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Kang Hyun-kyung

Korea Times Editorial Reporter

I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.

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Politics

INTERVIEW Seoul should play delicate balancing act in diplomacy with China, Russia as new Cold War dawns

In this pool photo distributed by Sputnik News, Russian President Vladimir Putin, center left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center right, visit the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region of Russia on Wednesday. AFP-YonhapFormer South Korean Ambassador to Russia Wi Sung-lac encourages Yoon to leave room for cooperation with Russia, China, while deepening ties with US, Japan By Kang Hyun-kyungThe summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far eastern region of Amur has raised a red flag on regional security. Few details were made public about the Putin-Kim summit, except their eagerness to deepen defense ties as revealed in their opening statements, the fact that Kim’s itinerary was packed with visits to military-related sites and remarks Putin made about the summit’s agenda.Officials in the U.S. and South Korea said that North Korea and Russia were likely to have reached an arms deal during the hours-long closed-door summit, because it took place as Russia continues to gra

Sep 14, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung
[INTERVIEW] Seoul should play delicate balancing act in diplomacy with China, Russia as new Cold War dawns
Foreign Affairs

Korea's independence heritage agency poised to launch anti-Japan campaign

Activists protest against Japan's release of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant during a rally in Seoul's central district of Jongno, Saturday. YonhapPresident Yoon at loggerheads with descendants of independence fighters over historical animosityBy Kang Hyun-kyungLike other organizations reliant on state subsidies, the Heritage of Korean Independence (HKI) has been a staunch supporter of the government since its establishment in 1965. Back then, independence fighters, their families and their descendants joined forces to create a group dedicated to passing on the legacy of Korea's independence movement during the Japanese colonial period on to future generations.Over the past decades, government ties with the descendants of independence fighters have remained unfazed despite vicissitudes in domestic politics triggered mainly by government changes. Recently, however, their relations showed signs of souring as HKI President Lee Jong-chan and some other members became vocal opponents of the Yoon Suk Yeol government.The two sides have revealed a fundamental difference in

Sep 12, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung
Korea's independence heritage agency poised to launch anti-Japan campaign
Foreign Affairs

Activists take new approach to stop China from sending back N. Koreans

Activists, including a young child, protest against China's forced repatriations of North Korean defectors in front of the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., in this photo taken in July. One of the activists said he did not want his face shown as he travels to China regularly for business. Courtesy of One Korea NetworkActivists urged to leverage Hangzhou Asian Games to influence Chinese policyBy Kang Hyun-kyungHuman rights activists have been staging weekly protests in front of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Washington, D.C., urging Beijing to stop the forced repatriations North Korean escapees back to the North.Henry Song, a Korean American human rights activist and director of Washington D.C.-based think tank, One Korea Network, has been taking part in the weekly protest since July, according to U.S. citizens who support the rallies. “There is great interest from passers-by and the general public,” he said in a recent email interview with The Korea Times. “Even the police are tacitly in support of what we do.”One Korea Network is one of t

Sep 12, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung
Activists take new approach to stop China from sending back N. Koreans
Foreign Affairs

INTERVIEW N. Korean defector keeps fingers crossed for daughter detained in China

A North Korean defector, center, who asked to be identified only by her surname, Kim, attends a weekly rally near the Embassy of China in Seoul, Monday. Kim's daughter is detained in China and faces repatriation to North Korea as the border between the two countries reopened in August. Kim and other human rights activists urge China to stop deporting North Koreans escapees held there. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul This article is the first in a two-part series about North Korean detainees in China who are at risk of being repatriated back to the North. ― ED. Defector seeks help to get daughter back as China's repatriation of North Korean defectors loomsBy Kang Hyun-kyungA North Korean defector living in South Korea, who wished to be identified only by her surname, Kim, panicked when she heard that the border between North Korea and China had reopened.On Aug. 26, North Korea said it would allow its citizens staying overseas ― mostly in China and Russia ― to ret

Sep 8, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung
[INTERVIEW] N. Korean defector keeps fingers crossed for daughter detained in China
Politics

Yoon, mentor at odds over army cadets saluting independence fighter with leftist past

Lee Jong-chan, president of the non-profit organization, Heritage of Korean Independence, speaks in this 2019 file photo. He is the father of President Yoon Suk Yeol's old friend and one of Yoon's go-to people when he mulled a presidential bid two years ago. Korea Times filePresident's ties with ex-spy chief tested by relocation of independence fighter's bustBy Kang Hyun-kyungThe defense ministry's decision to relocate the bust of independence fighter Hong Beom-do has pitted President Yoon Suk Yeol against his adviser and old friend.Yoon reportedly calls Lee Jong-chan, 87, president of the non-profit organization, Heritage of Korean Independence (HKI), “father” when they meet privately. Lee is the father of Yoon's long-time friend, Lee Chul-woo, a professor of law at Yonsei University.The older Lee, a former five-term lawmaker and ex-director of the National Intelligence Service during the Kim Dae-jung government, was one of Yoon's go-to people when he mulled a presidential bid in 2021 after resigning as prosecutor-general. Yoon's relationship with the two Lees is being t

Sep 1, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung
Yoon, mentor at odds over army cadets saluting independence fighter with leftist past
Politics

US lawmakers seek to meet UN officials to stop China from sending back N. Korean defectors

