The Korea Times

Koreas involved in truth game over generals' talks

By Jun Ji-hyeThe generals’ talks between the two Koreas has turned into a game of liar’s poker between Seoul and Pyongyang after the North’s state-controlled Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released information on their basis late Thursday.South and North Korea held the closed-door talks Wednesday at the truce village of Panmunjeom in an effort to find ways of easing military tension on the peninsula.Two days after the talks, the KCNA claimed that it had proposed the meeting be open to the media, and it was the South that demanded secrecy.This contradicted Seoul’s earlier explanation that the North asked that the meeting be kept confidential.The KCNA claimed, “Given that the meeting was prepared with our Supreme Commander Kim Jong-un, we asked the South to make it public, but the South insisted on closed talks.”As controversy grew, the Ministry of National Defense said that the North’s first offer ― on Oct. 7 ― to hold the meeting contained the “implication” that it wanted confidentiality.“Following Pyongyang&rsq

Oct 17, 2014By Jun Ji-hye

South Korea

Gov't hit for excessive secretiveness in handling North

By Jun Ji-hyeThe government has been criticized for adopting a secretive attitude regarding talks held Wednesday between generals of the two Koreas, despite a previous promise made to improve transparency in the handling of inter-Korean issues.Even when the discussions were underway at the truce village of Panmunjeom, Cheong Wa Dae, and the unification and defense ministries remained silent on the matter.“We cannot confirm that,” was their repeated answer to flurries of questions from reporters.    The situation became increasingly awkward for the government because many cable news channels and online media were already reporting about the inter-Korean meeting. Their news source was Rep. Park Jie-won of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy.At the unification ministry, some reporters even shouted at the deputy spokeswoman who failed to confirm that the meeting was taking place.The defense ministry made an official announcement about the meeting at about 4 p.m., after the talks ended.One ministry official explained, “The government de

Oct 16, 2014By Jun Ji-hye

Gov't hit for excessive secretiveness in handling North

South Korea

Choosing special prosecutor becomes new issue in Sewol bill

By Jun Ji-hyeThe process of how best to recommend a special prosecutor has emerged as a new point of dispute in negotiations between the main political parties over content envisaged for the special Sewol bill.The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) still maintain different views over whether to allow the bereaved families to participate in a process to recommend candidates for a special prosecutor who will then be tasked with investigating the cause of the disaster that occurred on April 16.The governing camp is arguing that it cannot allow the families to take part in recommending candidates for a special prosecutor because “It is a job for the National Assembly.”The dispute has raised further uncertainty over whether the parties can keep their promise to pass the bill by the end of this month.In the aftermath of the sinking of the vessel, the rival parties agreed to draw up the Sewol bill in order to establish a fact-finding committee to investigate the direct and associated causes of the tragedy that claimed the live

Oct 15, 2014By Jun Ji-hye

South Korea

Parties to operate TF to handle Sewol bill

By Jun Ji-hyeThe ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) agreed Tuesday to set up a joint task force (TF) team tasked with pushing a special Sewol bill through the parliament by the end of this month, along with two other pieces of legislation.During their meeting, Reps. Lee Wan-koo and Woo Yoon-keun, the parties’ respective floor leader, agreed to meet every Tuesday for the TF meeting.The contents of the special Sewol bill were drawn up to establish a fact-finding committee to fully investigate the man-made tragedy that killed more than 300 passengers. The bill has been stalled for months due to wrangles between the rival parties over whether to grant full investigative powers to such an entity as well as the right to indict those suspected of direct or associated involvement in events that led to the vessel’s sinking.  “We are aware that the concerns of the bereaved families are deepening. We are working hard to ease such concerns by the earliest date possible,” said Rep. Lee.The other two bills include a

Oct 14, 2014By Jun Ji-hye

South Korea

Opposition riding on Kakao controversy

By Jun Ji-hyeThe main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) is pursuing allegations that the government has been monitoring messages exchanged on messenger services, a move seen as an apparent effort to take the initiative in bipartisan negotiations.From the NPAD’s point of view, the issue, which has become a political hot potato during a National Assembly audit of government offices and ministries, is a good opportunity to turn the tables in its favor after a series of difficulties, including failed efforts to push for a special Sewol bill and internal conflicts that led to falling approval ratings.The nation’s most popular messenger service Kakao Talk has become the subject of controversy after Jung Jin-woo, a member of the minor opposition Labor Party, said on Oct. 1 that the prosecution recently examined his Kakao Talk conversations and the personal information of 3,000 of his acquaintances registered with the service.Jung was among those who gathered at a rally to demand an independent investigation into the April Sewol ferry disaster that caused the

Oct 14, 2014By Jun Ji-hye

South Korea

'No plan to discuss THAAD in S. Korea-US meeting'

