When the Korean national soccer team won the gold medal at the Asian Games on Sunday, English Premier League star Son Hong-min, along with 20 of his teammates, received exemptions from mandatory military service. 　The hard-won victory over archrival Japan would typically have been a sweet moment for South Korea, but there was bitter sentiment this time that was openly expressed. The resentment stems from exemptions from military service granted to the soccer players for “raising national prestig

Defense Sept. 4, 2018

Since its establishment in 1950, the Defense Security Command had exercised enormous power over military affairs. At the heart of this lay its authority to monitor military personnel, keep their records and report them to their superiors. Sometimes it was involved in one-on-one briefings to presidents. 　But such authority will mostly be banned under regulations governing the newly minted Defense Security Support Command. The new unit was officially launched Saturday to replace the scandal-ridden

Defense Sept. 3, 2018

With the South Korean government accelerating its efforts to reduce tension and build trust with North Korea, the military is seeking to stop referencing North Korea as its official enemy in a defense paper to be published this year. 　Citing unidentified multiple government sources, Yonhap News Agency reported Wednesday that the 2018 defense white paper would no longer describe North Korea as a main enemy in a bid to fulfill its pledge to stop hostile acts against North Korea. 　The Ministry of N

Defense Aug. 22, 2018

With the two Koreas seeking to establish an inter-Korean liaison office at the Kaesong industrial park in North Korea, the construction project appears to demonstrate underlying differences between Seoul and Washington over their dealings with North Korea. 　South Korea has said that the construction project does not clash with a series of sanctions imposed on North Korea. The Moon Jae-in administration asserted that the measure could foster cross-border exchanges and build mutual trust for the d

North Korea Aug. 21, 2018

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un conducted inspections of a massive tourism construction site on the country’s east coast, describing it as the epitome of standing up to international sanctions, the North’s state media said Friday.According to the Korean Central News Agency, Kim provided field guidance to the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist area and reiterated his pledge to complete the tourism project by Oct 10, 2019. He was accompanied by his wife Ri Sol-ju.While praising the project for completin

North Korea Aug. 17, 2018

 After the Korean War ended with an armistice agreement in 1953, two Koreas declared a 4-kilometer-wide Demilitarized Zone along the demarcation line that separated them, to prevent accidental skirmishes. Since the DMZ has been off-limits for more than 60 years, the area has become home to many endangered species, including red-crowned cranes. The border town of Cheorwon in Gangwon Province opened the DMZ Peace Park, an ecotourism park in the southern part of the heavily-fortified region, in 201

Travel Aug. 16, 2018

South Korea is in discussion with the US about repatriating the remains of its soldiers killed during the Korean War, a Defense Ministry official said Wednesday, as the US has informed the government that the bodies are stored at a US government agency in Hawaii.The official said the Ministry of National Defense was recently notified by the US government that it has about 35 sets of war remains identified as that of South Korean soldiers. The Defense Ministry will send a forensic team to Hawaii

Defense Aug. 15, 2018

 With speculation rising over US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s trip to North Korea, expectation has been heightened that the visit would provide a breakthrough for stalled denuclearization talks. Officials and analysts here have suggested that Pompeo would make his fourth visit to Pyongyang as early as this month. The speculation has been fueled by reports that US and North Korean delegates met at the border village of Panmunjom last weekend. The development came amid reports North Korea migh

North Korea Aug. 15, 2018

 　The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles featuring inter-Korean relations to mark the paper’s 65th anniversary that falls on Aug. 15. Following is the last installment. -- Ed 　SEJONG -- With the two Koreas working to reduce cross-border tensions and enhance ties through socio-economic exchanges, the prospect of reunification is being debated anew in the South.　During the Cold War, the reunification narrative was mostly about achieving a crushing victory over North Korea. The concept

North Korea Aug. 14, 2018

　If US officials were to enter North Korea to recover the remains of American soldiers from the Korean War, equipment and payment incurred in the process should be exempt from the UN sanctions imposed on North Korea, a senior US official has said. 　In an interview with Radio Free Asia, Kelly McKeague, director of the US Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), said Washington needs to seek exemption from UN sanctions if payment and equipment are to be sent to North Korea for recovery operations

North Korea Aug. 12, 2018

 　The South Korean government is expected to brief the United Nations as early as this week about its investigation into North Korean coal that was illegally imported to South Korea last year in violation of UN and other sanctions, a Foreign Ministry official said Sunday. 　During a meeting with reporters, the official said the government is preparing to report to the UN Security Council about Seoul’s custom agency’s probe into three South Korean firms accused of importing North Korean coal disgu

North Korea Aug. 12, 2018

　With the United States and North Korea continuing to clash over declaring an official end to the Korean War, concerns are mounting that what was thought to be an easy idea is now emerging as a major obstacle to denuclearization talks. 　Pyongyang has upped the pressure on the US to adopt a declaration for ending the Korean War and move toward replacing the current armistice with a peace treaty. Washington, meanwhile, argues that significant progress on North Korea‘s denuclearization must come fi

North Korea Aug. 9, 2018

 　The presidential office on Wednesday confirmed that President Moon Jae-in was briefed by Defense Minister Song Young-moo on the reform plan for the scandal-ridden military intelligence command during a closed-door meeting.　According to Cheong Wa Dae, Moon met with Song and senior presidential aides on Friday evening -- hours after the presidential office announced a plan to create a new military command to replace the Defense Security Command.　Following the announcement, the Defense Ministry s

Defense Aug. 8, 2018

The Ministry of National Defense on Thursday announced a reform plan for its military intelligence unit that would largely disband the organization. The reform plan would cut the number of staff at the Defense Security Command by one-third, as part of an overhaul of the scandal-ridden powerful military intelligence command. The Defense Ministry’s DSC reform panel also said that all laws and regulations concerning the organization would be lifted and the DSC commander would be banned from briefin

Defense Aug. 2, 2018

Draped in white-and-blue United Nations flags, boxes of remains from the Korean War were unloaded from a group of vans one by one under the scorching sun at US Osan airbase in South Korea on Wednesday. A total of 55 boxes were then carried by the honor guard from the UN Command and loaded onto two C-17 Globalmaster cargo planes heading for Hawaii. Dozens of service members and a military honor guard lined up on the tarmac to mark the return of the fallen troops. After four F-16 fighter jets flew

Defense Aug. 1, 2018