Activists urge Beijing to stop repatriating North Korean refugees detained in China during a rally held in central Seoul in July, 2022. Korea Times fileBy Kang Hyun-kyungU.S. lawmakers Christopher Smith and Jeff Merkley, co-chairs of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), released an open letter calling for a meeting with two U.N. high commissioners to discuss ways to prevent Beijing from repatriating North Korean defectors held in China. Their open letter was unveiled on Thursday (Seoul time) as North Korea opened its border with China on Sunday to allow its workers to return home. The reopening of the North Korea-China border, after being closed since January 2020 in the wake of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, has become a source of concern as a massive humanitarian crisis looms. As many as 2,000 North Korean defectors are currently detained in China and are feared to be repatriated back to the North against their will.In the letter, Rep. Smith and Sen. Merkley requested U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk and the High Commissioner for Refugees F

Sep 1, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung
US lawmakers seek to meet UN officials to stop China from sending back N. Korean defectors
  • UN rapporteur closely watching signs of China deporting NK defectors
Foreign Affairs

Autocratic leaders use politics of fear to silence rivals, critics

Masks depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, private military company Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin, center, and Soviet leader Josef Stalin, left, are displayed at a souvenir shop in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday. AP-YonhapFavored tactic of dictators: 'Kill the chicken to scare the monkey'By Kang Hyun-kyung The tragic plane crash that killed Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who staged an abortive mutiny against Russia's military in July, is a chilling reminder of how autocratic leaders silence their opponents.Russia flatly denied speculation that President Vladimir Putin might have been the mastermind behind the plane crash to remove Prigozhin. Despite the denial, speculation mounted over the Russian leader's alleged involvement in the accident, which was reported to have been caused by an internal explosion. Earlier, Putin reacted furiously to Wagner Group's rebellion and called it “treason.” The mercenary group's boss is not the first Putin critic who faced a tragic end. Many other opponents of Putin were killed in accidents or sent to prison. I

Aug 31, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung
Autocratic leaders use politics of fear to silence rivals, critics
Politics

Gifted criminal law scholar lived life as dissident-in-exile in US

Criminal law professor Ryu Ki-chyon, right, and his wife Helen Silving in this undated photo / Korea Times fileProfessor emeritus uncovers legacy of mentor who lived ahead of his time By Kang Hyun-kyungChoi Chong-ko, a professor emeritus of law at Seoul National University, has found life after college inseparable from his mentor and advisor, the late Ryu Ki-chyon (1915-1998), better known by his English name, Paul K. Ryu, to people living outside of Korea.He met his mentor in the late 1960s when Choi took Ryu's criminal law course. Their bond deepened as they continued to exchange thoughts about their areas of academic focus and issues of mutual interest as a professor and a student.When Ryu passed away in 1998 in San Diego, California, Choi teamed up with several like-minded classmates to initiate a campaign to establish a foundation to commemorate his mentor, his legacy and academic accomplishments. Their years of coordinated work bore fruit in 2004 with the launch of the Paul K. Ryu Foundation in Seoul. Having served as president of the foundation since, Choi released Ryu's biogr

Aug 28, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung
Gifted criminal law scholar lived life as dissident-in-exile in US
Politics

Old weapons, new tricks: North Korea seeks to turn old Soviet fighter jets into kamikaze drones

A South Korean soldier aims a jammer gun to shoot down a drone during the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise held on Tuesday near the Daecheong Dam in Cheongju City, North Chungcheong Province. The 11-day exercise kicked off on Monday. YonhapDefense analyst calls for preemptive strategy to deal with UAVsBy Kang Hyun-kyungNorth Korea has kicked off a military modernization program recycling hundreds of outdated fighter jets into suicide drones, according to a veteran intelligence analyst.“The North is trying to transform Soviet fighter aircraft into kamikaze drones armed with precision-guided munitions,” Choe Su-ryong, a former agent of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), told The Korea Times on Monday, citing an informant based in North Korea. “These unmanned suicide drones will be used to strike South Korea's major industrial and infrastructure facilities.” Choe retired from the NIS in 2011, ending two decades of service as a secret agent.The fighter aircraft he was referring to are the MiG series of jets made by the former Soviet Union.North Korea is known t

Aug 24, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung
Old weapons, new tricks: North Korea seeks to turn old Soviet fighter jets into kamikaze drones
Defense

Pyongyang's armed drones pose new threat to Seoul

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is seen in this undated photo released by the North Korean Central News Agency. Aug. 14. EPA-Yonhap South Korea to launch UAV operation command Sept. 1 as North gears up to upgrade military drones By Kang Hyun-kyungUkraine silenced naysayers who believed that the country would be no match for Russian armed forces and allow Russia to seize Kyiv and major facilities, paving the way for a Moscow-backed regime to assume control within days, if not months.Refuting such predictions, under-equipped Ukraine has proven to be a formidable opponent as it uses creative commercial technologies to succeed in repelling Russia's modernized and well-financed armed forces.In the media, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or drones, are viewed as a magic bullet or a game changer enabling the underdog, Ukraine, to perform far better than expected on the battlefield against Russia's formidable military forces.In South Korea, the use of drones to strike enem

Aug 20, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung
Pyongyang's armed drones pose new threat to Seoul
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