The Korea Times

Will Moon's support for trade minister Yoo Myung-hee's WTO chief election bear fruit?

President Moon Jae-in speaks on the phone with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday. Courtesy of Cheong Wa DaeBy Do Je-hae Attention is being paid on whether President Moon Jae-in and other top government officials' diplomatic efforts to seek international support for Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, the Korean finalist in the race for the new director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), will lead to the desired result.The situation for the Korean candidate is not entirely favorable, according to foreign media reports, but Moon is making last-ditch attempts to produce the first head of an international organization since former U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon more than a decade ago.President Moon spoke on the phone with Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudeau, Tuesday, to ask for the support of Canada, the leader of the Ottawa Group comprised of 10 WTO member states and the EU that discusses responses to specific challenges to the multilateral trading system. Korea is a part of the group, along with New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Swit

Oct 27, 2020By Do Je-hae

Will Moon's support for trade minister Yoo Myung-hee's WTO chief election bear fruit?

EU backs Nigerian candidate over Korean for WTO leadership

Foreign Affairs

Korea caught in verbal Cold War

Xi Jinping and other Communist Party of China and state leaders visit an exhibition commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Chinese participation in the Korean War, Oct. 19, 2020. Xinhua-YonhapBy Do Je-hae Chinese President Xi Jinping's definition of the Korean War has prompted Washington to hit back, raising additional concerns that rivalry of two super powers is creating verbal and cyber versions of a new “Cold War” here.Xi called the Korean War a fight against “imperialist invaders” in a recent speech in Beijing to mark the 70th anniversary of China's entry into the war and glorified its participation. The U.S. State Department then hit back. “The CCP [Chinese Communist Party] claims war just 'broke out' 70 years ago. Fact: North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950 with Mao's backing. When free nations fought back, the CCP sent hundreds of thousands of troops across the Yalu, guaranteeing the Korean Peninsula's devastation,” department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus wrote on Twitter, Saturday. Ortagus earlier posted another tweet over the h

Oct 26, 2020By Do Je-hae

Foreign Affairs

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL Robust middle power diplomacy needed to tackle geopolitical coercion

In this June 29, 2019, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump poses for a photo with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, western Japan. The rising U.S.-China competition is seen as one of the biggest challenge to Korea's diplomacy in the future. AP-YonhapBy Do Je-hae In the last 70 years since the 1950-53 Korean War, Korea has risen to become an economic powerhouse and a key diplomatic player in Northeast Asia. When asked about the biggest diplomatic challenge faced by Korea, experts contacted by The Korea Times underlined the escalating U.S.-China competition.“The next 70 years will no doubt be as difficult if not treacherous as the previous 70,” said Donald Kirk, a columnist and author on Korean Peninsula issues. “We have to expect the unexpected, including the constant threat of nuclear war. South Korea in the whirlpool of regional rivalries should maintain ties with the major players ― China, the U.S. and Japan ― while working to persuade North Korea to abandon the nuclear option and live in peace for the

Oct 26, 2020By Do Je-hae

[ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL] Robust middle power diplomacy needed to tackle geopolitical coercion

Foreign Affairs

Seoul remains low-key on Xi Jinping's Korean War speech

A visitor looks at a Chinese military uniform and equipment used during the Korea War at the Korea War Memorial Museum in Seoul, South Korea, Oct. 23. Chinese leader Xi Jinping condemned "unilateralism, protectionism and extreme egoism" in a jab at the United States at a rally Friday to mark the 70th anniversary of China's entry into the 1950-53 Korean War. / AP-YonhapBy Do Je-haeDuring a recent commemorative event for the Korean War, Chinese President Xi Jinping made remarks that were seen to glorify China's role in the war, which he defined as a fight against “imperialist invaders.” His remarks are seen to underline the position held by China as well as North Korea that the 1950-53 Korean War was for “resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea.”Xi took part in a ceremony and delivered a speech in Beijing on Oct. 23 to mark the 70th anniversary of China's entry into the Korean War.From the South Korean point of view, Xi's remarks are a distortion of historical facts of the war, which was started by North Korea's founding leader Kim Il-sung's invasion. Seoul p

Oct 25, 2020By Do Je-hae

Seoul remains low-key on Xi Jinping's Korean War speech

North Korea

US on the same page with South Korea over end-of-war declaration

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a news conference at the State Department in Washington, D.C., Wednesday. Reuters-YonhapBy Do Je-hae South Korea and the U.S. have appeared to be at odds over President Moon Jae-in's proposal for a declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War, made during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in September. However, key officials in the Donald Trump administration are now starting to assuage the rising concerns about a discrepancy in the two countries' positions, saying the declaration was not a separate issue from the denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the declaration ending the war was a part of the process of denuclearization and called on North Korea to return to negotiations. “So our position on that set of issues, that suite of issues with respect to the denuclearization of North Korea, a brighter future for the North Korean people, which would obviously include documents that would change the status between North and South Korea. There's been no change in t

Oct 22, 2020By Do Je-hae

US on the same page with South Korea over end-of-war declaration

Biden says will meet North Korean 'thug' if he agrees to reduce nuclear capacity

Politics

'Reactor's economic viability undervalued'

