The latest missile launches by North Korea are part of the regime’s accelerating cycle of provocations against the US as it seeks sanctions relief, experts said. The North fired what appeared to be ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Thursday morning, a violation of the UN Security Council resolutions. It was the North’s second missile test since US President Joe Biden took office in January. On Sunday it fired two short-range cruise missiles into the West Sea. “We belie

North Korea’s missile launches Sunday marks its return to a fresh cycle of provocations to earn sanctions relief from the new US administration, experts said. On Wednesday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that the North fired two cruise missiles into the West Sea on Sunday, without elaborating on details. Senior administration officials from both Korea and the US said the North did not violate the UN Security Council resolutions. “It is not covered by UN S

South Korean nuclear armament will make it harder for North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program, a former commander of the US military in South Korea said at a webinar hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Monday. A growing number of South Koreans see nuclear armament as a feasible option amid stalled nuclear talks between the US and the North, which have yet to narrow differences over which steps to take first between denuclearization and sanctions relief.

South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook is visiting the UAE and India this week to expand exchanges, the Ministry of National Defense said Monday. From Monday to Wednesday, Suh is staying in the UAE and will meet with his UAE counterpart, Mohammed al-Bowardi, and other key military officials to discuss strengthening cooperation. Suh will also visit South Korea’s special warfare unit deployed there. The UAE asked the South to field a special operation team from the unit in 2010, when its

South Korea and the US have held the first foreign policy talks since US President Joe Biden came to power, but the two allies fell far short of reaching consensus on the reason the US secretaries of state and defense flew to Asia in their first overseas travel: China and North Korea. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken labeled China authoritarian and a challenge that a democratic coalition should try pushing back, referring to its key allies in the region such as Korea and Japan. The two US s

South Korea and the US on Thursday signed an agreement that settled a protracted dispute over sharing the burden of supporting 28,500 US troops here, on the last day of the first in-person talks of their foreign and defense ministers in Seoul. The US state and defense secretaries flew here a day earlier. Jeong Eun-bo, Seoul’s chief negotiator for the cost-sharing talks, and Rob Rapson, acting US ambassador to Korea, initialed the agreement as the two allies’ top envoys and defense

The alliance between the US and South Korea is key to addressing North Korea and a rising China, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday at his first in-person talks with South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook in Seoul. “Given the unprecedented challenges posed by both the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and China, the US-ROK alliance has never been more important,” Austin said, referring to Seoul’s official name, Republic of Korea. DPRK is Pyongyang&rsquo

Global Together, a South Korean civic group helping underprivileged countries with health care and education, said Monday it has donated face masks and coronavirus test kits to Uzbekistan. The group held a ceremony with the Uzbekistan Embassy here to mark the delivery. “With the current COVID-19 continuing, support for masks and diagnostic kits will greatly help overcome the COVID-19 crisis in Uzbekistan. Moreover, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Global Together, Korean stude

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Monday they expect to forge stronger alliances with South Korea and Japan to resolve global security challenges and counter an assertive China, in their trip to Seoul on Wednesday and Thursday, which immediately follows a visit to Tokyo. “Our diplomats and defense leaders strategize together on how to confront shared threats such as North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs,” the to

The US will wrap up its policy review on North Korea in the coming weeks, a senior US diplomat for East Asian affairs said Friday, ahead of senior-level talks to take place in Seoul this week between the US state and defense secretaries and their South Korean counterparts. The top US envoy and defense chief is visiting Korea on March 17 and 18 following a trip to Japan to discuss North Korea’s denuclearization, among others, in the first high-level meeting held in person. “I don&r

The United Nations investigator of human rights violations in North Korea on Wednesday called on South Korea to address the North’s rights violations in nuclear talks and to seek economic and humanitarian exchanges in a human rights-based framework. Tomas Ojea Quintana, the special rapporteur on North Korea human rights, urged the South Korean government to take action in a report to the UN Human Rights Council. “We are not hesitant to follow up on those recommendations,” a

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet their South Korean counterparts on March 17-18 to discuss security and global initiatives, in their first senior-level, in-person talks since US President Joe Biden took office, Seoul’s Foreign and Defense ministries said Wednesday. Blinken will discuss inter-Korean affairs and the South Korea-US alliance with Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, while Austin will sit down with Defense Minister Suh Wook to

South Korea and the United States are on the same page on North Korea denuclearization, Seoul and Washington’s senior officials dealing with the issue said Wednesday at a virtual forum co-hosted by the Korea Press Foundation and the East-West Center in the US. “The two countries discuss a number of ideas on how to get to denuclearization. But we’re headed in the same direction. Things change. And we’re adapting to them at the moment,” said Ko Yun-ju, director gener

As the people of Myanmar chant in unison for the freedom that was stolen from them a month ago in a military coup, South Korean civic groups are banding together to help them brace for what could become a protracted struggle against military rule after 10 years under a civilian government. Rights activists and religious groups are offering support in different ways. “We’re building a coalition in Gwangju,” Cho Jin-tae, executive director of the May 18 Memorial Foundation, sa

North Korea is exploiting cyberspace to circumvent UN sanctions, Gen. Paul Nakasone, commander of the US Cyber Command, said at a cybersecurity videoconference it hosted Thursday. “North Korea sponsors cyber exploitation of international finance via cyber means to evade United Nations sanctions.” North Korea has long been accused of supporting cyberattacks targeting banks to finance its weapons program and prop up its economy. China is believed to be sharing expertise and training

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet with South Korean counterparts in mid-March following a three-day trip to Japan, in what is seen as part of their Asian tour to solidify a coalition to deal with the rise of China, sources said Friday, adding the meeting would fall on March 17-18. “We’re still coordinating with the US and nothing is definitive yet,” a Foreign Ministry official said. The meeting will mark the first senior level ta

The Ministry of National Defense offered condolences Thursday over the death of the country’s first transgender soldier, who was challenging the Army’s decision to discharge her over sex reassignment surgery. Byun Hee-soo, 23, was found dead at her home in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, the previous day. A local mental health clinic Byun frequented notified paramedics who found her with no will left behind. Byun, who tried to take her life before, had been unreachable since S

South Korea’s military started their COVID vaccine rollout Wednesday as health care workers at major military hospitals -- about 2,400 doctors, nurses and technicians -- lined up to receive AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccines. The vaccination was the first for the military, though some Korean soldiers working for the US military stationed here received inoculations two months ago. More medical personnel working at bases nationwide will get the shots in stages, the military said. But the servi

President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden will discuss climate change at a virtual Earth Day summit on April 22, in their first video conference since Biden took office, a local media outlet reported Wednesday. They had a phone conversation last month. “The US is driving the discussion on the agenda,” a Seoul official said, pointing out the US-hosted gathering will mark Washington’s return to the carbon-cutting commitment. Biden reversed the Trump administration’s

North Korea’s propaganda outlet on Tuesday slammed the Harvard Law School professor who claimed that “comfort women” were voluntary prostitutes. Comfort women is a euphemism for women from Korea and other countries who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military before and during World War II. Mark Ramseyer, Mitsubishi professor of Japanese legal studies at Harvard Law School, earlier prompted international outcry with his paper arguing that the sex slaves will