Led by a hawkish general in charge of inter-Korea relations, a group of high-level delegates from North Korea will be dispatched for the closing ceremony of PyeongChang Olympics, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said Thursday. 　The North notified the Unification Ministry that it would send Sunday eight delegates led by Gen. Kim Yong-chol, head of the ruling party’s United Front Department and former chief of the Reconnaissance General Bureau. 　Accompanied by Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Commit

North Korea Feb. 22, 2018

When North Korea held a military parade earlier this month just as athletes from around the world gathered in PyeongChang to celebrate the Olympics, attention was on whether Pyongyang would showcase a new intercontinental ballistic missile to the world. The international community was quite relieved to see little evidence of new ICBMs at what was described as a low-profile parade -- though North Korea showcased ICBM-class Hwasong 14 and 15, which it successfully test-fired last year. However, th

Defense Feb. 21, 2018

    The PyeongChang Winter Olympics have brought about a rare detente between the two Koreas after years of military confrontations over Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missiles programs. The two Koreas created a unified women’s ice hockey team and marched under a unified flag. North Korea even invited President Moon Jae-in for a summit in the North’s capital. 　Yet, with less than a week to go before the Olympics end, there are concerns the Olympic detente will dissipate with the Winter Games

North Korea Feb. 20, 2018

　Faced with North Korea’s sophisticated missile and nuclear capabilities, the South Korean Army came up with its own solutions to better counter the evolving military threat: drones and robots.　During a meeting with lawmakers Tuesday, the Army said it will create “dronbot” battle units for surveillance and combat mission at Ground Operations Command scheduled to be established this year. 　Assigned to division-level units and above, the dronbot units would help the military’s contingency efforts

Defense Feb. 20, 2018

　Seoul and Washington’s decision on the South Korea-US military drills postponed due to the PyeongChang Olympic and Paralympic Games will be announced no later than April, South Korea‘s defense chief said Tuesday. 　During a meeting with the members of the parliamentary defense committee, Defense Minister Song Young-moo said that he and his US counterpart James Mattis would announce the resumption date between March 18 -- when the Paralympic Games end -- and April 1. 　Song added that he and Matti

North Korea Feb. 20, 2018

　With the South Korean military participating in a multilateral amphibious landing drill in Southeast Asia over the weekend, speculation continues to rise over when South Korea and the US will resume their annual joint drills on the Korean Peninsula. 　The troops from the South Korean Navy and Marine Forces on Saturday joined US Marines and the Thai Royal Navy in eastern Thailand, where the annual Cobra Gold exercise is being held. The exercise kicked off on Feb. 13 and will continue until Friday

North Korea Feb. 19, 2018

With North Korea’s high-level delegation having returned home after waging a peace offensive during the PyeongChang Olympics, South Korea is preparing to continue the momentum for an inter-Korean thaw by resuming long-stalled military talks. Cheong Wa Dae and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea said that the resumption of military talks is crucial to easing cross-border tensions that have been lessened since the North Korean participation in the Winter Olympics. “In order to move forward with e

Defense Feb. 14, 2018

With US President Donald Trump’s administration raising the prospect for direct talks with North Korea amid an inter-Korean Olympics detente, the US should pursue dialogue if Pyongyang continues to suspend nuclear and missile tests until after the Olympics, Washington-based security scholars said.　In an email interview with The Korea Herald, the analysts noted such initial talks without preconditions are necessary to determine North Korea’s nuclear capabilities and their intentions before it bec

North Korea Feb. 13, 2018

With North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un having invited President Moon Jae-in to Pyongyang for a summit, the focus is now on how South Korea can coordinate with the United States to leverage the initiative as an opportunity for denuclearization talks.  　The allies appeared to agree that North Korea should make progress on denuclearization before a summit can be held. Moon said he would accept the summit meeting under the right conditions, suggesting Pyongyang should do more to open direct US-North

North Korea Feb. 11, 2018

 International sanctions on North Korea have brought changes to the power structure among the country’s governing elite, prompting the reclusive regime to offer an olive branch to South Korea and participate in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, a Seoul-based scholar said. During a closed seminar organized by the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and Keio University, he noted there was growing anxiety among North Korean elites about securing foreign currency to consolidate Kim Jong-un’s power a

North Korea Feb. 8, 2018

A day before the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, North Korea held a military parade in Pyongyang on Thursday, with intercontinental ballistic missiles displayed in the presence of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. ICBM-class Hwasong-14 and -15 missiles – which were successfully test-fired last year – were shown alongside Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missiles and Pukkuksong-2, solid-fuel medium-range ballistic missiles, according to footage of the parade, which the

North Korea Feb. 8, 2018

The South Korean government confirmed Wednesday that the military had ordered its helicopters to shoot toward protestors during a democratic uprising in 1980, marking a step forward in finding out the military’s involvement during the most violent crackdown on civilian protestors in South Korea’s modern history.According to the government committee investigating the massacre committed during the Gwnangju democratization movement, fighter jets and Marines were also put on alert for dispatch to th

Defense Feb. 7, 2018

A South Korean aerobatic aircraft participating in the 2018 Singapore Airshow caught fire after skidding off a runway Tuesday, leaving the aircraft’s pilot with a minor injury and causing the Air Force to halt its scheduled flying performance. According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, an aircraft from South Korea‘s Black Eagles aerobatic team skidded off the runway and crashed into the grass verge at the side of Changi Airport‘s Runway 1 and caught fire, Channel News Asia reported.

Defense Feb. 6, 2018

　With North Korea gearing up to hold a military parade Thursday, signs have emerged that the reclusive regime is increasing the number of troops practicing for the event and building new hovercraft bases near waters close to South Korea. 　Citing a series of satellite imagery from Planet Labs, 38 North’s analyst Joseph Bermudez said that as of Monday there were about 13,000 troops practicing on training grounds at the Mirim Parade Training Facility in Pyongyang -- up from its previous assessment

North Korea Feb. 6, 2018

North Korea last year stole cryptocurrency from South Korea worth billions of won, said Seoul’s top spy agency Monday, accusing the reclusive regime of trying to hack into exchanges by sending emails with customer information. The National Intelligence Service also confirmed that Hwang Pyong-so and Kim Won-hong, former head and vice chief of the General Political Bureau, respectively, were removed from their posts following an inspection, and Kim Jong-gak, a vice chief of the Ministry of the Peo

North Korea Feb. 5, 2018