The Korea Times

ANALYSIS Why did North Korean leader reveal daughter during ICBM launch?

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right, stands hand-in-hand with his daughter at a ballistic missile launch site at Pyongyang International Airport, Friday, in this photo provided by the Korean Central News Agency, the following day. YonhapPublic debut of 'secret' daughter shows country's determination on nukes issue By Kang Seung-wooAn unexpected appearance of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's daughter indicates that he has no plans on giving up his nation's nuclear program, evidenced by his strong conviction in his arsenal of weapons, which can protect him from hostile forces, according to Pyongyang analysts, Sunday.North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released photos, Saturday, showing Kim hand-in-hand with his daughter at a missile launch site in Pyongyang, the previous day when the country successfully test-fired a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, the missile ― the eighth launch this year alone ― traveled some 1,000 kilometers at an altitude of 6,100 kilometers, further ratcheting up t

Nov 20, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

NK leader inspects Hwasong-17 ICBM test launch, declares resolute nuclear response to threats

North Korea

North Korea reacts furiously to US extended deterrence

Pyongyang launches short-range ballistic missile By Kang Seung-wooNorth Korea threatened, Thursday, that the United States will meet with fiercer military responses if it reinforces extended deterrence to its allies. Hours after the warning, Pyongyang fired a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) toward the East Sea. Choe Son-hui / Korea Times fileDiplomatic observers expect that tensions between the U.S. and North Korea will be unavoidable for a while unless one side makes a concession. Extended deterrence refers to the commitment to use a full range of capabilities, including nuclear weapons to deter attacks on allies. The U.S. has provided extended deterrence, known as the “nuclear umbrella,” to South Korea since 1991 when it removed all of its nuclear assets from the South. “The keener the U.S. is on the 'bolstered offer of extended deterrence' to its allies and the more they intensify provocative and bluffing military activities on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, the fiercer the DPRK's military counteraction will be, in direct proportion to it, and it wi

Nov 17, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

North Korea reacts furiously to US extended deterrence

N. Korea fires 1 short-range ballistic missile into East Sea: S. Korean military

Politics

Saudi officials visit Korea Times

Korea Times President-Publisher Oh Young-jin poses with Alhanoof Abohaimed, left, head of the Partnerships Department at Saudi Arabia's Center for Government Communication, and Yazeed Albader, producer of the Konoz Initiative, during the Saudi officials' visit to The Korea Times' headquarters in Seoul, Wednesday. Their visit was part of building a partnership in digital content and content sharing. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Nov 16, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

Politics

$4.2 billion earmarked for key missile defense system

This undated photo shows the debris of a missile retrieved in South Korean territorial waters of the East Sea which the ministry identified as a North Korean SA-5 surface-to-air missile, Nov. 2. Courtesy of Ministry of National Defense By Kang Seung-wooAmid North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats, attention is on a budget increase proposal to bolster a key deterrence system, which is pending approval in the National Assembly. In August, the government announced a defense budget proposal of 57.1 trillion won ($43.2 billion) for 2023, a 4.6 percent year-on-year increase, with some 5.3 trillion won earmarked for the domestic "three-axis" defense system. The three refers to Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR), the Kill Chain pre-emptive strike platform and the Korea Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system. Taking a closer look, the budget proposal seeks to secure mid-altitude surveillance drones, more Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile interceptors and 230-millimeter multiple rocket launchers. However, while the National Assembly has been reviewing the gove

Nov 13, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

$4.2 billion earmarked for key missile defense system

North Korea

From opium to cryptocurrency, North Korea maneuvers to earn hard cash for nuclear program

gettyimagesbankReclusive state's illicit activities adapt to changing conditions By Kang Seung-wooNorth Korea has launched various missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, 35 times this year alone, which analysts say could have cost the nation as much as $10 million each. The North's escalation of tensions has raised a burning question among observers: How can the cash-strapped nation finance and sustain its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program? Such a question arises as a number of United Nations sanctions have cut North Korea off from conventional revenue sources and forbidden it from exporting coal, iron, lead and seafood ― and consequently, the “rogue state” has set its sights on stealing cryptocurrencies, which are used to fund the development of its WMD.In the wake of increasing cyber heists, South Korea, the United States and some other countries remain on alert, exploring ways to prevent digital crimes.To raise funds for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, the North Korean regime had long relied on a variety of illicit activities, rang

Nov 12, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

From opium to cryptocurrency, North Korea maneuvers to earn hard cash for nuclear program

Politics

Lawmaker pressured to resign for misquoting EU ambassador

By Kang Seung-wooRep. Kim Eui-kyeom, a spokesman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), is under pressure from the ruling party side to step down for his incorrect quotation of European Union Ambassador Maria Castillo Fernandez. Rep. Kim Eui-kyeom On Tuesday, DPK Chairman Rep. Lee Jae-myung and the EU envoy held a closed-door meeting, during which they discussed North Korea's threats, among others, and Kim later quoted the EU ambassador publicly as saying that the Yoon Suk-yeol administration has its limits in responding because it has no channel for dialogue with North Korea currently. Following the press briefing, the EU envoy voiced regret to Seoul's foreign ministry on how her remarks were misquoted and Kim then issued an apology on Wednesday. Rep. Joo Ho-young, the floor leader of the ruling People Power Party, urged Kim to step down, to take responsibility for the diplomatic discourtesy.“The spokesman once again made a huge mistake, which drew

