North Korea sent another batch of balloons carrying filth and propaganda to South Korea over the weekend, prompting a stern reaction from the South Korean government, which vowed Sunday to take “unendurable” action. “Dispatching of trash balloons and jamming GPS are despicable and irrational acts of provocation that could not have been imagined by a normal country,” National Security Adviser Chang Ho-jin said after presiding over a National Security Council meeting called

Politics June 2, 2024

SINGAPORE -- South Korea’s Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik and Japan’s Minister of Defense Minoru Kihara agreed to look to the future in a bilateral meeting held at the Asia Security Summit or the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. At the meeting that lasted for about half an hour, the two ministers agreed to put the maritime row that had frustrated defense negotiations between the countries for the last five years, and pursue reconciliation. In December 2018, Japan accused

Defense June 1, 2024

SINGAPORE -- Seoul’s Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik on Saturday credited the bipartisan support from the US Congress for its role in protecting the US troop presence in South Korea. Shin held a closed-door meeting with the US House of Representatives delegation comprising Reps. Young Kim, Michael McCaul, Gregory Meeks, Joe Wilson and Joe Courtney at the Shangri-La Dialogue summit on this day, according to the minister’s office. The South Korean defense minister was quoted

Politics June 1, 2024

SINGAPORE -- South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said Saturday growing evidence pointed to Russia getting weapons from North Korea to attack Ukraine and aiding the Kim Jong-un regime’s military program. “Today we see more evidence that the weapons used by Russia to attack Ukraine were illegally imported from North Korea,” the South Korean minister of national defense said in his remarks delivered at the plenary session of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. Russia, des

Defense June 1, 2024

SINGAPORE -- Seoul’s Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik said Friday a delegation of US senators agreed to help raise bipartisan support on expanding the two countries’ cooperation in defense-related science and technology. The minister and the three US senators -- Sens. Tammy Duckworth, Laphonza Butler and Dan Sullivan -- held a closed-door meeting held at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore for about half an hour. “The bipartisan US senate delegation, one Republican an

Politics May 31, 2024

[코리아헤럴드=조정은· 정민경· 김아린 기자] “국회의원이 선거에서 얻은 득표 중 90~95%는 당원도, 팬덤도 아닌 일반 국민에 의한 것입니다. 장관도 나이 어린 의원에게 ‘존경하는 의원님’이라고 높여 부르는 이유가 있습니다. 의원은 국민의 대표자이기 때문입니다. 22대 국회가 이를 기억하고 국민 눈높이를 최우선으로 두길 바랍니다.” 김진표 국회의장은 21대 국회 마지막 날인 29일 코리아헤럴드와 만나 이렇게 말했다. 김 의장은 진영·팬덤 정치가 국회를 “지지층을 결집시키고 상대당을 악마화하는 선전장으로 전락시켰다”며 국회의원들이 “당심이 아닌 민심을 듣기를 바란다”고 당부했다. 마지막 본회의가 파행으로 끝난 것에 대해 김 의장은 여야가 “대화와 타협 없이 각자의 입장만 고집하며 목숨을 건 싸움의 정치를 하고 있다”고 했다. 그러면서 김

한국어판 May 31, 2024

SINGAPORE -- South Korea and Japan are in the final stages of arranging a bilateral defense ministers dialogue in Singapore, according to Seoul military sources on Friday. South Korea’s Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik will likely meet his Japanese counterpart Minoru Kihara on Saturday on the sidelines of the Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, according to officials. If it proceeds, the bilateral meeting would precede a trilateral meeting of South Korea,

Defense May 31, 2024

Shin Won-sik, South Korea’s Minister of National Defense, will attend this year’s Asia Security Summit in Singapore — also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue — where he is scheduled to meet with his counterparts from the US, Japan and other key partner countries. The annual summit hosted by the UK think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies gathers leaders and experts in defense and diplomacy. Held since 2002, this year’s summit marks the 21st anniversary

Foreign Affairs May 30, 2024

Article 1 of South Korea’s National Assembly Act states that the parliament is a representative body of the people. However, Kim Jin-pyo, the speaker of the 21st National Assembly and a political heavyweight with 50 years in public service, views the widespread phenomenon of fandom politics as a major obstacle to the country's representative democracy. He believes this trend is the primary cause of increasing political confrontations, which continue to undermine the spirit of compro

Politics May 30, 2024

The 21st legislative session of the National Assembly ended Wednesday amid an unceasing partisan gridlock. On the last day of the four-year session, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea staged a rally outside the Yoon Suk Yeol presidential office to protest a contentious special counsel investigation bill failing to pass the Assembly in a vote held Tuesday. The Democratic Party-led bill seeking the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the on-duty death of a marine in July las

Politics May 29, 2024

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said a projectile believed to be a North Korean spy satellite was fired toward the west of the Korean Peninsula and landed in the sea after exploding midair late Monday. The projectile, which the JCS identified as “North Korea’s so-called military reconnaissance satellite,” was fired from the North Pyongan Province in a southwesterly direction at around 10:44 p.m. The JCS said some debris from the satellite’s explosion could be ob

Defense May 28, 2024

South Korea on Monday staged an air exercise near the inter-Korean border in response to an announcement from North Korea that it would launch a military reconnaissance satellite within the next seven days. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the drills involving some 20 fighter jets -- including F-15Ks, KF-16s and the stealth F-35As -- were carried out in the skies south of the no-fly zone from around 1 p.m. Col. Lee Sung-jun, the South Korean JCS spokesperson, said in a pre

Defense May 27, 2024

South Korea and China have agreed to create a communication channel for diplomacy and security and resume negotiations on an expanded free trade agreement, the Yoon Suk Yeol presidential office said Sunday. The two sides have decided to “establish a new high-level dialogue on diplomacy and security, with the first meeting to take place mid-June” and to “open up our markets beyond the trade of goods to include services such as culture and tourism,” a senior Yoon official t

Politics May 26, 2024

South Korea and Africa, whose partnership is anticipated to reach another milestone with the 2024 Korea-Africa summit, have a lot to gain from one another, ruling party lawmakers-elect Kim Gunn and Yu Yong-weon say. The two foreign relations and security experts, elected in the April general election, were among top experts, government officials and members of the diplomatic community to attend the Africa Day 2024 Korea Business Forum on Thursday. The forum, co-hosted by The Korea Herald and Afr

Politics May 26, 2024

South Korea is committed to making the June summit with Africa a success, and ready to share its experiences of growth and development with African countries, Seoul’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Hong Kyun said at a forum hosted by the African Group of Ambassadors and the Korea Herald on Thursday. Speaking at the Africa Day 2024 Korea Business Forum, he opened his congratulatory remarks by thanking the hosts for holding “this significant event” that took place less than

Foreign Affairs May 26, 2024