Korea Times Business Reporter
Kang Seung-woo is the Business Desk editor at The Korea Times. Prior to this position, he covered politics, national affairs, finance and sports.
Members of animal welfare organizations stage a rally at Gwanghwamun in Seoul, Monday, calling on candidates for the Seoul mayoral by-election to adopt animal protection policies. The mayoral by-election is scheduled to take place April 7. Yonhap
gettyimagesbankBy Kang Seung-wooThe United States is expected to work with two of its key allies to improve thorny ties during its senior officials' trip to Asia, according to diplomatic observers, Monday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin began their first overseas trip, Monday, with their first stop in Japan. They are scheduled to arrive in Seoul, Wednesday, for a two-day visit.Ahead of them embarking on the overseas trip, the first by senior members of the Joe Biden administration, the U.S. State Department issued a statement stressing its trilateral cooperation with South Korea and Japan, raising speculation that Washington may do something to normalize bilateral ties between Seoul and Tokyo, which are engaged in ongoing disputes over historical issues and grievances.Relations between the neighboring countries have slumped to their worst level in years, sparked by Japan's imposition of export controls on three key materials critical for South Korea's semiconductor and display industries, in apparent retaliation to a 2018 ruling by the So
gettyimages'No progress will be made on North Korea engagement plan'By Kang Seung-wooSouth Korea and the United States will hold a two-plus-two meeting of their foreign and defense ministers next week, the first of its kind in over four years, a sign of the Joe Biden administration's commitment to restoring their bilateral alliance after four years of neglect under former President Donald Trump.Although the meeting will showcase the special relationship of the allies, the long-delayed, long-awaited dialogue is not expected to proceed in South Korea's favor, as Seoul is expected to face a tough call from Washington that will ask, if not force, the country to support American policy vis-a-vis China amid the intensifying U.S.-China rivalry, according to diplomatic observers. In addition, the Moon Jae-in administration, seeking to engage North Korea via U.S. sanctions relief, will likely not see any concessions to Pyongyang from its new U.S. counterpart, as it is still conducting its review of the country, they added.According to the South Korean and U.S. governments, U.S. Secretary of S
Monks from the Jogye Order, Korea's largest Buddhist sect, and Myanmar nationals residing in the country, conduct an “ochetuji” march from the Myanmar Embassy here to the office of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Seoul, Friday, calling for the recovery of democracy and peace in the Southeast Asian nation. Ochetuji is the Buddhist act of expressing respect for the Buddha by fully prostrating on the ground. YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooThe Korean government has decided to suspend exports of military supplies to Myanmar and to reconsider all development cooperation with Yangon, in protest against the Southeast Asian country's recent coup and the junta's brutal crackdown on the pro-democracy movement, the foreign ministry said, Friday.On Feb. 1, Myanmar's military authorities seized power after detaining Aung San Suu Kyi and other democratically elected leaders, and since then, at least 70 civilians have been killed, according to a United Nations human rights investigator. “Despite repeated calls from Korea and the international community, Myanmar's military and police auth
gettyimagesbankBy Bruce KlingnerKorea watchers are anxiously awaiting both the Biden administration finishing its North Korea policy review and Pyongyang conducting its next provocation. Impatience with the former and fear of the latter have led experts to advocate for measures buying Pyongyang's continued inertia against committing further violations of U.N. resolutions. Bruce KlingnerLow-end recommendations call for announcing U.S. eagerness to resume dialogue while counseling Kim Jong-un to refrain from nuclear or long-range missile tests. More grandiose proposals include economic, security and diplomatic benefits as a catalyst to opening negotiations, as well as abandoning denuclearization as a goal. For decades, “what does North Korea want?” has been a common lament. Pyongyang's reticence to define what would induce it to reduce its arsenals led Washington, Seoul and others to proffer perks during negotiations and even as an enticement to “improve the atmosphere” to induce Pyongyang back to the table. Over the years, the United States and the internationa