Nov 11, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

Lawmaker pressured to resign for misquoting EU ambassador

Foreign Affairs

South Korea, US, Japan to hold trilateral summit

From left are President Yoon Suk-yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Korea Times fileSouth Korea-China bilateral talks unlikely By Kang Seung-wooPresident Yoon Suk-yeol said, Thursday, he will sit down with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Joe Biden and Fumio Kishida, on the sidelines of multilateral meetings in Southeast Asia later this week amid a series of provocations by North Korea.“During the multilateral meetings, there will be several important bilateral summits,” Yoon told reporters a day before he leaves for Cambodia and Indonesia to attend meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Group of 20. In Phnom Penh, Yoon is scheduled to attend a South Korea-ASEAN summit, an ASEAN Plus Three summit and the East Asia Summit before departing for Bali for the G20 summit on Tuesday. “A South Korea-U.S.-Japan summit has been fixed and several other bilateral meetings have also been set or are under discussion,” Yoon added. However, he did not elaborate on exactly when the meetings will take pla

Nov 10, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

South Korea, US, Japan to hold trilateral summit

Yoon arrives in Cambodia for ASEAN summit

North Korea

North Korea quiet during US midterm elections

North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test site / YonhapNuclear test would have no immediate benefits at this time: expert By Kang Seung-wooA much-hyped North Korean nuclear test did not happen ahead of the U.S. midterm elections although all preparations for a seventh nuclear test are reported to be complete.Diplomatic observers view there is no urgent need at this point for the Kim Jong-un regime to push ahead with another nuclear test that could backfire. According to Beyond Parallel, a project of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, Monday (local time), a day before the U.S. midterm elections, there was no new activity of significance observed at Tunnel No. 3 at the Punggye-ri nuclear test facility. “This is expected because both the United States and South Korea assess North Korea as having finished all preparations for conducting a nuclear test using this tunnel,” it said, citing the latest satellite image.The South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities believe that North Korea has been ready to go with a nuclear test since M

Nov 8, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

North Korea quiet during US midterm elections

Opinion

'Republic of Korea will take care of you from here'

By Yoon Jong-jinOn Nov. 7, the ashes of deceased veterans of the Korean War arrived at Incheon International Airport with honor guards lining up. The deceased veterans ― French veteran Robert Picquenard and Dutch veterans Mathias Hubertus Hoogenboom and Eduard Julius Engberink were in their late 10s and early 20s when they joined the Korean War in defense of the Republic of Korea and all three of them wished to rest in the country they fought to protect. Yoon Jong-jinThe Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs held the ceremony welcoming the ashes of the deceased U.N. veterans under the theme of “The Republic of Korea will take care of you from here.” The ashes were temporarily enshrined at the Seoul National Cemetery and will be transported to the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan on Nov. 10 for burial on Nov. 11 and 12. The United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan, where the three veterans will be interred is the world's only U.N. cemetery. It was created in 1951 by the United Nations Command for fallen U.N. troops during the Korean War, and the country donat

Nov 8, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

'Republic of Korea will take care of you from here'

North Korea

ANALYSIS North Korea expected to launch another ICBM before Nov. 29

This combined photo, released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, Monday, shows the North Korean military firing missiles into the East Sea and the West Sea from Nov. 2 to Nov. 5 corresponding to a South Korea-U.S. joint air exercise. YonhapNuclear test could be postponed: ex- and current government officials By Kang Seung-wooUndeterred by the failed test of what is suspected to have been a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) last week, North Korea is expected to push ahead with another launch of its largest and most powerful missile ahead of a holiday marking its successful nuclear-capable missile test, according to diplomatic observers, Monday.North Korea designated Nov. 29 as “Rocket Industry Day” commemorating the anniversary of test-firing a Hwasong-15 nuclear-capable ICBM on Nov. 29, 2017. The missile is believed to be theoretically capable of hitting targets anywhere in the U.S. mainland. Afterwards, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared the completion of “the state nuclear force.”On Thursday, the totalitarian state

Nov 7, 2022By Kang Seung-woo

Kang Seung-woo

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ANALYSIS Why did North Korean leader reveal daughter during ICBM launch?

North Korea reacts furiously to US extended deterrence

Saudi officials visit Korea Times

$4.2 billion earmarked for key missile defense system

From opium to cryptocurrency, North Korea maneuvers to earn hard cash for nuclear program

Lawmaker pressured to resign for misquoting EU ambassador

South Korea, US, Japan to hold trilateral summit

North Korea quiet during US midterm elections

'Republic of Korea will take care of you from here'

ANALYSIS North Korea expected to launch another ICBM before Nov. 29

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