North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered his generals not to carry out any unplanned military activities during the days leading up to his summit with US President Donald Trump, an American broadcaster reported, citing government officials from South Korea and the US on Thursday. According to a US government official cited by CNN, Kim was careful not to raise tensions with the US with any inadvertent movements before the summit, which took place for two days in Hanoi, Vietnam, at the end of Febru

North Korea April 4, 2019

An Army officer who was arrested Wednesday for allegedly charging toward a gate of the presidential office in a BMW fled during the investigation and was caught again, military police said Thursday.Surnamed Kim, a major in his 40s tried to break into the presidential office with his BMW sedan at around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. The man was stopped after he crashed into a barricade installed on the grounds. Police took him into custody on the spot. He was taken to a nearby hospital before the investi

Social Affairs April 4, 2019

Journalists and experts from Korea and Southeast Asian countries will gather for the ASEAN-Korea Media Forum in Seoul next month to discuss ways to promote cultural and socio-cultural exchanges, ASEAN-Korea Centre said Monday.The forum, which will be held on April 24 at Lotte Hotel in Seoul, kics off a series of events throughout 2019 marking the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-Korea relations, and the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the ASEAN-Korea Centre. (ASEAN-Korea Centre)ASEAN-Korea Cen

Diplomatic Circuit April 1, 2019

When Park Woo-bokrye, 71, learned that the remains of her eldest brother had been found on the infamous Arrowhead Ridge, decades after he died fighting in the Korean War, she felt both excitement and regret. “My mother missed him so much. It would have been very nice if his remains could have returned before mother passed away,” Park, 71, said during the burial ceremony held at Daejeon National Cemetery on March 26, when her brother, Sgt. Park Jae-gwon, was laid to rest. “I am still deeply affec

North Korea April 1, 2019

The South Korean Air Force took over two F-35A fighter jets from the United States at a key base Friday, acquiring fighter jets with stealth capabilities for the first time. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration here said the two fighters took off from Luke Air Force Base in Arizona on Wednesday and arrived at the air base in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, at 2:35 p.m. F-35A (DAPA)After the fighter jets are completely combat deployed in April or May, South Korea would join the li

Defense March 29, 2019

Irish Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan, in Seoul from March 17-20 as part of the country’s outreach to strengthen ties with Korea, was impressed by the energy of the capital.“I was struck by the way the ancient culture has been harmonized with the people’s ambitions and vision here,” she said in an interview with The Korea Herald in Myeong-dong, Seoul, on March 19. Irish Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan speaks in an interview with T

Diplomatic Circuit March 25, 2019

North Korean decryption computers may have been stolen from its embassy in Spain in last month’s raid by as-yet unidentified assailants, a high-profile North Korean defector claimed Sunday. Thae Yong-ho, a former deputy North Korean ambassador to UK said on his blog that the group of men who allegedly infiltrated the North Korean Embassy in Madrid may have stolen computers used to communicate with Pyongyang, which would be a harsh blow to the communist regime. “The world is reporting on the atta

North Korea March 25, 2019

Propspects that two Koreas will hold military talks this month are fading, as the North appears to have pulled back on all inter-Korean cooperation plans following the breakdown of its second summit with the United States last month. The Ministry of National Defense here said Sunday it recently proposed to hold military talks with the North via a communications line, but it had not received confirmation. Seoul has been pushing to hold military talks before the end of this month, as the implement

Defense March 24, 2019

Following the failure to reach an agreement at last month’s summit between the US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi, tension has been building between the two sides, threatening the negotiations that they have built over the past year.While the breakdown of their second meeting did not lead to a war of words, North Korea said it was considering suspending talks with the United States, while Washington accused Pyongyang of “not doing what it needs to do.”The comm

North Korea March 19, 2019

A surface-to-air missile was accidentally launched from an air base in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, Monday and exploded in the air, South Korea’s Air Force said.The medium-range Cheongung M-SAM, also known as the Cheolmae-2, was “abnormally” launched at 10:38 a.m. during maintenance work and automatically exploded in the air, the Air Force said in a statement.  (Yonhap)According to the statement, for safety reasons the missile was designed to self-destruct in abnormal situations. No damage or ca

Defense March 18, 2019

South Korea and the United States held a working group session Thursday to discuss about ways to resume denuclearization negotiations with North Korea, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. The two allies held a working group meeting in Washington, DC, the first after the summit between the US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi faltered without an agreement last month. According to the Foreign Ministry, the two sides discussed on pending issues regarding North Korea,

Foreign Affairs March 15, 2019

A written judgment from a US court ordering North Korea to pay compensation to the family of Otto Warmbier came back a second time from the North’s Foreign Ministry, a US media outlet said Thursday. A Washington court posted a scanned copy of the written judgment on its online records system and explained that the document it sent to North Korea had been returned due to a “delivery failure,” according to Voice of America. The US District Court for the District of Columbia handed down a verdict i

North Korea March 14, 2019

A fire broke out at a military shooting range during training in Incheon on Wednesday, prompting a warning from the authorities. According to Incheon Fire Department, the blaze started at a shooting range of Marine Corps 2nd Division at around 1:58 p.m., and spread to Mount Jinkang.  (Yonhap)The fire has affected some 300,000 square meters of Mount Jinkang as of 4 p.m. the fire authorities said. No casualties have been reported.Receiving report from a resident, the fire authorities issued a stag

Social Affairs March 13, 2019

The Cheonghae Unit of the Navy celebrated its decadelong contributions to global peace Wednesday, standing as the very first maritime unit including warships to be deployed overseas.Having set sail from Jinhae Naval Base here on March 13, 2009, the Navy contingent has conducted anti-piracy operations, several rescue operations and has escorted tens of thousands of South Korean and foreign vessels in areas around the Gulf of Aden. “The Cheonghae Unit has carried out operations to counter piracy a

Defense March 12, 2019

Jung Joon-young, a K-pop singer, illicitly taped sex videos and shared them via mobile messenger group chats that included Seungri of K-pop idol group BigBang, a local broadcaster reported on Monday.According to SBS, Jung, 29, took spy cam footage and shared them with his acquaintances via group chats on mobile messenger apps. The 10-months worth of dialogue obtained by SBS start at the end of 2015, and shows that some 10 women had been secretly filmed, the broadcaster said.  One of the group ch

Social Affairs March 11, 2019