The proportion of North Korean defectors here who are female has steadily risen in recent years, topping 80 percent for the first time this year, government data showed Sunday, pointing to lighter surveillance of women than men amid a perceived tightening of overall border controls. Of the 535 people who fled the North between January and May this year, 444 were women, accounting for nearly 83 percent, according to statistics from the Unification Ministry. The figures marked the highest portion

In the wake of the U.S. efforts’ to restore full ties with Cuba, South Korea is seeking to put back on track its own relations with the old Cold War foe while renewing hopes for a possible change in North Korea. Washington and Havana have agreed to reopen their embassies in each other’s capitals, following a surprise announcement last December that they will reestablish the bilateral diplomatic relations after 10 months of secret talks.Seoul, which itself has been working to improve its relation

The Navy on Wednesday launched new search and rescue squads at all three of its bases to reinforce its emergency response capabilities in the wake of the deadly sinking of the Sewol ferry last year. Led by a captain, each team consists of 15 to 17 deep-sea divers and will operate a 15-seater speed boat, mobile decompression chamber, surface-supported diving system, side scan sonar, scuba equipment and other diving and search gear.  Members of a new search-and-rescue team pose after their team’s

President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday called for top military commanders to maintain a watertight readiness posture against North Korea’s ongoing nuclear development and internal political uncertainties. In a lunch meeting with the military chiefs, she pointed to unabated cross-border tension on the back of Pyongyang’s ejection test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile last month and continuing reign of terror. Defense Minister Han Min-koo also recently raised the possibility for a “strategic

 South Korea will purchase four units of Airbus’ in-flight refueling tankers by 2019 to help boost the country’s air defense, officials said Tuesday, marking the first introduction of European warplane here in more than 20 years. Airbus’ A330 MRTT tanker engages in an aerial refueling mission. (Airbus)The National Defense Acquisition Program Committee picked the winner of the 1.49 trillion won ($1.34 billion) project at a session presided over by Defense Minister Han Min-koo. The France-headquar

Defense Minister Han Min-koo warned of stern retaliation against any provocation from North Korea as South Korea commemorated the 13rd anniversary of a deadly cross-border naval skirmish Monday. The Second Battle of Yeonpyeong, named after a frontline island in the West Sea, was initiated after two North Korean patrol vessels violated the Northern Limit Line, a de facto maritime frontier, on June 29, 2002. It killed six South Korean seamen and wounded 18 others aboard a warship that later sank a

South Korea plans to release personal information of those who evade compulsory military service starting next year, the military said Monday. The name, age, address and background of the draft evader will become available online if an active duty candidate continues to stay overseas illegally after the date of enlistment, dodges a physical examination for conscription or does not respond to the notice of enrollment, Defense Ministry deputy spokesman Na Seung-yong said. The measure will take eff

The widow of former President Kim Dae-jung is seeking to visit North Korea as early as next month and possibly meet with leader Kim Jong-un, Seoul officials said Friday. Lee Hee-ho, wife of the deceased president who took the reign from 1998 to 2003, has requested approval for her trip from the Unification Ministry, spokesperson Lim Byeong-cheol said. In line with Pyongyang’s proposal, five officials from each side have agreed to meet on June 30 in Gaeseong to discuss details of her visit, accor

South Korea on Friday imposed financial sanctions on six Taiwanese individuals and entities and a Syrian institution over suspicions that they traded arms and gave support to North Korea. The Taiwanese people are Tsai Hsein Tai, Su Lu-Chi and Chang Wen-Fu and the organizations are Global Interface Company Inc., Trans Merits Co. and Trans Multi Mechanics Co., the Foreign and Finance Ministries said in a statement. Syria’s Scientific Studies and Research Center was also put on the list. Based on t

The U.N. human rights chief on Thursday stressed the need for a “satisfactory solution” to end the sufferings of the former so-called comfort women, taking a swipe at Japan, which has resisted their calls for a sincere apology and compensation. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein met with Kim Bok-dong, Gil Won-ok and Lee Yong-soo, who were forced by Japan into sex slavery in frontline brothels during World War II, during his visit a day earlier to a museum on women’s wartime

