With South and North Korean delegates wrapping up inspections of venues for the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the governments of the two Koreas are putting the final touches on holding joint cultural and sporting events in the run-up to the Olympics. 　North Korean officials visiting South Korea returned home Saturday after a three-day visit to check out accommodations and facilities for their delegates and athletes attending the Olympics, which take place from Feb. 9-25. 　The focus is n

　South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump deserve credit for fostering a thaw between the two Koreas, a Seoul-based security scholar said, suggesting the allies’ pressure campaign against North Korea proved effective in changing Pyongyang’s attitude. 　Go Myong-Hyun, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said the thaw in inter-Korean relations could put Trump in a better position in pressuring North Korea, as South Korea also takes a role in staging t

　Despite an Olympic detente between the two Koreas, the South Korean government should stay committed to the goal of denuclearizing North Korea and translate the thaw in inter-Korean relations into direct talks between Pyongyang and Washington, a Seoul-based scholar said. 　Shin Beom-chul, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, said the Moon Jae-in administration should create momentum for the opening of US-North Korea dialogue before the US resumes joint military exercises with So

　Expectations are growing over the upcoming meeting between the defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States, with the allies seeking to use an Olympic detente to foster a thaw in inter-Korean relations and North Korea’s denuclearization. 　But the challenge looms large, as a standoff appears to persist between Washington and Pyongyang. While the North is preparing for a military parade a day before the opening of the PyeongChang Olympics on Feb. 9, reports have emerged that US strategic b

With North Korea gearing up to hold a military parade just a day before the opening of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics on Feb. 9, speculations are rising over the intent of the North Korean regime amid mounting calls to suspend the military event from Seoul’s main opposition party. Signs of a military parade have been spotted by commercial satellites at Mirim Parade Ground in Pyongyang -- troops marching in formation and vehicles being mobilized -- as the North vowed to hold “diverse events” to

　Speculation has emerged that a North Korean solder who defected to the South through the JSA near the border under a hail of bullets from his former comrades may have been involved in a murder back home. 　According to a local daily Donga Ilbo on Monday, Oh Chung-sung, 25, confessed to the South Korean investigators that he had “committed crime in North Korea that led to the killing of people.”　The government Tuesday declined to confirm the report, saying an investigation is underway. Following

 　One day before the opening of the PyeongChang Olympics in South Korea on Feb. 9, a large military parade is likely to be held in Pyongyang, as the communist state has decided to celebrate the founding day of its armed forces on Feb. 8.　The Political Bureau of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea’s Central Committee announced Monday the decision to mark Feb. 8 as the founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army, according to the state media outlet Korean Central News Agency.　“Feb. 8 is a hist

The Moon Jae-in administration’s plans to reduce the number of standing troops and period of mandatory service have sparked controversy over whether South Korea can afford to push the initiative amid North Korea’s growing military threat. 　In its 2018 policy briefing Friday, the Defense Ministry announced a five-year plan to scale back the mandatory military service period to 18 months from the current 21, along with a separate scheme to reduce the number of armed forces to about 500,000 from 62

　With the two Koreas taking steps toward an Olympics detente through inter-Korean talks for North Korea’s participation into the PyeongChang Olympics, expectations are high over when they will sit down and discuss specific measures to ease cross-border tensions. 　In a rare inter-Korean talk held for the first time in about two years on Jan. 9, South and North Korea agreed to hold military dialogue and additional high-level meetings, with Pyongyang agreeing to send its delegates of athletes and a

 　South Korea and the United States have agreed to continue US deployment of strategic assets to and around the Korean Peninsula, Seoul’s government said Thursday, in a bid to maintain military pressure on North Korea despite signs of an Olympic detente between the two Koreas. 　During Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group meetings held Wednesday in Washington, the US reaffirmed its commitment to provide extended deterrence for South Korea using a full range of its military capabili

Former President Lee Myung-bak was involved in signing secret military pacts with the United Arab Emirates, a progressive opposition lawmaker said Wednesday, adding fuel to political controversy surrounding the former president. Rep. Kim Jong-dae of the minor Justice Party claimed that Lee was involved in bringing about the military pact that includes dispatching South Korean troops to the UAE. The agreement was tantamount to a mutual defense treaty, requiring Korea to send its troops to the UAE

　With hopes rising for an inter-Korean thaw as North Korea plans to send its delegates to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, South Korea is eager to figure out how to best leverage the sporting event as an opportunity to showcase its resolve to bring peace and stability to the Korean Peninsula. 　One of those ideas is to show the world the two Koreas’ delegates marching together in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics -- an image designed to demonstrate the two Koreas are originally o

　Foreign affairs and defense officials from South Korea and the US will hold high-level talks Wednesday to discuss ways to reinforce the allies’ extended deterrence against North Korea’s growing missile and nuclear threats, the South Korean government said Monday. 　The second round of meetings for the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group will take place in Washington, Seoul’s defense and foreign ministries said. South Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam and Vice Defense Min

　A North Korean state-run media outlet demanded Friday the complete suspension of South Korea-US joint military exercises, casting a shadow over prospects of inter-Korean talks, while the allies stressed the dialogue would be limited to the North’s participation in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. 　North Korean propaganda website Uriminzokkiri said South Korea should “permanently halt” its annual military drills with the US, which South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his US counterpart Do

With less than a month to the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, attention is being drawn on who will attend the games as Seoul seeks to use the sporting event as an opportunity to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula. 　The Moon Jae-in administration has been trying to invite as many foreign leaders as possible, particularly those from regional powers, in the hope that they will show their support for what Moon described as the “Peace Olympics.” 　But the likelihood of their attendance -- Donald

　With the two Koreas gearing up for military talks to ease tensions, the focus is now on how much progress they will be able to make, as the US continues to raise concerns over North Korea’s motive behind its diplomatic overture.  　In a joint statement released Tuesday, the two Koreas agreed to hold military talks and additional high-level meetings, with Pyongyang agreeing to send its delegates and athletes to the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.   　Prospects of the military talks, however, rem

With the two Koreas gearing up for military talks to ease tensions, the focus is now on how much progress they will be able to make, as the US continues to raise concerns over North Korea’s motive behind its diplomatic overture.  　In a joint statement released Tuesday, the two Koreas agreed to hold military talks and additional high-level meetings, with Pyongyang agreeing to send its delegates and athletes to the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.   　Prospects of the military talks, however, rema

Amid escalating controversy over secret military pacts between South Korea and the UAE that allegedly commit Korean troops to the Middle Eastern country in a contingency, the two countries Tuesday pledged to bolster bilateral ties, elevating their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership.　“I hope our relationship will become something between brothers,” said President Moon Jae-in during a meeting with Khaldoon Khalifa al-Mubarak, chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority of Abu Dh

　With US President Donald Trump expressing his willingness to talk directly with North Korea over its nuclear program, expectations are high over whether the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue would open the way for direct talks between Washington and Pyongyang.  　In a shift from his bellicose rhetoric, Trump said he is open to speaking one-on-one with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un after the two Koreas agreed to hold their first high-level talks since 2015 to discuss North Korea’s potential

　With South Korea seeking to thaw frozen ties with North Korea by holding talks before the opening of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, concern is rising over whether the diplomatic overture would hamper the allies’ efforts to present a united front against North Korea’s nuclear program.　The two Koreas reopened a border hotline in order to restore a channel for direct communication after years of cross-border tensions, while US President Donald Trump traded barbs with North Korea’s leader Kim Jon