The deadline for parliamentary approval of the budget bill has passed, but rival parties’ top negotiators on Sunday failed to narrow gaps over next year’s spending plan, as they continued to clash over the government’s scheme to employ more public workers. 　Legislative members of the Special Committee on Budget met with officials from the Ministry of Finance and Strategy to discuss the government’s 429 trillion won ($395 billion) budget for 2018. Attending the meeting were lawmakers from the ru

Politics Dec. 3, 2017

Born into a prestigious family in North Korea, Lee Sung-ju enjoyed an idyllic childhood of the selected few. Living in a three-bedroom apartment in Pyongyang, he attended Taekwondo classes, visited parks and took ferry rides. Lee Sung-ju poses before an interview with The Korea Herald (Park Hyun-koo / The Korea Herald)But his comfortable life was shattered with the death of the North’s founding father Kim Il-sung in 1994. Lee’s father -- who had been working as an official of the guard unit for

North Korea Dec. 1, 2017

 　Despite the much-publicized deal to patch up ties, there still seems to be a “gap in understanding” between South Korea and China over the issue of a US advanced missile defense system deployed here, a Seoul’s senior foreign ministry official said on Friday. 　The official, who was present at a Wednesday meeting between South Korea’s Foreign Ministry Kang Kyung-hwa and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, said Beijing officials seemed to feel that they “gave up too much” to settle the dispute over

Foreign Affairs Nov. 24, 2017

 Under a hail of bullets and chased by his compatriots, the breakaway North Korean soldier made a 50-meter dash for freedom on the other side of the border with South Korea, as seen in security camera footage released by the United Nations Command. 　Based on an analysis of CCTV footage and satellite images, the North Korean solider is thought to have run more than 50 meters toward the South Korean side before he made it to a building next to the Freedom House inside the South-controlled Joint Se

North Korea Nov. 22, 2017

Releasing dramatic footage that showed a North Korean soldier defecting to South Korea under heavy fire from his former compatriots, the United Nations Command said Wednesday the chasing North Korean soldiers had violated the armistice agreement of the Korean War twice. 　According to security camera footage, four North Korean soldiers armed with guns and rifles aimed shots at the defecting soldier, with one of them doing so in a prone position. They continued shooting even after he crossed the M

North Korea Nov. 22, 2017

　In a country where dictatorship has ruled for three generations, Hwang Pyong-so has been widely seen as the second-most powerful man in North Korea since its leader Kim Jong-un took power in 2012. 　Having been promoted to the rank of vice marshal in 2014, Hwang was elected to be the new chief of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People’s Army, a position considered the most senior in the military after the supreme commander Kim.　But even Hwang -- who is thought to be a key aide of Kim

North Korea Nov. 21, 2017

The North Korean soldier who dashed across the border to defect is suffering from life-threatening lung and liver infections which are complicating his recovery from multiple gunshot wounds, a local newspaper said Monday　According to a report from the Donga Ilbo, the solider remains in a critical condition, with blood poisoning, pneumonia and Hepatitis B in addition to his injuries. He has undergone two surgeries so far for gunshot-wounds after being shot five times by North Korean soldiers. 　Ci

North Korea Nov. 20, 2017

　Lawmakers on Sunday struggled to adopt a confirmation hearing motion for the venture minister nominee, Hong Jong-haak, the deadline for which is Monday. Should they fail to pass the motion in time, President Moon Jae-in is likely to push ahead with his appointment, as he has done in cases of other Cabinet members. 　As of Sunday afternoon, the lawmakers had yet to agree on convening parliamentary sessions to discuss the matter. A ministerial appointment does not require parliamentary approval. 　

Politics Nov. 19, 2017

　Despite its agreement with Japan to share military intelligence last year, South Korea has limited the scope of information-sharing to only those related to North Korea’s nuclear and missile program, a Japanese newspaper said on Sunday. 　Citing anonymous military sources, Asahi Shimbun reported that the Moon Jae-in administration has refused to provide Japan with military intelligence outside of its own analysis about North Korea’s latest ballistic missile launches.   　Seoul and Tokyo signed a

North Korea Nov. 19, 2017

The North Korean soldier who dashed across the border to defect is a 20-something noncommissioned officer who had served at the Joint Security Area in the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone, South Korea’s spy agency said Thursday. Four of the soldier’s former comrades chased him toward the Demilitarized Zone, the de facto border between the two Koreas. They shot at him about 40 times. It is unclear whether they continued to shoot after the solider crossed the Military Demarcation Line and ente

North Korea Nov. 16, 2017

 Presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday that South Korea has no authority to change the rules of engagement applied to the Joint Security Area amid controversy over its soldiers’ decision not to return fire at North Korean soldiers who were chasing a defecting soldier. A Cheong Wa Dae official said the authority to change the rules falls under the United Nations Command. The UNC assumes operational control of the JSA, where the North Korean soldier had crossed toward the UNC-controlled

Defense Nov. 16, 2017

 With a North Korean solider remaining in critical condition from multiple gunshot wounds he suffered as he dashed across the border to defect, some South Koreans are questioning why the South Korean soldiers did not provide covering fire for him. 　Four North Korean soldiers at the Joint Security Area inside the heavily fortified border zone fired about 40 rounds at the escaping solider. They shot southward. It is unclear whether they continued to shoot after the solider entered the South’s terr

Defense Nov. 15, 2017

Around 40 gunshots were fired from the North at a North Korean soldier who defected to South Korea via the Joint Security Area, South Korea’s military said Tuesday.  　He remains in critical condition at a hospital in South Korea, where he has received surgery for his injuries. Five bullets – including those from an AK-47 assault rifle – were found on his body, according to South Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff. 　North Korea has yet to comment on the incident, the first JSA defection to the South in

North Korea Nov. 14, 2017

　With North Korea showing no signs of abating its relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons, the communist country’s ultimate goal is to become a regional nuclear power like India and Pakistan, a security expert said Monday. 　From North Korea’s perspective, the ideal amount of nuclear arsenal to achieve such a status is as many as 120 weapons, similar to what Pakistan and India hold, and the North is seeking to achieve that goal before 2025, said Kwon Hyuk-chul, a security professor at Kookmin Unive

North Korea Nov. 13, 2017

North Korea is defying every warning and sanction, experimenting with nukes and missiles in what appears to be the endgame of its decadeslong program to develop weapons of mass destruction. But two countries handling the North Korean crisis -- South Korea and the US -- are employing ill-advised strategies: One is too timid, only repeating unrealistic pacifist messages, while the other is inconsistent, often making empty threats, said Seoul’s former point man on the North.Chun Young-woo speaks du

Defense Nov. 12, 2017