With President Moon Jae-in having wrapped up the G-20 summit following a meeting with US President Donald Trump, hopes are high that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s visit to Seoul will materialize before the end of the year. 　Moon is expected to arrive in New Zealand on Sunday for a three-day state visit after leaving Argentina, where he attended the Group of 20 summit. During his three-day stay in Buenos Aires, Moon held a series of meetings with world leaders to rally support for diplomatic

A handful of young activists gathered in the heart of Seoul on Nov. 26, chanting words that sound like a propaganda campaign in Pyongyang promoting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. 　“I’m a fervent fan of Chairman Kim,” Kim Soo-geun shouted toward pedestrians in the busy Gwanghwamun Square. “I’m publicly recruiting those who want to become Kim’s fan. … We like the communists.” 　The event was held to welcome a trip to the South by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who pledged to visit the South Kor

　Controversy erupted Tuesday over a US general’s remarks that South Korea had asked the US Air Force to stop sending bombers over the Korean Peninsula in an effort to support ongoing diplomatic talks with North Korea. 　According to Agence France-Presse, US Pacific Air Forces Commander Gen. Charles Brown told Pentagon reporters Monday that US bombers are no longer conducting flights over South Korea, as Seoul has asked for such missions to be halted.  　While the Ministry of National Defense decli

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday said negotiating with North Korea over its nuclear program is a “lengthy process,” amid concerns in Washington over stalled denuclearization talks with Pyongyang. In an interview with a Kansas-based radio network, Pompeo said improving inter-Korean relations should move “in parallel” with progress on denuclearization, and establishing a working group with South Korea aims to serve that purpose. Talks between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled since

In a mountainous region where the two Koreas engaged in one of the fiercest battles during the 1950-53 Korean War, the two sides’ soldiers met in an unusual encounter earlier this month, decades after the war ended without an official peace treaty. While uniformed soldiers carried rifles on their way to Arrowhead Ridge inside the Demilitarized Zone, taking control of the stronghold was not their mission. South Korean soldiers walk at Arrowhead Ridge as they build a tactical road across the Milit

　A comprehensive inter-Korean military pact in the absence of significant progress on North Korea’s denuclearization could weaken South Korea’s defense capabilities, security experts and former generals said Wednesday. 　At a defense seminar in Seoul, the participants criticized the Moon Jae-in administration for signing a “one-sided deal” that leaves South Korea vulnerable to North Korea’s asymmetric capabilities, pointing to the establishment of a no-fly zone and the suspension of joint exercis

North Korea on Tuesday demolished 10 frontline guard posts located inside the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said, in a symbolic effort to sustain momentum for inter-Korean detente. According to the Ministry of National Defense, the demolition began at 3 p.m. by simultaneously exploding the guard posts scattered across the DMZ. The ministry said North Korea had notified it of the plan several days earlier. The two Koreas had originally planned to explode the guard

　North Korea on Tuesday ratcheted up its criticism of South Korea’s military procurement projects and a recent joint exercise it undertook with the US Marines, but struck a different tone on Iran’s efforts to expand its military capabilities. 　In an editorial titled “Unjustifiable move,” the state-run Rodong Sinmun denounced the South Korean military, saying the South had damaged the inter-Korean detente by purchasing an air-refueling tanker and surface-to-air missiles and by holding a joint exe

　In light of rumors about the death of a South Korean solider in a heavily fortified cross-border region last week, the military suggested that the death was an apparent suicide unrelated to the North Korean military.  　In light of rumors about the death of a South Korean solider in the heavily fortified inter-Korean border region last week, the military has suggested the death was an apparent suicide unrelated to the North Korean military.  　According to the Army, a 21-year-old private first cl

President Moon Jae-in returned to South Korea on Sunday after wrapping up his five-day trip to Singapore and Papua New Guinea amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to resolve stalled denuclearization talks between the US and North Korea. 　In his meetings with the leaders of China and Russia, as well as with US Vice President Mike Pence, Moon reiterated his role as an honest broker in rallying international efforts to convince North Korea to abandon its nuclear program and open up the country.  　The mo

The South Korean government is seeking to require 36 months of work in correctional facilities from those seeking alternative to military service, after the country’s top court recognized conscientious objection as a valid reason for rejecting mandatory military service. 　While the Ministry of National Defense and the conscription agency have yet to finalize plans for an alternative service program, they said their preferred option is to involve conscientious objectors serving at correctional fa

　A Washington think tank’s report about undeclared missile bases in North Korea has prompted debate over whether Pyongyang is keeping its promises to the US, with many commentators questioning how the controversy will affect denuclearization talks down the road.  　Beyond Parallel, a team that specializes in North Korea issues at the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in its report published Monday that it has identified 13 out of an estimated 20 missile bases that Nort

With the United States and North Korea deadlocked over denuclearization negotiations since their first summit in Singapore, the prospect of future talks appears to have worsened following a report of what the US suspects to be undeclared missile sites in the North.Beyond Parallel, a team that specializes in North Korea issues at the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in its report published Monday that it has identified 13 out of an estimated 20 missile operating bases

With the two Koreas’ militaries completing the withdrawal of troops and firearms from frontline guard posts over the weekend, the work is underway to destroy 20 guard posts in the spirit of continuing inter-Korean reconciliation. The South Korean Army said Monday that it had begun destroying 10 guard posts on the southern side of the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone. The dismantling work will be completed by the end of November and followed by a verification process in December.The two Korea

South Korea’s first aerial refueling tanker was delivered to the Air Force on Monday, amid expectations that the long-sought-after asset will boost the country’s military capabilities. The Air Force said Monday an A330 MRTT arrived at an air base in the southern city of Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province. The tanker plane is expected to become operational next month after undergoing a series of performance tests. The military expects that the tanker will boost South Korea’s air combat capability

Controversy continues to escalate at the United Nations Security Council over humanitarian aid for North Korea, with member states divided over sanctions exemptions required to send relief materials to the country. The United States has been delaying approval of several requests for sanctions exemptions to deliver tractors, spare parts and other goods needed for humanitarian relief in North Korea, according to an AFP report Thursday.Russia asked the Security Council to discuss the delays during

The new chief of US Forces Korea on Thursday stressed the need for a robust military posture to support diplomatic engagement with North Korea, amid concerns over stalled nuclear negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington. 　Army Gen. Robert B. Abrams assumed command of US Forces in South Korea, replacing Gen. Vincent Brooks. Abrams also inherited Brooks’ control over the United Nations Command and the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command. 　During the change-of-command ceremony at Camp Humph

Remarks about the Korean Peninsula by a top US military officer have sparked debate over the future of the 28,500 American troops stationed in South Korea. 　Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Monday that the US would have to start making “some changes to the military posture on the peninsula” over time if talks with North Korea make progress. 　While Dunford did not elaborate on what those changes might be during a recent forum at Duke University, the remarks have

The scandal-ridden military intelligence command had floated the idea of leaving the Sewol ferry underwater to address worsening public sentiment over former President Park Geun-hye’s handling of the sinking, investigators said Tuesday. 　According to the military probe team investigating the Defense Security Command’s illicit surveillance targeting civilians, the now-defunct unit had suggested to Park that the government stop seeking to recover the ferry that sank off the country’s southwestern

GANGHWADO, Incheon -- Since the end of the Korean War in 1953, access to the waterways along the western border with North Korea have been largely restricted out of concern that cross-border skirmishes could escalate into major conflicts.While the armistice agreement allows for freedom of navigation at the estuaries of South Korea’s Han River and North Korea’s Imjin River, such activities have been mostly prohibited unless for military purposes. Now, off-limits sites are about to open up themsel