Korean American singer Steve Seung Jun Yoo, widely known here as Yoo Seung-jun, appealed to South Korea’s foreign minister on Tuesday to lift his entry ban, saying Seoul’s repeated refusal to allow him into his birth country violates his rights. The plea came a day after Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told the parliamentary foreign affairs committee that the ministry was not considering issuing Yoo a visa to let him back to the country. The South Korean-born singer has been banne

A North Korean propaganda outlet slammed South Korea on Monday for “serving” the US in a display of servility, saying Washington is returning only complications on ongoing disputes with Seoul.　 “Ranking officials in Seoul have paid numerous visits to Washington since October. … Their alliance is a combination of subjugation and subordination where Seoul is held hostage,” the propaganda outlet Maeari said, referring to the prolonged disputes over defense costs-shar

The first group of conscientious objectors began their 36-month alternative service at a Daejeon jail on Monday, following a landmark court ruling two years ago that obliged the parliament to roll out such a program. South Korea conscripts all able-bodied men for about two years to maintain defense readiness against North Korea. A total of 63 objectors entered the correctional institution on Monday for three weeks of nonmilitary training. Upon completion of the program, they will be assigned t

Displaced North Koreans hit by this year’s typhoons said new homes built by the government were still uninhabitable, Radio Free Asia said Wednesday, citing anonymous sources in North Korea. “Except the ones Kim personally directed recovery for, most homes were barely inhabitable because it was a job half done,” one anonymous source said, referring to leader Kim Jong-un’s personal inspection of the August recovery effort in the hardest-hit North Hwanghae Province. The so

North Korea engages in cyberattacks to primarily steal money from banks, a senior US Justice Department official said Thursday. “They’ve used it really to steal banks and money. That’s not really the behavior we see from China or Russia or even Iran despite the Iran sanctions,” John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security, told a webinar hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He added China supports the cash-strapped North th

The South Korean fisheries official who was shot dead by North Korea in the West Sea near the maritime border in late September was making defection, the Korea Coast Guard reaffirmed Thursday. “The missing official was a heavy gambler. We judge that he may have been mentally disturbed and attempted defection to the North to escape reality,” the Coast Guard told a press briefing, concluding its investigation into the case. The Coast Guard said, the official, who was in his 40s, mad

SACHEON, South Gyeongsang Province -- As South Korea gears up to reveal a prototype of its next-generation fighter jet in early 2021, Korea Aerospace Industries is pursuing a broader initiative to carve out its presence in the aerospace market, which is dominated by established players in Europe and the US. Mass production of the Korean fighter jet, known by the project name KF-X, is expected to begin as early as 2026. “From 2030 onwards, rival European jets will need replacement due to

North Korea’s denuclearization would ultimately lead to the declaration of an official end to the Korean War, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday. The two Koreas are still at war, having signed no peace treaty to end the 1950-53 conflict. Pompeo was addressing questions about whether ending the war would be feasible without the North’s disarmament. President Moon Jae-in has repeatedly called for an end-of-war declaration. The top US diplomat again urged Pyongyang to c

North Korea was ranked 17th out of 26 countries in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of national power, dropping by one place largely due to its waning diplomatic influence, the Australian think tank Lowy Institute said in this year’s power index released Monday. The nuclear talks between the US and the North helped Pyongyang little, according to the index, which assesses a country’s power based on its overall performance in areas such as diplomatic and cultural influence as well as

North Korea poses a more imminent threat to the US than either Russia or China and the threat continues to grow worse, former US national security adviser John Bolton said Monday. “We have two basic threats. One is Russia the other, China,” Bolton told a webinar hosted by the Atlantic Council, singling out China as the “existential threat” for the US and describing North Korea and Iran as top priority countries with overriding concerns about nuclear proliferation. Bolto

North Korea said Monday staying vigilant against the coronavirus outbreak is a top priority in its 80-day campaign aimed to jump-start its faltering economy. “We must hold ourselves responsible for and commit ourselves to finding where we stand most vulnerable to infection and come up with responding measures,” the official state newspaper said in a commentary, urging the party members as well to join the effort. The isolated country claims it has yet to report an infection, though

Chairman Lee Nak-yon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea met with the chief of South Korean drugmaker Celltrion on Sunday and was briefed on the latest developments from the firm that has recently gained regulatory approval for phase 3 clinical trials of an experimental COVID-19 treatment. “If Celltrion and their peers here come up with a way to mass-produce the treatment, we could be the first country in the world free of the coronavirus,” Lee said at a meeting held in the comp

The amount of money expected to be spent on coronavirus patients -- from the pre-diagnosis stage through recovery -- is expected to total close to 320 billion won ($280 million), the National Health Insurance Service said Sunday. About one-third of the cost would be taken up at the pre-diagnosis stage, including coronavirus tests, it added. The total number of coronavirus patients here is projected to reach 33,995 by the end of this year, 8,796 more than Sunday’s tally of 25,199, t

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, reaffirmed his country’s continued commitment to providing extended deterrence to South Korea against a nuclear-armed North Korea, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday. The top US general discussed the defense strategy involving the US nuclear umbrella and strategic assets with Gen. Won In-choul, chairman of the JCS here, at an annual military committee meeting held online. The two allies also discussed 

South Korea’s Defense Minister Suh Wook traveled to the United States on Tuesday to discuss the plan for Seoul to take over wartime operational control from Washington at an annual security meeting. Breaking with convention, Suh made the trip to Washington on Korea’s Multi Role Tanker Transport, an aerial refueling tanker, partly to display the Air Force’s growing prowess and partly to reduce the risk of contracting the coronavirus on a civilian flight. “The handover o

North Korea has revealed newer ballistic missiles, but experts are divided over whether the regime has secured the latest technology to mount multiple warheads atop the missiles. “It depends a little bit on how big it really is, but I would say this represents certainly the ability to put multiple nuclear warheads on a missile like this,” Jeffrey Lewis of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in the US told Voice of America on Monday. Pyongyang unveiled Saturday an inte

As K-pop juggernaut BTS takes the global K-pop craze to new heights, South Korea is again debating whether or not to conscript the seven young men for their mandatory active duty. Talk of special treatment resurfaced on Sept. 3, two days after the latest single “Dynamite” claimed the coveted top spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart -- a first in the history of Korean music and a “splendid feat” that boosted national pride, according to President Moon Jae-in.

North Korea is preparing events for the Workers’ Party’s founding anniversary this Saturday, and a military parade is one of the choices to stage a show of force with new strategic weapons, South Korea’s Defense Minister Suh Wook told a parliamentary audit Wednesday. Suh did not provide get into detail regarding what weapons the North would unveil, but added that the isolated country appears poised to remain in wait-and-see mode. North Korean experts expect the regime to unvei

North Korea on Monday celebrated its economic achievements as it geared up for the anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers’ Party on Saturday, at a time when its economy is faltering under UN-led sanctions, the coronavirus pandemic and the aftereffects of recent floods. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency and its state newspaper released extensive coverage of what it called a “remarkable” recovery from the floods, saying hundreds of new homes and pu

South Korea’s Air Force is looking for a name for its next-generation fighter jet, known by the project name KF-X. Citizens can submit one candidate name each by the end of this month, and three winners will receive the Air Force Chief’s recognition awards and model aircraft. The KF-X project is the largest undertaking ever by the Korean military, with some $15 billion earmarked for investment until production. The prototype will be released early next year, with another five year