GWACHEON, Gyeonggi Province -- South Korea’s defense acquisition minister said the upcoming US administration under returning President Donald Trump could be an opportunity for the country’s defense industry. Seok Jong-gun, who heads the Defense Acquisition Program Administration in charge of arms exports, told reporters Tuesday that Trump decreasing support to US allies could open up a new market for South Korean defense companies to explore. The minister said he sees Trump presiden

Politics Nov. 27, 2024

North Korea has been dismantling power lines installed just north of the shared border with the South from Sunday in the latest of a series of demolitions of past inter-Korean peace efforts. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff on Tuesday, the North Korean military was spotted taking down power transmission systems on its side of the Military Demarcation Line dividing the Korean Peninsula. The JCS said the North Korean military cut off high-voltage wires from the transmission t

Defense Nov. 26, 2024

Lt. Gen. Ju Il-suk, the former director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s combat readiness inspections, was named Marine Corps Commandant in a reshuffle of general-level officers announced Monday. Ju replaces Lt. Gen. Kim Kye-hwan, who is under investigation for the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun in July last year. Chae was killed during a search mission for missing victims of heavy downpours in Yecheon, a county in North Gyeongsang Province. Vice Adm. Choi Sung-hyeok of the 1st Fleet Command was

Defense Nov. 25, 2024

South Korea has intelligence that North Korea has suffered losses among its troops dispatched to aid in Russia’s war on Ukraine. The National Intelligence Service on Monday confirmed for the first time North Korean troops fighting Ukraine have been killed and wounded, without providing how many. In a Nov. 20 briefing to the National Assembly, the NIS said North Korean troops were deployed in the Russian province of Kursk near the border with Ukraine, with some participating in battles. Acc

Defense Nov. 25, 2024

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his previous efforts for dialogue and diplomacy could not change US hostility toward his country. “We had explored every path we can with the US through dialogue. The only outcome that can come from it, I am convinced, is the superpower’s implacable logic of force and unchanging policy of hostility toward our country,” Kim was quoted saying in the Workers’ Party of Korea-affiliated newspaper Rodong Simun on Friday. Kim has yet to offic

North Korea Nov. 22, 2024

The South Korean military plans to establish a division for multi-domain operations to boost its cyber and space capabilities, which have emerged as new battlefields of future warfare. The Ministry of National Defense said Friday it was seeking an amendment to the laws concerning the Joint Chiefs of Staff to “proactively respond to the changing security environment with the advancement of science and technology and the rise of new areas of battle.” According to the ministry, the mult

Defense Nov. 22, 2024

Rep. Cho Kuk, an ally of former Democratic Party of Korea President Moon Jae-in, is due to be sentenced by the highest court in three weeks. Cho faces a dozen charges. Most notably he is charged with using illicit means to get his children into prestigious schools, for which his wife Chung Kyung-shim was handed four years in jail in 2022. The court ruling led to their daughter Cho Min losing her admission to Korea University and medical school at Pusan National University. He is also charged wit

Politics Nov. 22, 2024

Bipartisan momentum is building at the National Assembly for the passage of a set of bills that would expand existing espionage laws to punish spies working for foreign countries other than North Korea. The anti-foreign espionage bill, which failed to pass in a vote last year, is ripe for passage this time, lawmakers of the two main parties say. Under the existing laws, South Korea only recognizes spying by North Korea as a punishable crime. The broadened espionage bill passed the legislative co

Politics Nov. 21, 2024

North Korean troops are mobilized on the Russian front lines fighting Ukraine, according to a South Korean intelligence agency briefing presented to lawmakers Wednesday. Around 11,000 North Korean troops, many of them part of special forces, had already been trained and deployed to Russia’s Kursk region near the border with Ukraine by late October, Rep. Park Sun-won told reporters. Park, who sits as the deputy chair of the National Assembly intelligence committee, was speaking after he was

Politics Nov. 20, 2024

Ambassadors and other representatives of diplomatic missions from around 20 countries filled the Warriors’ Lounge at the the War Memorial of Korea in central Seoul, near the presidential office in Yongsan on Tuesday, as Ukraine marked 1,000 days since Russia launched a full-scale invasion. The commemorative event was organized by the Ukraine Embassy in South Korea. Ponomarenko Dmytro, the ambassador of Ukraine to Seoul, said in remarks that North Korea joining Russia in its aggression has

Politics Nov. 19, 2024

The South Korean military is close to launching a third spy satellite, to be a key asset in monitoring North Korea. The third military reconnaissance satellite will be carried into orbit atop Space X’s Falcon 9 rocket, like the first two, around the third week of December from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, according to the Ministry of National Defense on Monday. The upcoming launch is part of the South Korean military’s project to place five reconnaissance satellites

Defense Nov. 18, 2024

A rift appears to be forming within the Democratic Party of Korea after a Seoul court sentenced party leader and previous presidential candidate Rep. Lee Jae-myung to a suspended jail term Friday for election law violations. The Democratic Party has officially denied that Lee’s conviction -- which, if confirmed by higher courts, could cost him his legislative seat -- would divide the party or necessitate a leadership shake-up. The party’s secretary-general, Rep. Kim Yun-duck, told re

Politics Nov. 17, 2024

A South Korean delegation preparing for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation 2025 is in Peru, abuzz with gatherings of leaders from 21 economies around the Pacific. The delegation includes Rep. Kim Seok-ki, the three-time lawmaker of Gyeongju where next year’s APEC meetings will be hosted, and its mayor Joo Nak-yong. Lee Cheol-woo, the governor of North Gyeongsang Province, which houses Gyeongju, also went. According to the ruling party lawmaker’s office, the delegation visited Peru to

Politics Nov. 17, 2024

South Koreans who suffered damage from trash-filled balloons launched by North Korea will now be eligible for compensation. The National Assembly on Thursday passed changes to the laws on civil defense to allow the victims of damage caused by North Korea's trash balloons to seek compensation from the government. Under the revised laws, the government can provide partial or full compensation for those who suffered harm to their health or property as a result of the North Korean balloons. Nor

Politics Nov. 14, 2024

A bill to appoint a special counsel to investigate President Yoon Suk Yeol’s wife Kim Keon Hee passed the National Assembly on Thursday. All 191 lawmakers present voted to pass the bill, which was tabled by the opposition Democratic Party of Korea. The entire ruling People Power Party abstained from casting a ballot. This was the third time a bill for a special counsel to investigate the first lady has been put to vote at the Assembly. The last two times the bill passed, the president veto

Politics Nov. 14, 2024