The number of people who switched their mobile carriers plunged to a 13-year low last year after a series of government measures designed to prevent subscribers from receiving hefty subsidies for changing their telephone numbers. 　According to statistics released by the Korea Telecommunications Operations Association on Wednesday, the number of people who changed their mobile providers stood at 5,660,601 in 2018, 19.3 percent lower than the year before. This translates to a monthly average of 4

　North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday urged South Korea to “completely halt” military exercises with the United States, a move that analysts see as a way of increasing pressure on Seoul and Washington to make reciprocal gestures in response to the North’s moratorium on nuclear and missile tests. 　In his New Year’s address, Kim demanded that the South Korean government stop holding combined military drills and accepting US strategic assets, describing these actions as sources of tension on

The government has finalized plans for alternative service for conscientious objectors, but controversy over the matter looks likely to continue. On Friday, the Ministry of National Defense announced plans to introduce 36 months of service at correctional facilities for conscientious objectors who refuse to serve in the military. The measure was drawn up as the country’s top court has recognized conscientious objection as a valid reason for rejecting mandatory military service.According to the M

South Korea’s conscripted soldiers will soon be allowed to go off base and to use cellphones in barracks after working hours, the country’s military said Thursday, as part of efforts to improve basic rights for rank-and-file soldiers. 　The Ministry of National Defense also said that starting next year, the military will ease restrictions on vacation destinations for soldiers, who have been prohibited from going to places deemed too far for them to return to the barracks on time. 　Every Korean ab

North Korea may no longer be described as South Korea’s official enemy in the government’s soon-to-be-published defense white paper, with the two Koreas accelerating efforts to reduce cross-border military tension and improve socioeconomic ties.　According to defense officials here on Wednesday, the Ministry of National Defense will seek to have its 2018 defense white paper stop referencing the North Korean military as an enemy to South Korea. 　Instead, the term “enemy” is likely to be applied to

Controversy persists over the decision by the main opposition party’s interim leadership to reduce the clout of lawmakers who were close to former President Park Geun-hye, as well as that of other conservative powerbrokers. 　The Liberty Korea Party’s emergency committee said Saturday that 21 incumbent lawmakers will be ineligible to lead the party’s powerful district committees. The purpose of the measure, the interim leadership said, is to overhaul the conservative party following the ouster of

Controversy has erupted over a Seoul-based research institute’s report on the draft version of a hypothetical peace treaty with North Korea, with conservatives saying it is too early to discuss the matter amid growing frustration over stalled denuclearization talks. 　　During a seminar Thursday, a Korea Institute for National Unification researcher asserted that the current armistice agreement should be replaced when North Korea achieves 50 percent denuclearization. 　　Kim Sang-ki, director of the

The two Koreas held working-level talks to share the latest data on influenza, paving the way for cooperation in the health and medical sector, the Seoul government said Wednesday.Kwon Jun-wook, a senior official of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, met his North Korean counterpart, Kim Yun-chol, at the joint liaison office in the North's border town of Kaesong as the first step for a pilot program for health care exchanges.The meeting is the follow-up to an agreement between the Koreas last m

　A South Korean lawmaker’s email account had been hacked by an unidentified group as an alleged attempt to steal classified information from the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, a local newspaper reported. 　According to Donga Ilbo on Tuesday, an unidentified group stole the identity of Rep. Baek Seung-joo of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party and sent an email to the JCS, DAPA and Korea Institute for Defense Analysis, among others. 　The email was rep

　The militaries of the two Koreas inspected each other’s military facilities in a heavily fortified border region Wednesday for the first time since the end of the Korean War, verifying work that took place last month to remove 22 front-line guard posts under an agreement between the two sides. 　According to the Ministry of National Defense, the verification process began at around 9 a.m., after a team of South Korean inspectors crossed the Military Demarcation Line and met with their North Kore

With North Korea maintaining its silence as to whether Kim Jong-un will visit Seoul before the end of this year, speculation is rampant among political parties here as to whether the North Korean leader will deliver on his promise. In his meeting with President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang in September, Kim pledged to visit Seoul “at an early date.” But the communist state has yet to accept Moon’s invitation to visit by the end of this year. The prolonged silence has prompted a flurry of speculation

　With the two Koreas speeding up their efforts to reduce cross-border tensions and enhance socio-economic ties, the South Korean government is seeking to formulate a new security policy that focuses more on broader threats in the region rather than North Korea’s nuclear program. 　The Ministry of National Defense said Monday that its affiliated agency has been carrying out extensive research that postulates a changed security landscape where North Korea’s nuclear and missile threat no longer exis

　Since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledged to visit Seoul in return for President Moon Jae-in’s September trip to Pyongyang, whether Kim will keep his promise has become a point of much speculation.　Some experts have suggested Kim’s visit could take place as early as next week amid rumors that some tourist destinations in Seoul have turned down reservations for that period. Others say Kim will come to South Korea more than two weeks later, after he marks the seventh anniversary of his father

The top diplomats of South Korea and the US pledged united efforts to deal with North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, as the allies’ leaders seek another summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un amid the stalled nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her US counterpart Mike Pompeo held a meeting in Washington on Thursday, the first since they met in Seoul after Pompeo’s trip to Pyongyang in October. The meeting came amid efforts in Seoul and

　The South Korean military said Thursday that Seoul and Washington have long monitored a North Korean missile base that a US media outlet described as an unreported facility capable of launching a long-range ballistic missile. 　Citing satellite images and analysis from a private think tank, CNN reported Wednesday that the Yeongjeo-dong missile base and a nearby site -- previously unreported -- remain active and have been continuously upgraded. 　The South Korean government, which dismissed previo

The militaries of the two Koreas agreed to verify each other’s work on the removal of 22 guard posts next week, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said Thursday, in an effort to sustain the momentum of a detente between the two Koreas. 　The Ministry of National Defense will conduct an on-site verification on Dec. 12 to ensure the guard posts were dismantled or destroyed as pledged after the two Koreas pulled back their troops and ammunition from the posts.　While the two Koreas agreed to “completely destro

　The South Korean government on Wednesday pledged to simplify the process for civilians to enter the restricted border region, as a part of efforts to lift the ban on developing the military-controlled area amid an inter-Korean detente. 　The Ministry of National Defense and the ruling Democratic Party said they will establish an automated identification system by 2022 for those who want to cross the line that restricts civilians from entering the buffer zone near the heavily fortified Demilitari

The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates are to hold talks Wednesday, as the two countries seek to improve defense cooperation following the decision to establish a strategic partnership earlier this year. According to the Ministry of National Defense, Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo will meet with his UAE counterpart Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Bowardi. He serves as the UAE minister of state for defense affairs.The meeting is designed to focus on expanding cooperation in defen

South Korea’s military network was found to have been paralyzed during a massive network disruption last month, sparking criticism over the government’s attempt to downplay the incident that plunged the nation into a chaos.According to a document submitted by the Ministry of National Defense on Monday to an opposition lawmaker, a total of 28 internal military networks came to a halt after a fire at a building of the country’s No. 2 mobile carrier caused a massive blackout on Nov. 25. Among the d

　The South Korean Air Force conducted its own combat drill on Monday in lieu of a suspended combined exercise with the United States, amid concerns that the continued halt of joint training might undermine the allies’ readiness posture. 　According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the South Korean Air Force kicked off a five-day combat drill to replace the Vigilant Ace exercise. The aviation drill was supposed to take place this month, but was suspended in October to support diplomatic efforts to ad