North Korea declared Thursday that inter-Korean relations had “reached a point of no return” following the opening of a U.N. office in Seoul to monitor the human rights situation under the reclusive regime.“The South must be aware that it has now passed the point of words,” North Korea’s Committee for Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said in a statement, adding that “only the ultimate standoff” remains, indicating a possible provocation.The remarks followed a recent barrage of threats fr

North Korea introduced its first pair of female pilots of supersonic fighters during a flight drill attended by leader Kim Jong-un, state media reported Monday. Jo Kum-hyang and Rim Sol stepped into the limelight in November after respectively carrying out a solo take-off and landing exercise with the subsonic MiG-15 chasers, prompting the young ruler to laud them as “phoenixes,” the media said.Kim called for the cultivation of female aviators during a pilot rally in Pyongyang in April 2014, a r

North Korea has retracted its planned participation in next month’s summer Universiade in Gwangju in protest against the upcoming launch of a U.N. human rights office in Seoul, the event’s organizers said Monday. Pyongyang announced the decision late Friday via email under the name of Jon Kuk-man, chairman of its university sports association. It had planned to dispatch 75 athletes and 33 officials to the competition set for a 12-day run from July 3. “The letter cited political reasons resulting

Newly instated Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn apologized Friday for the government’s slipshod response to the Middle East respiratory syndrome epidemic, placing top priority on “all-out efforts” to rein in the spread. “As the new prime minister, I apologize to the people that there were flaws in authorities’ early response that are directly linked with their safety,” the former justice minister said during a parliamentary session, citing “insufficient information and knowledge about MERS.”The firs

South Korea was ranked 42nd in a worldwide peace index released Thursday, slightly up from last year but still bogged down by its long-festering standoff with its northern neighbor. The Sydney-headquartered Institute for Economics and Peace has since 2007 been gauging the peacefulness of 162 countries based on 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators on the level of safety and security in society, the extent of domestic and international conflict and the degree of militarization. In its ninth

The Defense Ministry is seeking a 7.2 percent increase in its budget for next year to beef up its capabilities to counter North Korea’s growing threats and improve the military service environment. The ministry said Wednesday it requested the Finance Ministry to set aside 40.14 trillion won ($36.2 billion) for 2016. Nearly 70 percent of the proposed budget, or 27.76 trillion won, is allocated to raise the salary for enlistees, newly provide them with child support and enhance the living environm

North Korea on Wednesday sent back two South Koreans it accused of illegally entering the country, calling the decision “humanitarian” and warning against a recurrence. The 59-year-old man surnamed Lee and 51-year-old woman surnamed Chin were transferred to South Korean authorities at the border village of Panmunjeom at around 10:15 a.m., the Unification Ministry said. “The government plans to check their health conditions and look into the exact account of their entry into North Korea,” ministr

Army chaplains of South Korea and the United States staged their first-ever joint drills in Seoul on Tuesday as part of the allies’ efforts to cultivate the officers’ roles during wartime, military officials said.Some 100 Catholic priests, pastors and Buddhist monks in the two countries’ militaries, as well as medics and interpreter officers, are taking part in the three-day field training exercise at the Special Warfare Command, according to the South Korean Army. The chaplains provide spiritua

When U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert’s arrival in South Korea was unexpectedly delayed by a day in October last year, rumors swirled over the reason. It turns out, he had a problem with American Airlines’ paperwork for his pooch, a basset hound named Grigsby, and he thus detoured to Los Angeles to fly instead with Korean Air to Incheon. The details on what happened remain unclear. While the episode may not have been pleasant for the U.S. flag carrier, it highlighted the Texas-headquartered airline’

President Park Geun-hye and her U.S. counterpart Barack Obama agreed Friday to reschedule their postponed summit as soon as possible as Seoul seeks to forestall any fallout from her last-minute cancellation of her trip to Washington. They had a phone conversation two days after Park decided to delay her visit, which Cheong Wa Dae said was aimed at focusing on coping with the Middle East respiratory syndrome epidemic here. As the outbreak continued to spiral, controversy erupted over whether she