Defense Minister Suh Wook on Wednesday promised strict punishment of anyone who helped bury a sex crime investigation whose handling is believed to have led to the suicide of an Air Force master sergeant. The Air Force is accused of sitting on the case and engaging in a systematic cover-up. “I express my sincere apologies to the bereaved family and to fellow citizens … the investigation will be thorough and bring everyone involved in the cover-up to justice, regardless of rank,&r

The suicide of an Air Force master sergeant who said she was a victim of sexual violence will be one of many similar stories to come, as long as the military leaves unchecked a culture prone to glossing over sexual abuse, experts said Tuesday. The sergeant, who reported to the military on March 2 that she had been sexually assaulted by a fellow master sergeant who was senior to her, was found dead May 22. Her family, who petitioned the presidential office to look into the matter, said the milit

GOYANG, Gyeonggi Province -- On the same day South Korea’s military revealed a bigger budget for meals for soldiers, military cooks said they were still too shorthanded to provide a decent meal and need better ingredients. The military has recently been rocked by social media posts showing the subpar meals given to conscripts under quarantine for the coronavirus. The mounting accusations galvanized the military to revamp the food-rationing system and unveil the latest measure Thursda

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday ordered an exhaustive probe into allegations surrounding the suicide of an Air Force master sergeant. The order comes amid public outrage, which prompted the military to expand its waylaid investigation of sex crime allegations made by the deceased. “It truly hurts me to look at the victim, how devastated she must have felt. We need a thorough inquiry into every event leading to her death, and after that. We have to see to what should have been done in

Vaccines are the only way of the coronavirus pandemic and an aggressive inoculation campaign is essential, the Israeli ambassador to South Korea says. Israel -- where 59 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated as of this week, far outstripping the rest of the world -- has lifted most of its COVID-19 restrictions. “Early on a decision was made that Israel would pursue several tracks vis-a-vis several pharma companies and would be willing to pay above market cost,” Ambas

Achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions is now a global initiative, and those realizing that ambition earlier than others will see more than clear air, clean water and nice nature, the Swedish ambassador to Korea says. “It’s not only the government, civil society and individual consumers, but actually driven these days very much by enterprises by the private sector because they see that there is a gain in being a first mover,” Ambassador Jakob Hallgren said during an inter

South Korea is now free to flex its muscles in space, as it was cut loose from a Korea-US missile pact that has long capped Seoul’s missile program and space reach, experts said Thursday. At last week’s Seoul-Washington summit, the two allies agreed to abolish the 1979 pact that banned medium and long-range ballistic missiles. The US reversed the decision in what many see as an effort to reel in South Korea to counter China and North Korea. Military experts hailed the event, and s

The Ministry of National Defense said Monday that it will consult with health authorities as it prepares to receive new coronavirus jabs from the US to vaccinate 550,000 Korean soldiers. The supply could cover the entire armed forces. The aid comes as part of a comprehensive COVID-19 partnership that President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden reached at their in-person meeting in the US last week. The Korean military, which has yet to find out when it is receiving the vaccines or which

Senior officials from the Ministry of National Defense met on Monday with villagers protesting the military’s decision to host a US anti-missile system near their homes. It was their first in-person gathering to work out the yearslong disagreement. The government delegation, led by Vice Defense Minister Park Jae-min and municipal leaders, sat down with community members and civic groups in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang Province, which houses the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense syst

President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden agreed to work together on expanding semiconductor supplies and terminate a missile pact that capped Seoul’s missile development at their first in-person meeting over the weekend in the US. Moon wrapped up the five-day trip Sunday. The two allies are seen as bolstering economic and military ties as the US increasingly finds itself at odds with China seeking to exert influence in the region. Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest me

Fighting climate change is now a top domestic and international priority for many countries, as world leaders solidify their carbon-cutting commitments for a greener future. But experts say the goal may be harder to realize than thought. The climate summit in late April, joined by dozens of world leaders and hosted by US President Joe Biden seeking to restore American leadership on climate policy, marked a renewed global push to tackle the crisis after years of lukewarm response to the challeng

The National Unity Government fighting Myanmar’s military junta is ready for dialogue to rebuild the country torn by monthslong clashes between protesters and troops, if the junta stops killing people and returns power to people, the unity government’s minister of international cooperation said Friday. Dr. Sasa, a doctor-turned-politician who goes by the single name and was working with elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi before the military detained her and seized power on Feb. 1, rule

Senior South Korean and US defense officials agreed to hold three-way minister-level talks with Japan in the coming days, potentially to discuss security issues involving the Korean Peninsula, at a two-day dialogue that ended Thursday in Washington. The trilateral talks, which last opened at an expanded meeting of ASEAN defense ministers in 2019, are expected to resume at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 4-5. The gathering is coming at a critical time for the US seeking to engage

Thirteen Swedish companies based in South Korea pledged to support Seoul’s initiative to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, at a ceremony at the Swedish Embassy in Seoul on Thursday. “Our own Swedish experience shows that green growth and innovation is a winning strategy, both the climate and for our wallets. It has simply become common sense to future-proof industries across the world and first movers are amply rewarded,” said Jakob Hallgren, Swedish ambassador to Korea. The

Senior defense officials of South Korea and the US will hold a two-day dialogue on Korean Peninsula issues as the Biden administration seeks to engage North Korea with a new policy it recently revealed after a monthslong review. The biannual talks, which began Wednesday US time in Washington, are expected to address ways the two allies can coordinate their approach to Pyongyang. Biden’s policy on North Korea, which many see as striking a middle ground between Trump’s “grand b

South Korea’s military is looking to revamp living conditions for conscripts as soldiers of Generation Z – those born between mid-1990s to early 2010s – have hit out at the military over subpar living environments amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Two weeks ago, Korea’s National Human Rights Commission said it will launch an investigation into allegations that the military violated rights of conscripts in quarantine. The soldiers posted on Facebook that they had been fed poorl

Israel’s foreign and economy ministers are visiting Seoul this week to hold talks with their Korean counterparts, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday. From Monday to Thursday, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and Economy Minister Amir Peretz will sit down with the Korean foreign and trade ministers to discuss deepening senior-level exchanges and expanding ties ahead of marking 60 years of diplomatic relations next year. Israel will also sign a free trade agreement with Korea,

North Korea will receive COVID-19 vaccines as early as July with a shipment delay over global supply shortages, the Gavi alliance, which co-leads the COVAX vaccine sharing program with the World Health Organization, said Wednesday. “Depending on the supply situation, a COVID-19 vaccine introduction could be envisaged in the second half of 2021,” a Gavi spokesperson told Radio Free Asia, refraining from fixing concrete dates. The North was expected to receive nearly 2 million doses o

South Korea has a role to play in bringing about an open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region anchored by international rules, as the Quad alliance -- a group of Pacific democracies including the US, India, Japan and Australia -- seeks a partnership between like-minded countries, the Australian ambassador to Korea says. The US-led coalition is seen as trying to counter China’s growing influence in the region, and that represents a challenge for Korea. Seoul is looking to balance its alliance

The South Korean, US and Japanese military chiefs on Thursday discussed deepening security cooperation amid a growing threat from North Korea to promote peace and stability in the region, at their first in-person three-way talks in Hawaii since the COVID-19 outbreak in January a year earlier. The talks, held on the sidelines of a change-of-command ceremony at the US Indo-Pacific Command, opened as the US seeks to establish what it calls a rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific regi