The suspended Wolsong-1 nuclear reactor in Gyeongju is seen in this photo. YonhapBy Do Je-hae The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) concluded that the closure of the Wolsong-1 reactor, which is seen as a symbol of President Moon Jae-in's nuclear phase-out policy, had some procedural problems. But it did not determine the validity of the policy decision, saying that the inspection only covered the economic aspects of the reactor's operation.The earlier-than-scheduled decommissioning of the reactor has been a hot political issue, as the conservative opposition bloc has claimed the government's evaluation was modified to support the President's scheme for the gradual phasing out of nuclear power generation.With the BAI's finding of procedural errors in the economic assessment, the government's push for the phase-out scheme is expected to lose public trust and controversies are forecast to arise over the Moon administration's future decisions on the shutdowns of other reactors.The state auditor said Tuesday that the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) unreasonably underestimated the

Oct 20, 2020By Do Je-hae

'Reactor's economic viability undervalued'

Politics

S. Korea reaffirms commitment to NK-US talks

President Moon Jae-in's national security adviser Suh Hoon signs a guest book ahead of a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, at the Department of State, Washington, D.C., Oct. 16. Courtesy of Cheong Wa DaeBy Do Je-hae The South Korean government has shown its determination to keep the denuclearization talks between North Korea and the United States afloat regardless of the result of the U.S. presidential election in November, by confirming the U.S. national security advisor's visit to Seoul in the middle of next month.Suh Hoon, chief of the National Security Office (NSO), returned from his first trip to the U.S. last week since being appointed in July.His visit to the U.S. included meetings with his counterpart Robert O'Brien and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “During his visit to the U.S., Suh was reassured of Washington's unwavering support and trust for the strong Korea-U.S. alliance. The two sides discussed various ways to develop the alliance in a future-oriented manner based on common values,” presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok told reporters i

Oct 19, 2020By Do Je-hae

S. Korea reaffirms commitment to NK-US talks

Foreign Affairs

Two compelling female finalists heat up race for WTO director-general

Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, a finalist in the race for the World Trade Organization (WTO) director-general, leaves for Europe at the Incheon International Airport, Oct. 13. YonhapBy Do Je-haeFor the first time, Korea has produced a finalist in the race for the head of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The distinction achieved by Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee is raising hopes among her countrymen of a first-ever Korean to lead the global trade body, after two previous bids in the mid 1990s and 2013. Minister Yoo and Nigerian-born economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a U.S. citizen, were recently shortlisted from a pool of candidates with sterling credentials to enter the final round of the selection process for WTO director-general, which take place between Oct. 19 and Oct. 27. The result of the race is expected to be announced early November.To be selected as the chief of the WTO, it is important that a candidate is not vetoed by any member country, according to presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok.In this regard, concerns have been rising here that an ongoing trade dispute at the WTO b

Oct 16, 2020By Do Je-hae

Two compelling female finalists heat up race for WTO director-general

Politics

Lawmakers seek breakthrough in improving ties with Japan during November visit

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is raising concerns about bilateral relations with hardline remarks with regard to outstanding issues with Korea since taking office. Reuters-Yonhap By Do Je-hae Korean lawmakers who belong to a Korea-Japan friendship association will be in Japan in mid-November to discuss ways to ease the lingering conflict over the issue of wartime forced laborers.According to latest reports, the two sides are coordinating a visit by a delegation of lawmakers from the Korea-Japan Parliamentarians' Union to Japan from Nov. 12 to 14. The delegation will be led by Rep. Kim Jin-pyo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, who was appointed head of the union last month. A delegation of Japanese lawmakers will arrive in Korea, starting Saturday, to discuss details of the Korean delegation's visit, which is reportedly seeking to meet new Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.The lawmakers' visit to Japan comes amid rising tensions between the two c

Oct 16, 2020By Do Je-hae

Lawmakers seek breakthrough in improving ties with Japan during November visit

South Korea voices 'deep regrets' over Suga's offering to Yasukuni war shrine

North Korea

Killed official's family upset over Moon's letter

Lee Rae-jin, the older brother of a South Korean official shot to death in the North's territorial waters, discloses a letter from President Moon Jae-in during a press conference at the Korean Coast Guard's Incheon office, Wednesday. YonhapBy Do Je-hae Controversy has arisen over President Moon Jae-in's letter to the son of the South Korean official killed by North Korean military personnel last month near the maritime border between the two Koreas.The letter, which was delivered on Tuesday to the bereaved family by a presidential aide, is being criticized by the opposition and the family who claim it lacks a sincere expression of consolation. Some have also taken issue with the format of the letter, as it was not handwritten but typed, and carried an electronic signature of the President. Lee Rae-jin, the killed official's older brother who has been acting as a spokesperson for the bereaved family, disclosed the letter during a press conference at the Korean Coast Guard's Incheon office, Wednesday. “It was not very different from what the President has previously said,”

Oct 14, 2020By Do Je-hae

Do Je-hae

Read more

Will Moon's support for trade minister Yoo Myung-hee's WTO chief election bear fruit?

Korea caught in verbal Cold War

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL Robust middle power diplomacy needed to tackle geopolitical coercion

Seoul remains low-key on Xi Jinping's Korean War speech

US on the same page with South Korea over end-of-war declaration

'Reactor's economic viability undervalued'

S. Korea reaffirms commitment to NK-US talks

Two compelling female finalists heat up race for WTO director-general

Lawmakers seek breakthrough in improving ties with Japan during November visit

Killed official's family upset over Moon's letter

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