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks as he concludes a four-day workshop or “short training course” for chief secretaries of the city and county party committees, March 6. YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooWhile COVID-19 has brought suffering to the whole world, North Korea seems to have become a beneficiary of the pandemic as the combined military drill between South Korea and the United States has been downsized due to the deadly disease. On Monday, Seoul and Washington kicked off their joint military training, but the nine-day exercise is proceeding as a computer-simulated command post exercise (CPX) only with no outdoor drills after the allies decided to scale it back, citing the coronavirus. Last year they canceled both spring and summer drills.In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak in China in December 2019, North Korea quickly sealed off its borders to prevent the spread of the disease, but the border closing with China has been dealing a heavy economic blow to the country. However, the pandemic is easing the North's security concerns, given that Pyongyang routinely denounces
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken / AP-YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooU.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit South Korea next week, the foreign and defense ministries announced Wednesday, marking the first trip to the country by senior members of the Joe Biden administration. According to the ministries, Blinken and Austin will arrive in Seoul, March 17, for separate bilateral meetings with their South Korean counterparts Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Defense Minister Suh Wook.The following day they will hold a two-plus-two dialogue, the first in five years since 2016. This dialogue format was first instituted in 2010 to highlight the alliance's posture against North Korean military threats. During the meeting, they are expected to discuss bilateral issues including relations between South Korea and the United States, the North Korea nuclear issue and the transition of wartime operational control of South Korean troops from the U.S. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin / UPI-YonhapThe meeting comes as Washington is rallying its allies i
Jeong Eun-bo, Korea's top negotiator in defense cost-sharing talks with the United States, arrives at Incheon International Airport, Tuesday, after reaching a deal. Yonhap'New deal could increase Korea's burden sharply in near future' By Kang Seung-wooThe foreign ministry announced Wednesday that Korea will pay 1.18 trillion won ($1.03 billion) as its share of the cost of stationing American troops here this year, and increase the amount paid in subsequent years by the rise in its defense budget according to a renewed six-year defense cost-sharing deal.The new Special Measures Agreement (SMA), however, is drawing comments from diplomatic observers that Korea's portion of the annual cost-sharing could sharply increase year-on-year. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs unveiled the details of the 11th SMA that Seoul and Washington agreed on earlier this week. The SMA determines Korea's payments for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) including the cost of Korean workers' wages, military facility construction and logistics support.Although the previous SMA expired in Dec
Jeong Eun-bo, left, Korea's chief negotiator in defense cost-sharing talks with the United States, and his U.S. counterpart Donna Welton hold the latest round of negotiations in Washington, D.C., Sunday. Courtesy of Ministry of Foreign AffairsBy Kang Seung-wooAlthough Korea and the United States have finally closed a long-delayed defense cost-sharing deal hardly favorable to Korea, it is not just something Seoul can sit back and enjoy, according to diplomatic observers, as it is now expected to face demands from Washington in return to play a certain role as a long-time ally, such as participating in the U.S.-led anti-China coalition.According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.S. State Department, Monday, the two sides have reached an agreement in principle on a new Special Measures Agreement (SMA) that determines Korea's contribution to the upkeep of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK). Although exact terms were not disclosed, the deal is likely to be a multi-year agreement to cover the U.S. military presence here, with a hardly favorable to Korea ― something it ha
President Moon Jae-in watches a nursing home doctor receiving a shot of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine at a public health center in Seoul, Feb. 26, when the country kicked off its nationwide vaccinations. Korea Times fileBy Kang Seung-wooPresident Moon Jae-in is expected to get AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine as early as this month before traveling to Britain to attend the G7 summit there in June.According to Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-seok, last week, Moon's inoculation plan will be decided based on discussions with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) and his diplomatic schedule. Moon, 68, is not subject to vaccination in the first quarter according to the government scheme drawn up according to age, vulnerability and other factors, and his turn is initially expected to come in the second quarter.The health authorities said, Saturday, those embarking on overseas trips for government affairs will be eligible for priority vaccinations, mentioning President Moon as one of those eligible.Cheong Wa Dae announced, January, that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson