Articles by Choi Si-young
Choi Si-young
siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com-
Spy agency to lose power to probe cases involving N. Korea
The National Intelligence Service will not be able to investigate activities related to North Korea or gather domestic intelligence from 2024, when a law passed Sunday takes effect. The law also makes it explicit that the NIS must avoid involvement in politics. Police will assume the power to probe cases involving North Korea after the three-year grace period. The change in responsibility marks a major turning point in the agency’s 63-year history. In his election campaign President M
Politics Dec. 14, 2020
-
US firm touts attack helicopter to S. Korea
US aerospace manufacturer Bell Textron claimed Wednesday its attack helicopter model would be a highly reliable option for South Korea’s military, which is seeking to create an aviation regiment next year. South Korea’s military is divided on whether to deploy local or foreign attack helicopters from 2026. Bell’s Viper helicopter is the preferred overseas candidate. It performs better than the local competitor but costs more to maintain. The Marine Corp
Defense Dec. 9, 2020
-
[Newsmaker] US says willing to help N. Korea fight coronavirus
The United States will seriously consider helping North Korea contain the spread of the coronavirus if it requests such assistance, Robert O’Brien, US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, said Monday. “They (North Korea) have been reticent to ask for outside help for things in the past but if they did we would certainly look at that very seriously,” O’Brien said in an interview with 19FortyFive, a website on global affairs. He said Pyongyang appears
North Korea Dec. 8, 2020
-
‘Seoul unlikely to reclaim wartime role from US during Moon’s tenure’
South Korea is unlikely to reclaim its wartime operational command from the US by May 2022 as President Moon Jae-in has pledged, experts told The Korea Herald. Experts said little time is left in Moon’s tenure and the transfer will be delayed even after Seoul greets a new US military chief, as announced Friday. The new chief will replace Gen. Robert Abrams, commander of the United States Forces Korea who said it would be “premature” to set a date for the handover. The two a
Defense Dec. 7, 2020
-
[News Analysis] Experts weigh in on aftereffects from N. Korea’s full COVID-19 lockdown
North Korean watchers are weighing in on ramifications of the regime’s extreme response to COVID-19, as it has suspended all travel by land, sea and air and shut down public facilities. Leader Kim Jong-un issued the highest alert for the pandemic on Dec. 2 for the second time since February, when the new coronavirus began spreading globally. Such extreme measures, however, would be a double blow to North Korea, which suffered reduced food production this year due to shrinking outside sup
North Korea Dec. 6, 2020
-
Experts rap Seoul for ban on cross-border propaganda leafleting
North Korea experts on Thursday criticized a move by the South Korean parliament to criminalize sending propaganda leaflets, along with food and medicine, into the North across the inter-Korean border. Defectors here have long sent leaflets and other materials across the border, but the activity essentially ground to a halt in June when Pyongyang blew up the inter-Korean liaison office in protest. Roberta Cohen, who served as a US deputy assistant secretary of state for human rights, expresse
North Korea Dec. 4, 2020
-
[Feature] Will former presidents be pardoned?
With two former presidents in jail, facing de facto life imprisonment, South Korea is revisiting its tradition of granting special pardons to convicted former leaders. While the majority of the public is against it, there are minority voices calling for leniency for former Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye -- who, without presidential pardons, could spend the rest of their lives in prison, considering their advanced ages. President Moon Jae-in was elected in 2017 on a pledge to root
Politics Nov. 29, 2020
-
[Newsmaker] N. Korea reinforces border control amid mounting COVID-19 worries
North Korea said Sunday it was reinforcing border lockdown to prevent the coronavirus pandemic from spreading into its territory. The regime still claims zero COVID-19 cases. “Every effort is made to keep strong border closures and to ensure everyone stick to antivirus measures and report anything out of ordinary,” the official Korean Central News Agency, said adding it was enforcing tighter controls over the inter-Korean border. Earlier this month, a North Korean man, now in Seoul
North Korea Nov. 29, 2020
-
[Newsmaker] ‘Loose screws on border fence sensors disabled alarm’
A North Korean refugee was able to jump over the 3-meter fence along the inter-Korean border to the South without triggering the alarm because screws were loose on the fence’s sensors, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday. The military revealed the initial finding of its internal investigation into the event early this month, in which a former gymnast in his 20s crossed the border on foot. Sensors on the border fences along the general outposts, south of the demarcati
Defense Nov. 26, 2020
-
Military bans all off-base travel for soldiers amid COVID-19 spike
South Korea’s military said Thursday it has banned all off-base travel for soldiers until Dec. 7. Officers are instructed to cancel or delay all non-duty meetings and outside activities. Vacations are suspended from Friday. The military’s antivirus rules, announced Tuesday for soldiers in the Greater Seoul area, were expanded to cover the rest of the nation after a cluster infection involving 70 service members -- mostly conscripts -- at a boot camp in northern Gyeonggi Province al
Defense Nov. 26, 2020
-
President Moon to meet Chinese foreign minister
President Moon Jae-in will receive visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Xi at Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday afternoon, the presidential office said Wednesday. Wang arrived here late Wednesday after stopping over in Japan. On Thursday, he is to have a luncheon with Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and dinner with Lee Hae-chan, a key figure in Moon’s inner circle who served as special envoy to China and later headed the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. Wang is scheduled to leave Friday, aft
Foreign Affairs Nov. 25, 2020
-
‘N. Korean who jumped border fence into South was gymnast’
A North Korean man who fled here early this month said he used to be a gymnast and was able to jump over the 3-meter fence along the inter-Korean border, a Seoul official familiar with the matter said Monday. The man, reportedly of small stature and in his late 20s, has been under investigation by Seoul’s defense authorities over his defection route and motives. Seoul officials had him jump twice to verify his claim. Authorities suspect his light body weight and gymnastics experience co
North Korea Nov. 24, 2020
-
[Newsmaker] Seoul area soldiers could miss vacation, off-base visits
Soldiers based in the Greater Seoul area could see their vacation and off-base leave suspended under the military’s tightened antivirus measures that went into effect Tuesday. The military began enforcing tougher rules in the capital for two weeks through Dec. 3, in line with government-imposed Level 2 social distancing guidelines in the area. The country, in the onset of a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, reported 349 cases in 24 hours ending at midnight on Monday. All servic
Defense Nov. 24, 2020
-
Defense Ministry to reveal latest technologies at expo
The Ministry of National Defense said Monday it will showcase its latest defense technologies at an intergovernmental innovation expo held online from Tuesday to Dec. 3. Other ministries as well as state-run firms and municipalities are joining the event to share their achievements that have helped better people’s lives. The Army will reveal next-generation military equipment, including advanced combat uniforms. The uniforms are expected to be delivered to soldiers by 2024. The Navy is
Defense Nov. 23, 2020
-
[Newsmaker] N. Korea repeats ‘self-help’ in antivirus effort
North Korea said Monday that self-help is the way to power through the obstacles ahead, like the coronavirus pandemic, and no one should challenge that direction. “Self-help is the way of life we’ve maintained to this day and it’s in our blood. We display that and there is nothing we cannot overcome,” the official state newspaper said, urging Workers’ Party members to be a brigade moving forward to grab victory. The North still claims it has yet to report an infec
North Korea Nov. 23, 2020
Most Popular
-
1
Hyundai Motor eyes 80,000 jobs, W68tr investment at home by 2026
-
2
Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
-
3
Korea enters full election mode
-
4
Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
-
5
Dialogue hopes fade as doctors pick hard-liner as new head
-
6
Coupang pledges W3tr to expand Rocket Delivery nationwide by 2027
-
7
[Election Battlefield] Political novice to face off star politician in ‘swing district’
-
8
Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
-
9
[Kim Seong-kon] The April 2024 election will decide our future
-
10
[Herald Interview] Son Suk-ku chooses to be swayed by others in navigating life