Former President Lee Myung-bak was involved in signing secret military pacts with the United Arab Emirates, a progressive opposition lawmaker said Wednesday, adding fuel to political controversy surrounding the former president. Rep. Kim Jong-dae of the minor Justice Party claimed that Lee was involved in bringing about the military pact that includes dispatching South Korean troops to the UAE. The agreement was tantamount to a mutual defense treaty, requiring Korea to send its troops to the UAE

Defense Jan. 17, 2018

　With hopes rising for an inter-Korean thaw as North Korea plans to send its delegates to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, South Korea is eager to figure out how to best leverage the sporting event as an opportunity to showcase its resolve to bring peace and stability to the Korean Peninsula. 　One of those ideas is to show the world the two Koreas’ delegates marching together in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics -- an image designed to demonstrate the two Koreas are originally o

North Korea Jan. 16, 2018

　Foreign affairs and defense officials from South Korea and the US will hold high-level talks Wednesday to discuss ways to reinforce the allies’ extended deterrence against North Korea’s growing missile and nuclear threats, the South Korean government said Monday. 　The second round of meetings for the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group will take place in Washington, Seoul’s defense and foreign ministries said. South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam and Vice Defense Min

North Korea Jan. 15, 2018

　A North Korean state-run media outlet demanded Friday the complete suspension of South Korea-US joint military exercises, casting a shadow over prospects of inter-Korean talks, while the allies stressed the dialogue would be limited to the North’s participation in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. 　North Korean propaganda website Uriminzokkiri said South Korea should “permanently halt” its annual military drills with the US, which South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his US counterpart Do

North Korea Jan. 12, 2018

With less than a month to the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, attention is being drawn on who will attend the games as Seoul seeks to use the sporting event as an opportunity to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula. 　The Moon Jae-in administration has been trying to invite as many foreign leaders as possible, particularly those from regional powers, in the hope that they will show their support for what Moon described as the “Peace Olympics.” 　But the likelihood of their attendance -- Donald

Foreign Affairs Jan. 11, 2018

　With the two Koreas gearing up for military talks to ease tensions, the focus is now on how much progress they will be able to make, as the US continues to raise concerns over North Korea’s motive behind its diplomatic overture.  　In a joint statement released Tuesday, the two Koreas agreed to hold military talks and additional high-level meetings, with Pyongyang agreeing to send its delegates and athletes to the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.   　Prospects of the military talks, however, rem

North Korea Jan. 10, 2018

With the two Koreas gearing up for military talks to ease tensions, the focus is now on how much progress they will be able to make, as the US continues to raise concerns over North Korea’s motive behind its diplomatic overture.  　In a joint statement released Tuesday, the two Koreas agreed to hold military talks and additional high-level meetings, with Pyongyang agreeing to send its delegates and athletes to the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.   　Prospects of the military talks, however, rema

Defense Jan. 10, 2018

Amid escalating controversy over secret military pacts between South Korea and the UAE that allegedly commit Korean troops to the Middle Eastern country in a contingency, the two countries Tuesday pledged to bolster bilateral ties, elevating their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership.　“I hope our relationship will become something between brothers,” said President Moon Jae-in during a meeting with Khaldoon Khalifa al-Mubarak, chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority of Abu Dh

Defense Jan. 9, 2018

　With US President Donald Trump expressing his willingness to talk directly with North Korea over its nuclear program, expectations are high over whether the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue would open the way for direct talks between Washington and Pyongyang.  　In a shift from his bellicose rhetoric, Trump said he is open to speaking one-on-one with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un after the two Koreas agreed to hold their first high-level talks since 2015 to discuss North Korea’s potential

North Korea Jan. 7, 2018

　With South Korea seeking to thaw frozen ties with North Korea by holding talks before the opening of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, concern is rising over whether the diplomatic overture would hamper the allies’ efforts to present a united front against North Korea’s nuclear program.　The two Koreas reopened a border hotline in order to restore a channel for direct communication after years of cross-border tensions, while US President Donald Trump traded barbs with North Korea’s leader Kim Jon

North Korea Jan. 4, 2018

　With North Korea offering an olive branch to South Korea by proposing to hold talks over sending a delegate to the PyeongChang Olympics, speculation has emerged that North Korea is preparing for another intercontinental ballistic missile launch. 　According to the US broadcaster CBS on Tuesday, North Korea appears to be in the early stages of an ICBM launch, with missile activity spotted at the same location north of Pyongyang where North Korea test-fired the ICBM-class ballistic missile Hwasong

North Korea Jan. 3, 2018

 Controversy over a top presidential aide’s visit to the United Arab Emirates last month escalated Tuesday, with speculation emerging that the trip was aimed at resolving bilateral disputes concerning a secret military pact signed during the Lee Myung-bak administration. 　Citing former government officials, local daily Hankook Ilbo reported that the Lee administration secretly signed a Mutual Logistics and Service Agreement with the UAE in 2013, under which South Korea is required to provide log

Defense Jan. 2, 2018

Around this time last year, speculation was rampant that 2017 would be the most tumultuous year in decades amid growing uncertainties over the decadeslong nuclear standoff between North Korea and the United States. Most of the predictions appear to have been fulfilled. North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, who declared that his country is “in a final stage” of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile, successfully test-fired three ICBM-grade missiles capable of reaching the US mainland. In r

Foreign Affairs Jan. 1, 2018

　North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned Monday that his country’s nuclear arsenal was complete and the launch button was always on his desk, even as he expressed a willingness to send a delegation to the upcoming PyeongChang Olympics. 　In his nationally televised New Year’s speech, the young leader claimed the country had mastered full-fledged nuclear force and deterrence capability against the US, as the Trump administration threatened military actions on the North’s nuclear and missile facilit

North Korea Jan. 1, 2018

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un declared that his country has become a “strategic” nuclear power that can pose a direct threat to the US, the North’s state media said Friday, showing defiance of the international community’s growing pressure against its nuclear ambition. “Nobody can deny the entity of (North Korea) which rapidly emerged as a strategic state capable of posing a substantial nuclear threat to the US,” Kim was quoted as saying by the Korean Central News Agency during his speech to

North Korea Dec. 22, 2017