss the matter amid growing frustration over stalled denuclearization talks. 　　During a seminar Thursday, a Korea Institute for National Unification researcher asserted that the current armistice agreement should be replaced when North Korea achieves 50 percent denuclearization. 　　Kim Sang-ki, director of the

North Korea Dec. 13, 2018

The two Koreas held working-level talks to share the latest data on influenza, paving the way for cooperation in the health and medical sector, the Seoul government said Wednesday.Kwon Jun-wook, a senior official of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, met his North Korean counterpart, Kim Yun-chol, at the joint liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong as the first step for a pilot program for health care exchanges.The meeting is the follow-up to an agreement between the Koreas last m

North Korea Dec. 12, 2018

　A South Korean lawmaker’s email account had been hacked by an unidentified group as an alleged attempt to steal classified information from the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, a local newspaper reported. 　According to Donga Ilbo on Tuesday, an unidentified group stole the identity of Rep. Baek Seung-joo of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party and sent an email to the JCS, DAPA and Korea Institute for Defense Analysis, among others. 　The email was rep

Defense Dec. 12, 2018

　The militaries of the two Koreas inspected each other’s military facilities in a heavily fortified border region Wednesday for the first time since the end of the Korean War, verifying work that took place last month to remove 22 front-line guard posts under an agreement between the two sides. 　According to the Ministry of National Defense, the verification process began at around 9 a.m., after a team of South Korean inspectors crossed the Military Demarcation Line and met with their North Kore

Defense Dec. 12, 2018

With North Korea maintaining its silence as to whether Kim Jong-un will visit Seoul before the end of this year, speculation is rampant among political parties here as to whether the North Korean leader will deliver on his promise. In his meeting with President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang in September, Kim pledged to visit Seoul “at an early date.” But the communist state has yet to accept Moon’s invitation to visit by the end of this year. The prolonged silence has prompted a flurry of speculation

North Korea Dec. 11, 2018

　With the two Koreas speeding up their efforts to reduce cross-border tensions and enhance socio-economic ties, the South Korean government is seeking to formulate a new security policy that focuses more on broader threats in the region rather than North Korea’s nuclear program. 　The Ministry of National Defense said Monday that its affiliated agency has been carrying out extensive research that postulates a changed security landscape where North Korea’s nuclear and missile threat no longer exis

Defense Dec. 10, 2018

　Since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledged to visit Seoul in return for President Moon Jae-in’s September trip to Pyongyang, whether Kim will keep his promise has become a point of much speculation.　Some experts have suggested Kim’s visit could take place as early as next week amid rumors that some tourist destinations in Seoul have turned down reservations for that period. Others say Kim will come to South Korea more than two weeks later, after he marks the seventh anniversary of his father

North Korea Dec. 7, 2018

The top diplomats of South Korea and the US pledged united efforts to deal with North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, as the allies’ leaders seek another summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un amid the stalled nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her US counterpart Mike Pompeo held a meeting in Washington on Thursday, the first since they met in Seoul after Pompeo’s trip to Pyongyang in October. The meeting came amid efforts in Seoul and

Foreign Affairs Dec. 7, 2018

　The South Korean military said Thursday that Seoul and Washington have long monitored a North Korean missile base that a US media outlet described as an unreported facility capable of launching a long-range ballistic missile. 　Citing satellite images and analysis from a private think tank, CNN reported Wednesday that the Yeongjeo-dong missile base and a nearby site -- previously unreported -- remain active and have been continuously upgraded. 　The South Korean government, which dismissed previo

North Korea Dec. 6, 2018