By Jun Ji-hyeSeoul and Washington have no plans to discuss whether to deploy key interceptors of the U.S.-led missile defense (MD) system on the Korean Peninsula during the upcoming meeting of defense chiefs, the defense ministry said, Monday.“As far as I know, the issue related to THAAD deployment has not been included in the agenda for the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM),” Kim Min-seok, spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense, told a regular briefing.Defense chiefs of the two countries are scheduled to sit down for their annual meeting on Oct. 23 in Washington.THAAD stands for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, the installation of which would provide an integral part of the U.S. missile shield aimed at neutralizing ballistic missiles fired from North Korea.Whether or not the U.S. will deploy the THAAD battery on its base stationed in South Korea has been a controversial and sensitive issue here. Such a deployment has been widely regarded as an attempt by Washington to get its Asian ally to join the MD system and contain the influence of China

Oct 13, 2014By Jun Ji-hye

South Korea

Conflict grows over 'leaflet' campaign

Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) chairman Adm. Choi Yoon-hee makes a report to lawmakers about the JCS’s activities during the National Assembly audit held at the Ministry of National Defense building in Seoul, Monday. He rebuffed speculation about the deteriorating health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, saying “There are no problems for Kim in controlling the regime.”/ Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Jun Ji-hyeConflict in the South is growing in response to repeated launches of balloons filled with anti-North Korean leaflets over the inter-Korean border. A recent balloon launch led to an exchange of gunfire between the two Koreas.Despite heightened military tension, activists ― led by North Korean defectors ― and some conservative civic groups are defending the leaflet campaign, saying it is an effective way of conveying the truth to the people of the reclusive state.However, people living along the border ― especially in Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province, which was affected by the recent hostilities ― are demanding an end to the balloon

Oct 13, 2014By Jun Ji-hye

South Korea

NK threatens to nix inter-Korean meeting

By Jun Ji-hyeNorth Korea threatened Sunday to cancel a high-level meeting with South Korea through its official mouthpiece two days after an exchange of fire across the demilitarized zone.In response, the Ministry of Unification said that if the North did not participate in the meeting, it would constitute a breach of trust. The latest warning, delivered by the North Korean state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper, is the second threat regarding the meeting. However, no confirmation by any government body been made to date.  The two sides agreed to meet in a rare sign of reconciliation during a surprise visit by a delegation of top North Korean officials to the closing ceremony of the Incheon Asian Games on Oct. 4.The Rodong Sinmun said, “Spreading anti-Pyongyang leaflets is part of flagrant psychological warfare that could lead to a military clash. The relationship is lurching toward catastrophe, making a high-level meeting irrelevant.”South Korean activists, led by North Korean defectors, flew balloons carrying leaflets containing anti-North Korea messages across the

Oct 12, 2014By Jun Ji-hye

NK threatens to nix inter-Korean meeting

Pyongyang urges EU to soften rights resolution

North Korea

Koreas trade machine gun fire

Pictured is a hole left in the ground by North Korean machine-gun fire in the border county of Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province. / YonhapBy Jun Ji-hyeNorth Korea fired heavy machine guns at South Korean propaganda balloons Friday afternoon, with some rounds landing in Yeoncheon, an inland county located just south of the inter-Korean border. The ROK Army returned fire as a warning. No casualties were reported. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the North fired about 10 rounds from 14.5-millimeter anti-aircraft machine guns. The South fired about 40 rounds from K-6 machine guns in the direction from which the North had fired. “The North fired at 3:55 p.m., after a group of South Korean activists launched balloons filled with anti-North Korean leaflets from the border village of Paju at 2 p.m.,” said a JCS officer. “Some rounds were discovered to have landed in an Army outpost and inside an administrative office near the Civilian Control Line at 4:50 p.m.” ROK forces broadcast a warning message at 5:30 p.m., and began firing back at 5:40 p.m. toward the N

Oct 11, 2014By Jun Ji-hye

South Korea

Division commander arrested for sexual harassment

Defense Minister Han Min-koo, right in front row, speaks at a meeting with key commanders at the ministry’s building in Seoul, Friday. Han called the emergency meeting to discuss issues related to a division commander’s alleged sexual harassment of women under his authority. / YonhapBy Jun Ji-hye A major-general in the Army’s 17th Division was arrested on charges of sexually harassing a female soldier, Friday, right after a military court issued an arrest warrant sought by investigators earlier the day.“The warrant was requested at 9:15 a.m. on indecent assault charges,” said an Army officer.The major-general, identified only by his surname Song, was detained late Thursday night after the victim reported the assaults to a counselor of the unit. “He is suspected of having sexually assaulted the female staff sergeant at his office at least five times from August to September,” said the officer. Song’s actions included kissing the victim on the cheek and forcibly hugging her.Controversy is further escalating after it was lea

Oct 10, 2014By Jun Ji-hye

Jun Ji-hye

Read more

Koreas involved in truth game over generals' talks

Gov't hit for excessive secretiveness in handling North

Choosing special prosecutor becomes new issue in Sewol bill

Parties to operate TF to handle Sewol bill

Opposition riding on Kakao controversy

'No plan to discuss THAAD in S. Korea-US meeting'

Conflict grows over 'leaflet' campaign

NK threatens to nix inter-Korean meeting

Koreas trade machine gun fire

Division commander arrested for sexual harassment

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