North Korea has trained its special forces to be capable of infiltrating and striking more than 90 percent of targets in South Korea, a report said Tuesday, ringing alarm bells over the threat posed by the North’s elite troops. The report, released by retired one-star Army general Lee Won-seung, was based on a series of drills simulating an infiltration by North Korean special forces that hit targ

North Korea June 8, 2011

The Korean language has been selected as one of five languages to be served in simultaneous interpretation at foreign ministerial talks of the Asia-Europe Meeting in Hungary, South Korean officials said Sunday, They said that it is a decision that indicates an elevated global status for South Korea.The talks, set for Monday and Tuesday in Budapest, will be simultaneously interpreted into Korean, E

Foreign Affairs June 6, 2011

A ballooning illegal lobbying scandal involving failed savings banks has implicated politicians as well as senior financial officials. Prosecutors investigating Samhwa Mutual Savings Bank have secured statements from Sin Sam-gil, its arrested chairman, that he gave tens of millions of won in slush funds to a current and a former lawmaker, officials said Friday. They are now trying to determine whe

Social Affairs June 3, 2011

Lawmakers blasted the Cabinet Thursday over North Korea’s disclosure that the South had proposed in clandestine meetings to hold a summit with the North.On the second day of the parliamentary interpellation, the ruling Grand National Party called into question the administration’s covert approach to the North while keeping a tough stance overtly. The main opposition Democratic Party rebuked the go

Politics June 3, 2011

South Korean and U.S. troops sprayed toxic defoliant Agent Orange and other herbicides over 6,840 hectares of the Demilitarized Zone between 1968 and 1969, in an effort to thwart North Korean infiltrations, a report said Friday.The estimated size of the areas on which Agent Orange was sprayed was about 14 percent of the southern side of the DMZ, the 4-kilometer-wide, 249-kilometer-long buffer zone

Defense June 3, 2011

North Korea and China recently forged a deal to develop two North Korean border towns into an industrial belt and introduce, in part, free market practices, a North Korean government document showed.According to the document obtained by the Yonhap news agency, Pyongyang and Beijing agreed to foster the development of the North’s towns of Rason and Hwanggumpyong into an industrial belt.Rason, in th

North Korea June 1, 2011

BUSAN (Yonhap News) ― Two of the four Somali pirates convicted last week of maritime robbery and hijacking a South Korean-owned freighter have lodged an appeal against the court decision, their attorneys said Wednesday.The Busan District Court on Friday sentenced Mahomed Arai, 21, to life in prison for shooting Seok Hae-kyun, the captain of the ship, the Samho Jewelry, and seven other charges, inc

Social Affairs June 1, 2011

President Lee Myung-bak praised a contingent of Navy commandos as “heroes” of South Korea on Monday, lauding their daring raid in January to free a seized freighter from Somali pirates.The Cheonghae unit of naval commandos returned home Friday after completing a six-month anti-piracy mission in waters near Somalia that included a successful Jan. 21 operation to rescue the 21-member crew of the Sou

Social Affairs May 30, 2011

Military prosecutors sought warrants on Friday to arrest two Marine Corps major generals on charges of making false accusations about their top commander, defense ministry officials said. The two major generals, identified only by their initials P and H, have been under an investigation since early this month for allegedly spreading false rumors about the Marine commander, Lt. Gen. Yoo Nak-joon. A

Defense May 30, 2011

South Korean military intelligence officials are investigating seven officers and soldiers for posting pro-Pyongyang messages on an online community that praises North Korea, military officials said Monday.About 70 military personnel were registered as members of the online community, called the “Cyber Command for Defense of Fellow Countrymen,” and seven of them posted pro-North Korea messages the

Defense May 30, 2011

   The chief of Toyota Motor Corp., the world's biggest carmaker, is likely to visit South Korea later this week to shore up support here for the brand, industry sources said Sunday.   Akio Toyoda will arrive here around Saturday for his first South Korean trip since becoming president of the company in 2009, the sources said, adding he will meet with Toyota dealers at their shop in Seoul among ot

Industry May 29, 2011

North Korea is in the completion stage of building a sprawling naval base near the tense sea border with South Korea, a high-level government source said Sunday, a facility capable of housing about 60 air-cushioned vessels that can be used for infiltration attacks.South Korea spotted air-cushioned vessels and hangar-shaped buildings at the naval base that has been under construction in Goampo in t

Defense May 29, 2011